New cyber security trends and predictions for 2023

By Ruchir Shukla, MD- India, SafeHouse Tech

We witnessed many cyberattacks in 2022, making it quite a turbulent year for cyber security globally. Looking back at 2022, Ruchir Shukla lists down some cybersecurity trends to look out for in 2023;

 1) Newer ways of social engineering attacks: Next year, there will be more cyber-attacks using psychological manipulation to trick people into giving away sensitive information or doing things that hurt their personal or work security. These attacks will be advanced, using deepfake and phishing. Deepfake attacks using AI to make fake videos and images will become increasingly common and will be harder to tell from real ones, compromising the security of an individual or organization. To protect against these scams, it is important to use AI detection software and avoid signing up for unknown face recognition or comparison apps. As for phishing, in 2023, business collaboration tools will be targeted more by phishing attacks. To stop these threats, organizations must have strong security measures including user training, and strong authentication.

2) With 5G comes new vulnerabilities: The adoption of 5G technology will likely result in more IoT devices connected to networks, creating new opportunities for cybercriminals to launch larger and more sophisticated attacks. Network slicing, which allows for the isolation and management of different types of traffic on the same network, will make it easier for attackers to target specific types of traffic, such as IoT devices. Furthermore, the new architecture of 5G networks increases the likelihood of security issues arising for users, including denial of service attacks, botnet attacks, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

3)  Increased adoption of cyber insurance: The demand for cyber insurance will rise in the coming year as technology and internet usage will continue to grow and cybercriminals will innovate new ways to do cyber financial frauds. Cyber insurance helps individuals and businesses to protect themselves against financial losses resulting from cyber-attacks, such as digital payment fraud, data breaches, and identity theft. The cyber insurance market is projected to reach $20 billion by 2025, indicating significant growth in the coming years. Soon, it will be a crucial component of companies’ and individuals’ overall risk management strategies. SafeHouse Tech is the first cybersecurity company in India to offer cyber insurance to individuals, along with comprehensive cybersecurity protection with its flagship product- BodyGuard app.

4) AI could be manipulated using false/misleading information: In 2023, it is expected that AI and machine learning based cyber-attacks will likely increase, particularly targeting corporate systems. Threat actors will attack machine learning and AI models by intentionally introducing malicious or corrupted data into a training dataset of a model to cause it to make incorrect predictions or classifications. For instance, if a model trained to diagnose medical conditions is injected with corrupted data, it could make incorrect diagnoses that could harm patients. In simpler language, cybercriminals would look for ways to introduce false or misleading information, alter or delete existing data, or manipulate data in a way that makes it inaccurate or untrustworthy.

5) Ransomware ecosystem will evolve: Talking about ransomware attacks in India, these attacks increased by 51% in the first half of 2022, with data centers and IT sectors being the primary targets. This trend is expected to continue, with attackers targeting high-value victims such as hospitals and government agencies, and demanding payment in cryptocurrencies to maintain their anonymity. Another aspect here is that the Ransomware groups will develop innovative and new programming languages to avoid being detected and make their malware work on different network systems.

6) Crypto-related scams are expected to reach an all-time high in 2023:  These scams may take many forms, including schemes that promise quick riches, fake giveaways on social media, impersonation of legitimate cryptocurrency exchanges, and other fraudulent activities that use cryptocurrency as a lure. The lack of regulation and the anonymity of cryptocurrencies make it easy for cybercriminals to operate, making these scams more prevalent. Individuals need to be cautious and stay aware of these risks.