Page 52 - Cyber Warnings

What cybernetic nightmares does 2017 have in store for us?

Ransomware

It took center stage in 2016, and will presumably do so again through 2017. In some ways, this
kind of attack is cannibalizing other more traditional ones that are based on information
theft. Ransomware is a simpler and more direct way to make a profit, eliminating intermediaries
and unnecessary risks.

Companies

Attacks on companies will be more numerous and more sophisticated. Companies are
already the prime target of cybercriminals. Their information is more valuable than that of private
users.

Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for weaknesses in corporate networks as a way to find
an entry point. Once inside, they use lateral movements to access resources that contain the
information they are looking for.

They can also launch large-scale ransomware attacks (infecting with ransomware all available
devices), in order to demand astronomical sums of money to recover the data of affected
companies.

Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) is the next cybersecurity nightmare. Any kind of device connected to a
network can be used as an entryway into corporate networks. The majority of these devices
have not been designed with security strength in mind.

Typically they do not receive automatic security updates, use weak passwords, reuse the same
credentials in thousands of devices, etc. All of this together makes them extremely vulnerable to
outside attacks.

DDoS

The final months of 2016 witnessed the most powerful DDoS attacks in history. It began in
September with an attack on Brian Krebs (https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/09/the-
democratization-of-censorship/) after his having reported on the activities of an Israeli company
that offered this kind of service.

On the heels of that attack came another on the French company OVH (reaching 1Tbps of
traffic) and another on the American company Dyn that left several major tech giants without
Internet service.

52 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine December 2016 Edition
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