It’s almost time to make it into another year and another decade at that! I want it to be the best year for your business and keeping your assets safe. When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s important for your business to stay ahead of the possible threats. You want to prevent the threats as much as possible! With a new year coming up, there are new and existing cybersecurity threats that could take the year by storm. I have put together 5 cybersecurity threats that will be dominant in 2020 and what you can do to ensure your business stays ahead of the possible threats.

Data Rights Compliance

Things are gearing up for more data-protection safeguards thanks to two regulations/acts: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It’s good news for cybersecurity in general but it also brings some panic amongst businesses. This means that many businesses must decide whether or not to meet the strictest requirements and figure out how to prepare for these new changes.

The GDPR was created to protect the privacy of individuals within the European Union. The CCPA was created to focus on the rights of California residents and protect data privacy and help individuals understand their data- how it’s collected, sold, or disclosed. California businesses have to comply with this act starting January 1, 2020.

Internal Attacks and Vulnerabilities

This type of cybersecurity threat could be caused in house and can be one of the most dangerous threats yet! Businesses have to set up processes in house to protect their assets because internal attacks can be extremely dangerous. Have you heard of the Twitter incident recently where 2 former employees were charged with spying for Saudi Arabia by leaking private account information? There are many examples that happen all the time within businesses themselves just like the Twitter incident. This is probably one of the scariest cyber-attacks because it all depends on how the internal employees are feeling and what their motivations are. No matter how much you try to build defenses in this situation, it’s all based on how the employees will hold up their end of the deal.

Another problem internally can be vulnerabilities. Businesses and organizations can get practices in place that may be the latest and greatest but may not know how to use it. Another problem is they may have certain cybersecurity processes in place but they do not know how to educate their employees on how and why to use them. In turn, this can cause careless mistakes that can leak information to people that do not need it in their possession.

Phishing Attacks

This attack is going to continue gaining momentum into 2020 as its one of the most widely used attacks where the attacker steals the user’s data such as credentials and credit card numbers. The attacker will impersonate a business or organization and convince the victim to open an email, direct message, or even a text message. Many attackers have gotten pretty clever too where they have the same layout and looks of the real trusted business so you have to be on the lookout even more. If you’d like to learn more about phishing emails specifically, read our blog.

A specific phishing attack to be on the lookout especially in 2020 is the Business Email Compromise (BEC) that is targeting CEOs of businesses and organizations. This type of fraud has cost businesses over $12 billion in the last few years and has also been reported in all 50 states.

Ransomware

This threat doesn’t seem to be disappearing and it’s probably because of how successful it has been with hackers (unfortunately!) Hackers are constantly trying to find new ways to lock and encrypt a victim’s computer or device and demand a ransom (payment) to restore access. What’s so bad is that often time these attacks are often done by cyber thieves so even if the ransom is paid they typically won’t restore access.

Recent ransomware attacks such as the ones that occurred in Baltimore and Atlanta have become highly publicized and more well known. These types of attacks are making the news more and people are starting to see how big of a problem ransomware is for businesses and even organizations.

Third-Party Vulnerabilities Such as the Cloud

One of the most common attacks include vulnerabilities such as attackers targeting cloud technology. Over the last few years, cloud technology and the adoption of the cloud have skyrocketed so it’s not too shocking to hear that vulnerabilities have risen too.

The best way to prevent these types of cybersecurity threats that are likely to be common in 2020 is to make sure you have covered all your bases. Make sure every topic I’ve covered is being handled appropriately. Make sure you are being vigilant with all of your systems and processes to be the safest business or organization possible. Another way you can make sure you are utilizing the appropriate systems and processes is by partnering with an IT/Cybersecurity provider such as Triada Networks. We have over 20 years of experience helping businesses with their cybersecurity as well as IT support to make sure they are prepared for what is to come. If you are interested in setting up a free consultation where you will receive a free security review, click here.