Data breach problems have occurred several times during the last few years. They have affected big businesses and even government agencies and political organizations. It is true that getting connected is increasingly necessary. However, the risks of cybersecurity threats in businesses are also growing expotentially. More businesses are at stake, not only the customer data, but also the intellectual property, company reputations, as well as asset safety.

We certainly still remember the attack of WannaCry ransomware that happened several months ago. Databases of many hospitals in different countries were encrypted, thus denying the access by the owners. Likewise, some cases of data breach from credit card companies also happened lately. Unfortunately, several cybersecurity threats in businesses are overlooked by the owners. When the attacks happen, they are not able to mitigate the risks fully.

Cybersecurity Threats in Businesses in the Experts’ Eyes

Don Steinberg from KPMG Voice lately published his interviews with three experts in cybersecurity industry on Forbes website. They provided some insights on cybersecurity threats in businesses. They are Tony Buffomanto from KPMG, Gadi Evron – CEO of Cymmetria (a cybersecurity service provider), and Leonard Brody – the creator of The Great Rewrite.

Information Security Threats Since 2017

The first question of the interview is about information security threats, which have occured since 2017. According to Brody, the cyber attacks have been more technologically sophisticated. As a result, the attacks are broader and more things become the potential victims. On the other side, Evron views the wider cyber attacks are the results of failure to consider the security aspects of the new types of technology. He even predicts that the medical sector will become the targets in the next three or five years.

Similarly, Buffomante notes the shift from personal information attacks, such as credit cacrd information or Social Security numbers to more destructive ones. His special concerns go to medical devices, implantable and wearable devices.  In other words, there will be more cybersecurity threats in businesses. The account owners or subscribers are required to have personal code to login to their accounts on online store or  online payment systems. The attackers may use the machine learning technology to steal the customer information.

Overlooked Vulnerabilities

When asked about the most overlooked aspects in web-based businesses, Buffomante points out to the security associated with privileged user accounts. Imagine what the hackers can do if they get access to the super-user privileged accounts managed by a business. He said that many tools owned by the businesses were poorly deployed, thus living the privileged accounts at stakes.

Evron mentioned the security problems in internal network. Sometimes, the businesses owners overlook the possibility that attackers get access into the internal network. If this is the case, there will be very little chance to recover from the damage caused by the hackers. Brody showed similar concerns that many businesses fail to anticipate the internal security attacks.

Buffomante, Evron, and Brody provided us with some insights on the cybersecurity issues. The businesses may overlook important security aspects when building their infrastructure. Do not miss their views on cybersecurity threats in businesses in the interviews conducted by Don Steinberg from KPMG on the next post.