4 Biggest Cyber Security Threats in 2021 And How to Prevent Them

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Our generation lives, works, and earns online. Although the internet unites and connects us, it also makes us vulnerable to many security issues: Online attacks, Cyber hacking, and data exposure! Which is predicted to inflict 6 trillion USD of losses globally in 2021.

Only in the US, information of 155million individuals was disclosed in 2020. Today, small and large businesses alike are facing unprecedented risk. Thankfully, there are software and online measures that can help secure your data.

To prepare your business for the online dangers in the forthcoming year, we've identified the 4 Biggest Cyber Security Threats for you.

Keep reading to secure your business for the year 2021 and beyond:

1. Social Engineering Threat:

Social engineering attacks rely on social or human interaction. It occurs when hackers try to manipulate people to breach standard security procedures. The Institute of Management and Administration (IOMA) reported Social Engineering as the number-one security risk.

Some tips by which you can prevent this social hacking are:

• Limit the access of your employees only to that information which is crucial for their job.
• Training sessions and awareness seminars about the gravity of these dangers can also help in its prevention.

2. Ransomware:

Ransomware involves a hacker sealing sensitive information and demanding ransom for unlocking it. In most cases, even after getting money, the hijacked files are not fully restored. Ransomware accounted for $5 Billion in losses in 2017.

Follow these defensive steps to avoid the ransomware infection:

• Don’t install software unless you’re sure what it is and what it does.
• Install Antivirus Software to help detect ransomware as they arrive.
• Back up your files constantly and automatically.

3. Phishing:

Phishing is a kind of social engineering attack in which the hacker pretends to be someone you trust. Most commonly, the attacker emails you through a familiar email address but a slightly altered one. He makes you visit a website and enter your personal information there.

Phishing can be prevented by:

• Training and guidance are foremost the first step in preventing phishing attacks.
• Make sure that your employees know the tell-tale signs of a phishing email.

4. Deep Fakes:

With the advancement in the field of artificial intelligence, its misuse is also on the rise. Deep fakes use AI to impersonate the CEOs of many companies. They then manipulate the employees and make them reveal the company's sensitive details. This menace is becoming more drastic as deep fake content is getting more accurate.

You can minimize the risk of deep fakes by:

• Analyzing the characteristics of deep fake content like facial expressions and the interplay of light.
• Blockchain technology could also be used as a verification tool.

Final Note:

Cyber attacks are a fact now. It has already made losses of trillions of USD. With the ever-increasing risks of cyber hacking, we need to upgrade our security system too.

We specified the 4 biggest Cyber security threats and guided you through the ways to prevent them. If you have anything to say, ask away in the comment box below!