What can be the major security threats in 2020?

The year 2019 saw many types of cyber-attacks starting from Ransomware Attack, Supply Chain Attacks to American Medical Collection Agency Breach. These attacks have proved that hackers are becoming smarter day-by-day, which makes cyber security a serious issue for both individuals and organizations.

In 2020, we predict, several types of similar attacks apart from many new techniques of intrusion.  Here, we have mentioned about 5 types of security threats which is expected to show up in the year 2020.

1. Phishing Will Become Very Personal

Phishing techniques have become advanced already, which makes it difficult for users to differentiate between a phishing email and an authentic email. Gone are the days when one could detect a phishing email easily and dispose in the trash folder. As an internet user, you might have noticed several types of phishing emails making direct way into your inbox. These emails can be an attractive fake business offer, employment opportunity or a purchase order. In 2020, these types of emails will have a more personalized approach. It’s also anticipated that AI will be used to learn the corporate lingo. HTTPS encryption will also be a cause of concern for businesses.

2. Ransomware Will See a Rise

Ransomware has already done many damages to organizations in 2019 and this trend will continue in the year 2020 as well but in a more dangerous form. Cloud data, which was considered safe till now may not remain untouched. It is believed that cyber-attacks will move beyond DoS attacks and go ahead with intrusions like BlueKeep attacks of 2019. In this attack, hackers were able to intrude into unpatched Windows systems using the BlueKeep exploit.

3. IoT Becomes a Target

We are slowly becoming slave of IoT products with their growing influence in our lives. Humans can now rarely think of doing away with IoT products in their day-to-day life. Smart devices are playing an important role in every sphere be it education or entertainment. However, as we are more connected to these devices, there are more chances to invite an attack from a cybercriminal. In the year 2020, hackers are expected to utlize these devices more to access corporate networks. The main reason for this is poor security shield of these devices, which lacks timely updates from manufacturers.

4. Insider Threats Increase

Data breach is not new, which have happened to corporates and govt. organizations for ages. These breaches are mostly caused by insiders who get the privilege to access confidential data. The year 2020 will bring more of these threats, which can be both intentional and caused by human error in ignorance.

5. Beware of Smishing

In the year 2020, as online interactions increases, hackers may make some shift from traditional email phishing to more interactive platforms such as WhatsApp, Slack, LinkedIn, Signal, etc. These are widely used nowadays as a communication medium alternatively to email.

Although it is hard to predict the exact nature of cyber-attacks, the current flow suggests more attacks in similar lines to be accompanied by many new techniques. It is advised for all internet users to use malware protection software to secure the first line of defense.