In 2024, cyber threats continue to evolve, and businesses must remain vigilant to protect sensitive data and financial assets.
Cybersecurity should never be an afterthought because cyber risks advance in tandem with the progression of technology. Having adequate cybersecurity is central to business and should be considered as important as any other business policy.
The statistics are alarming
The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2024 shows that cyberattacks are ranked fifth in the current risks landscape at a staggering 39%. In terms of global risk ranked by severity over the short and long term, cyber insecurity in the private sector ranked third in the short term and eighth in the long.
A report from Cybersecurity Ventures forecast that cybercrime damages would skyrocket to over $9.5 trillion worldwide in 2024, with a projected increase of 15% over the following two years, reaching nearly $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.
It is estimated that nearly half of all cyberattacks globally are targeted at small businesses, many of which go out of business shortly after falling victim to a cyberattack.
The rise of cyberattacks in the corporate world
While malware and ransomware pose significant risks to business data, it is business email compromise (BEC) that tops the list as businesses rely heavily on email communication. BEC is a complex form of cybercrime in which unsuspecting employees are manipulated by an impersonator into transferring funds, performing unauthorised actions, or disclosing sensitive information.
Research has show that BEC scams have risen by 20% in 2024. AI-based tools are further impacting this problem by autogenerating BEC content.
According to VIPRE’s Email Threats Trend Report 2024: Q2, 40% of BEC emails were generated by AI. It also reported that 49% of all detected spam emails were BEC emails, attempting to impersonate someone within an organisation in an effort to commit digital fraud.
New attack vectors and vulnerabilities
Cloud-based systems have much to offer, but they are not without risk. Cyber-attackers can easily penetrate vulnerable firewalls, leaving confidential information and data at their disposal.
AI attack tools are easily available on GitHub. While many are used for scanning for vulnerabilities, penetration testing and training AI-based systems, they can also be used to launch attacks such as DDos, phishing and malware attacks.
Common cyber threats and the associated business risks
In this ever-evolving cyber landscape, attackers are increasingly using AI tools to create sophisticated and adaptive attack vectors to target businesses. These include:
Phishing and social engineering
AI-powered phishing attacks have become increasingly sophisticated, capable of generating nearly indistinguishable emails and social engineering schemes from legitimate communications. These highly convincing messages pose a significant threat to organisations, as a single compromised account can lead to both reputational damage and substantial financial losses.
Malware
Attackers can use AI to create new kinds of malware that can evade traditional security measures.
Vulnerability checks
AI tools can be used for automating and accelerating the discovery of possible entry points by analysing datasets to recognise vulnerabilities in systems or networks.
Deepfakes
Deepfakes pose a significant security threat, enabling attackers to create highly convincing audio and video impersonations of trusted individuals. By manipulating these deepfakes, malicious actors can gain unauthorised access or manipulate targets into revealing sensitive information. The increasing realism of deepfakes makes them a particularly dangerous tool in the hands of cybercriminals.
AI Poisoning
Cyber-attackers can influence the training data of AI models to introduce biases or vulnerabilities, in turn compromising the integrity of the AI-based applications.
These kinds of cyberattacks can result in both reputational and financial losses to a business. When clients feel that their information is not secure in your domain, they not only lose trust in your business, but also in the products or services you provide.
Over and above that, cyberattacks can result in interruption to business services, complex and time-consuming system recovery, loss of assets and loss of business.
Cyberattacks increase during holiday seasons
Holiday seasons such as increase cybersecurity threats for businesses. Many of these businesses function on skeleton staff during these times while simultaneously increasing service demands which can lead to unsupervised networks and systems. This is especially prevalent in eCommerce sales.
Most businesses have cyberattack mitigation strategies in place, but they often don’t plan for the increase in hacking attempts and security incidents.
Preventative measures
There are multiple, easy-to-implement measures that businesses can take to mitigate their risk of cyberattacks. These include:
- Strong password protection policies with multi-factor authentication.
- Constant upskilling of employees through training and awareness programmes.
- Up to date security software (antivirus, encryption, firewalls, etc.). It is advisable to set an auto download for any software updates.
- Regular security audits and detailed incident response plans.
Indwe’s cyber insurance offerings
Regardless of mitigating measures, there is always the potential of cybercriminals gaining access to your information, which is why having cyber insurance is a critical component of your risk mitigation strategy. Indwe Risk Services offers cyber insurance and risk mitigation strategies to support your business in defending against cybercrime. Being proactive is vital in order to best avoid the damage caused by breaches.
Taking up cyber liability insurance helps protect your business against internet-based risks. It covers financial losses from data breaches, business interruption, cyber extortion, cybercrime, and third-party liability post data breach.
Indwe Risks Services remains committed to constantly evolving to secure the cyber landscape to protect its clients. Businesses need to be more vigilant now than ever, as cybercriminals are increasingly finding new and innovative ways to circumnavigate the latest defences and take advantage of the security loop holes in new technology.
We urge businesses to assess their current cybersecurity protocols and to reach out to Indwe for advice on cyber liability insurance and other risk mitigation services for cybercrime prevention.
Indwe Risk Services is an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP 3425