5 Cybersecurity Threats To Be Aware Of In 2021

You may hear about a major data breach here or there – but do you know how the state of cybersecurity threats changed in 2020 and are you prepared in 2021?

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You may hear about a major data breach here or there – but do you know how the state of cybersecurity threats changed in 2020 and are you prepared in 2021?

The conversation about cybersecurity management has kind of become white noise, right? There are so many scams, hacks, and major data breaches that it’s hard to stay engaged. Let’s keep it simple, and stick to the data — like the fact that the global cybercrime industry will cause up to $6 trillion in damages in just a few years.

How? Just consider the rate at which attacks are occurring…

2020 Cybersecurity Threats — A Year In Review

COVID-19 Poses Unprecedented Cybersecurity Threats: The number of phishing emails and social engineering scams that use the COVID-19 pandemic as a topic represents the single largest thematic series of cybercrime attacks ever. From credential phishing and malicious attachments to business email compromise and fake landing pages, the coronavirus has been a veritable gold rush for cybercriminals.

US Governments Hit By Supply-Chain Attack: The US Government and numerous corporations around the world were hit by a devastating supply chain attack last year. What is presumed to be a foreign state-sponsored cyber-military team injected dangerous code into an update of popular software developed by SolarWinds.

Ransomware Attack Takes Global Company Offline For Days: A sophisticated ransomware attack took down systems in more than 70 countries for multiple days, timed specifically for when staff would be on holidays.

4 Cybersecurity Threats You Need To Defend Against In 2021

Social Engineering: Cybercriminals keep relying on the same scams because users keep falling for the exact same tactics without ever seeming to learn the skills needed to protect against them. It might come as a surprise, but the greatest cyber threat that businesses are facing today isn’t hackers exploiting software vulnerabilities; it’s your staff. By using sneaky and manipulative tactics to trick employees into sharing sensitive information like usernames and passwords, hackers are gaining access to valuable data, and it’s costing businesses a lot of money.

Internet-Facing Vulnerabilities: Any system that is connected to the Internet is at risk — that means business networks, remote users with VPNs, and everything in between. Cybercriminals will target these types of systems, looking for unpatched and out-of-date infrastructure, as well as exposed Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections. Protecting against these types of threats means implementing a vulnerability management program.

Exploited System Administration Tools: As networks grow and systems become even more connected in 2021, abuse of system administration controls will become more dangerous. These tools are already installed on systems, and once a cybercriminal has access to them, they can deploy viruses and malware with ease.

Ransomware: Datto recently released their Global State of the Channel Ransomware Report, developed from statistics reported by over 1,400 survey respondents. Managed service providers, channel partners, and Datto clients help to paint a frightening picture of the rate at which ransomware is being used against unsuspecting businesses. 85% of MSPs report ransomware as the most common malware threat to SMBs, and an average of 1 in 5 businesses report being a victim of a ransomware attack.

You may be thinking, “that’s just 4 cybercrime threats — what’s the fifth?” We saved the biggest and most foundational threat for last…

The Biggest Threat To Your Business — A Lack Of Cybersecurity Expertise

The fact is that, even if you deployed all the necessary cybersecurity technologies, invested in all the necessary tools and solutions, and did everything you could to protect your business, you’d still be missing one thing — cybersecurity expertise. Does your staff have the skills and experience needed to keep you protected?

Cybersecurity expertise is in high demand these days. As cybercrime continues to grow, and as businesses become more and more digital in their operations, cybersecurity becomes a much more critical priority. However, there’s only so much cybersecurity talent available to hire.

When you’re not sure if you have the skills or knowledge to get the job done, what can you do? Consult with cybersecurity professionals.

The cybersecurity professional’s job is to manage your cybersecurity, simple as that. Instead of needing an employee or internal team to keep your tech and data secure, you entrust someone like SSE with the skills and expertise to do it for you and your business:

SSE’s cybersecurity professionals perform regular vulnerability testing per industry standards to ensure you aren’t dealing with overlooked cybersecurity weaknesses.

SSE’s cybersecurity professionals help you plan, achieve, and maintain a secure environment.

SSE’s cybersecurity professionals provide ongoing service and support for any security-related concerns you may have.

What’s The Key To Cybersecurity In 2021?

Invest in some expert protection for your business with SSE.

We can put our NIST cybersecurity expertise to work for your business, implementing best practices, identifying vulnerabilities, and protecting you against emerging cybersecurity threats in 2021. Schedule an initial consultation with our team now!

5 Cybersecurity Threats To Be Aware Of In 2021