Threat actors to profile victims using artificial intelligence

REGIONAL TRANSFORMATION OUTLOOK 2019

As we head into 2019, organisations must understand the security implications of greater cloud adoption, converging IT and OT, and increasing remote working. Cybercriminals will continue to follow a winning formula: exploiting social engineering and stolen credentials to drive profits.

As both the corporate attack surface and unknown cyber threats increase, it is more important than ever for organisations to put more resources behind employee education to help protect against these growing attacks. The role of social engineering in successful attacks against businesses and individuals will continue to increase throughout the year. Since 2015, the number of phishing URLs blocked by Trend Micro has increased by nearly 3,800%. More vulnerabilities will be found in cloud infrastructure, such as containers, and weak cloud security measures will allow greater exploitation of accounts for cryptocurrency mining.

Attackers will also implement emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to better anticipate the movements of executives. This will lead to more convincing targeted phishing messages, which can be critical to attacks. Additionally, it is likely that attacks will target more employees who report to C-level executives, resulting in continued global losses.

SIM swapping and SIM-jacking will be a growing threat to take advantage of remote employees and everyday users. This attack method allows criminals to hijack a cell phone without the user’s knowledge, making it difficult for consumers to regain control of their devices. Additionally, the smart home will be an increasingly attractive target for attacks that leverage home routers and connected devices.

Key takeaways

• Role of social engineering in attacks against businesses and individuals will continue to increase throughout the year.
• As corporate attack surface increase, it is important for organisations to put more resources behind employee education.
• Attackers will implement technologies like artificial intelligence to better anticipate the movements of executives
• Additionally, the smart home will be an increasingly attractive target for attacks that leverage home routers and connected devices.