Last year 50 million user accounts of Facebook were hacked, and hackers were using Google translate feature to steal data. The users were redirected to the login page through Facebook or Gmail, where their credentials were stolen.

Google blocked the hackers' link to prevent it. In October, the US government claimed it suffered cyber security issues; in November, over 52 million Google users faced data breaches.

Systems connected through networks to the servers, linked to the cameras, recording systems, sensors and keyboards are highly vulnerable to unauthorised entries, leading to privacy violations where the hackers can view the files and corrupt the data.  

Geo-Political and Financial Security Attacks

These attacks are increasing, creating geo-political tensions where countries like Russia have been named as a source for financially and politically motivated attacks.

• With the increase in financial market volatility and the use of bitcoins, the risk of financially motivated crimes is expected to increase where the attackers use ransomware and crypto-jacking. 

• China has been named as the source of commercial cyber attacks during the trade war (as per CrowdStrike Inc. co-founder Dmitri Alperovitch). Iran is also preparing to attack the US in response to the trade sanctions.

• Such mechanisms are increasing globally as the number of smartphone users increases.

• These specialist devices are supported by cameras, voice recordings and sensors and can be taken over by malicious actors to initiate immortal unfixable illegal processes.

• UK government report on consumer data protection found the companies are unable to take security measures to protect consumer data, and there is a need to publish the names of companies not taking steps to ensure the safety of consumer data to combat frauds and identity theft. 

The Australian government is also investigating a breach of the Federal Parliament computer system, which is expected to be under attack through foreign sources. The agencies are trying to find if China was behind the attack. 

Identify the Risks

Cybercrime is increasingly affecting most websites, and it is getting easier and cheaper for its players to interfere and extract information online. The record-setting DDOS attacks and the use of other sophisticated technologies affected many global systems.

With the expansion of IT and the internet of things, devices / new apps across geographical regions need better security systems. Moreover, many private cybercriminals actively intercept data; even nation-sponsored teams are stepping into malicious cyber activities. 

Companies need to adopt stringent security steps to protect data as the criminals are motivated due to fewer physical dangers and risks of arrests in such activities.

Most susceptible are the IoT devices connected to cameras that can send traffic. The IoT botnets can spread worms and malware.

New research in the quantum computing field can help reduce the risks, and many firms are preparing to upgrade their systems by using newer ways to destroy such security risks. 

For more information, contact Mont Digital at www.montdigital.com or email info (@) Montdigital.com.