The cybercrime landscape in 2023
The threat landscape for cybercrime is constantly changing for businesses. Where cybercriminals previously required a rather specialist skill set and custom-made tech, now, off the shelf products can turn the less tech savvy criminal into an effective hacker. Yet, the primary aim of cybercrime remains the same – to defraud businesses. It is how this cyber fraud is approached that business leaders need to remain aware of to protect their company in 2023 and beyond.
What types of cyber fraud tactics are businesses facing?
PWC’s annual Cyber Security Outlook reveals the top cyber fraud tactics business are likely to face in this year and the next.
Cloud Security Threats
A third of UK senior executives expect attacks against cloud management interfaces to increase significantly in 2023, while 20% say they expect attacks on Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and operational technology (OT) to increase in the next 12 months. Such attacks leave business assets and sensitive information open to theft and extortion.
Ransomware
The more familiar and long-standing threats are still very much on the horizon in 2023/24, with a quarter of UK organisations reviewed expecting ransomware attacks to “significantly increase” in the coming year.
Hackers have become even more targeted with these attacks, focusing on lucrative and vulnerable businesses to extort the greatest information and money from.
Cyber threats targeting staff
Phishing attacks remain a key threat for businesses and cybercriminals will often use email scams or social media to infiltrate individual staff.
Invoice fraud is one of the top phishing tactics currently used and can prove extremely costly for businesses. This occurs when a request for payment is intercepted by a criminal, who convinces the payee to redirect the payment to an account they control. Invoice scams are targeted at key financial decision makers in an organisation, such as the CFO and accounting staff.
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Protecting your business from cyber fraud
This list of cyber threats is not exhaustive and one of the main issues that companies are currently facing is the wide variety of potential threats coupled with a fast push towards digital transformation. However, despite these increased risks, there are a number measures that business can take to reduce these threats.
These include:
- Keeping IT systems updated, backed up and maintaining a high level of security across the board
- Regular staff awareness training to keep up to date with the ever-changing threat landscape
- Running regular IT audits to check for any developing vulnerabilities in your business’s infrastructure
- Working with a cyber security specialist through your business’s digital transformation to mitigate these risks.
Perhaps most important is an organisation’s culture when it comes to these threats. Strong leadership that focuses on effective cyber security throughout an organisation is the number one factor that will make a real difference for businesses in the coming months and years.
Find out more
If you would like to know more about cyber security training and monitoring for your business, or any other aspect of this article, contact Andrew Wayman at andrew.wayman@sdt.co.uk or call our office on +44 (0)1344 870062.