Are you aware of the 2020 cybersecurity risks? If you have not had a chance to find out, don’t panic. IBM’s X-Force uncovers them in their annual Threat Intelligence Index annual report. In this article at Security Intelligence, Limor Kessem shares highlights of the X-Force report regarding 2020 cybersecurity risks.
Preparing for 2020 Cybersecurity Risks
Your security teams receive data on several threats and discover vulnerabilities regularly. They are overwhelmed by it, to tell you the truth. It becomes a taxing job for them to prioritize risks.
IBM’s X-Force analyzes data taken from various endpoints, span sponsors, managed services, red team, and incident response surveys. Their report highlights the most potential attacks that your security team must take note of. Here are the highlights for 2020 cybersecurity risks:
Attackers Leverage Popular Vulnerabilities
31 percent of the hackers launched phishing attacks, while 29 percent stole user credentials. 30 percent of the attacks were made using known issues. Their use of conventional methods reveals that companies are not yet prepared to defend common vulnerabilities.
Ransomware Attacks Are on the Rise
Ransomware attacks top the 2020 cybersecurity risks. Such incidents have doubled in 2018 (10 percent) and 19 percent in 2019. The hackers assailed companies across twelve countries in both the public and private sectors. They mostly targeted industries like retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and transport.
Organized Attacks Are More Sophisticated
The established hacker gangs like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer, LockerGoga, Sodinokibi, and MegaCortex are shifting their focus from banks. With their established knowledge and better tools, they have started pursuing enterprises. According to an Intezar study, 45 percent of their Trojan hacks had a new coding structure in 2019. Also, 36 percent of their ransomware code showed an innovative approach.
Poor Configuration Hygiene Causes Maximum Breaches
86 percent of 2020 cybersecurity risks were because of poor configuration hygiene. Organizations exposed 8.5 billion user records in 2019, which is double the number of records breached in 2018.
More from the X-Force Report
- Attacks on operational technology infrastructure (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) have jumped by 2000 percent in 2019.
- Cybercriminals leveraged cybersquatting techniques to gain your trust. 60 percent of them imitated Google and YouTube, 15 percent Apple, and 12 percent Amazon. Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, and Spotify came next.
- 5 billion North Americans and 2 billion Asians were targeted in 2019.
To view the original article, visit the following link: https://securityintelligence.com/posts/x-force-threat-intelligence-index-reveals-top-cybersecurity-risks-of-2020/
