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The 6 Most Common Cyberattacks That Could Impact Companies In 2023

This could be another banner year for ransomware and other cyberattacks. “Almost as fast as the cybersecurity industry releases new security tools, adversaries evolve their techniques to circumvent them. This year will be no different,” according to IBM’s Security Intelligence report.

Cyberattacks such as data breaches can be costly crises for companies. In 2022, the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. was $9.44 million, up from $9.05 million the year before, according to Statista.

Cyber experts shared their advice and insights on the cyber threats companies could face in 2023, and recommended protective measures.

Most Common Cyberattacks

Rom Hendler, CEO of cybersecurity firm Trustifi, said via email said the six most common cyberattacks companies and users need to watch out for in 2023 are:

Compromised Business Emails

An attacker sends an email pretending to be someone that the potential victim is familiar with (CEO, CFO, vendor, etc.). The purpose is to make a seemingly legitimate request (pay invoice, purchase gift cards, wire payment, etc.).

Pre-vishing

Pre-vishing is a new type of text-based attack that usually involves a fake invoice (text, image, or attachment) with a phone number to “the support team” in case of an error in the invoice. The victims are asked to call a support number and give their credit card information.

Spear Phishing

Email threats that target a specific recipient or organization.

Impersonation

A phishing technique that uses a fake email address that looks like a known brand or contact.

Compromised Account

An attacker uses published email account credentials to send malicious emails from the compromised account.

New Domains

The attacker creates new domains through which to send threats or spam or uses known hosting services to bypass safeguards and get access to mailboxes.

The Unthinkable

“Previously unthinkable breaches will, indeed, occur,” Edward McNicholas, co-leader of global law firm Ropes & Gray’s data, privacy & cybersecurity practice, said in a statement.

“Not surprising, [the] breaches will continue to happen and increase exponentially. However, in 2023 and beyond, we are going to see more significant breaches on a larger scale,” he predicted.

Larger Targets

“In fact, the expectation is to see well-funded hacker groups go for the ‘whales’—focusing on [businesses with] brand recognition. Companies such as Microsoft or Amazon, which everyone leverages at a personal and corporate level, will become those major targets.

Investing In Security Programs

“Companies will see the need to invest more heavily in security programs that are not noticeable to the user. Looking to not fall into the same old traps from hackers, they will now opt for seamless use that also keeps their corporate perimeters tightly closed,” McNicholas concluded.

Asking The Difficult Questions

“In 2023, chief information security officers and company leaders will be compelled to pose more difficult questions around their strategies, next steps and mitigation processes,” Almog Apirion, the CEO and co-founder of computer security firm Cyolo and a former Israeli Navy Cyber Unit founder and commander, said via email

Paying Close Attention

“In fact, we will see them pay very close attention to details within their security audits and reports, including remote connectivity, internal security policies, and the level of access they need—especially to understand those potential open cracks that can let malicious actors get in,” he noted.

‘Taking Real Action’

“In addition, businesses will start to take real action and implement more secure architectures providing improved access to third parties, including suppliers, partners and even customers,” Apirion predicted.

Shifting Budgets And Priorities

“Although budgets won’t increase, they will consistently shift to lower cost activities like reviewing access policies and de-duplicating user accounts, while other cyber hygiene activities will become a priority to protect companies’ expanded networks.

“It will be mandatory to eliminate implicit trust and start asking the critical questions necessary to verify whether the third party is trustworthy or not and what level of access they can get,” he advised.

Cyber Resilience

While protecting organizations against cyber threats will always be a core focus area for security programs, we can expect an increased focus on cyber resilience, which expands beyond protection to include recovery and continuity in the event of a cyber incident,” Michael Adams, Zoom’s chief information security officer, said via email.

“It’s not only investing resources in protecting against cyber threats; it’s investing in the people, processes, and technology to mitigate the impact and continue operations in the event of a cyber incident,” he counseled.

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