Mobile banking heists, exploited vulnerabilities, and data breaches – these could be the cybersecurity hallmarks of 2014, according to a new report from security software provider Trend Micro Inc.
In a report released in December, Trend Micro outlined a number of eight security risks it’s warning us to expect within the coming year.
Among them were a few highlights:
1) Mobile banking users will fall prey to more “man-in-the-middle” attacks, meaning an attacker will intercept messages and relay them back and forth. That means asking users to follow a basic two-step verification process won’t be enough to keep hackers out.
2) At IT Business.ca, we wrote a number of stories on different phishing schemes and the rise of more targeted attacks. This year promises more of the same, with Trend Micro predicting cybercriminals will be using more and more selective about who they target. They’ll be using open source research and customized spear phishing to reach their victims.
3) There have been some pretty high-profile data breaches in 2013 – among them, Adobe’s database was hacked in the fall, and just this week, a whopping 4.6 million Snapchat accounts were hacked. Trend Micro predicts this won’t be slowing any time soon, with news breaking of one major data breach incident each month.
4) There will be more attacks from hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities in unsupported software – for example, Java 6, or Windows XP, which is set to reach its end of support date on April 8 of this year.
5) The public will start to question the state’s role in monitoring their Internet activity, especially since news of the NSA’s surveillance activities came to light in 2013. The Snowden revelations will lead to a number of “disparate efforts to restore privacy,” Trend Micro says.
While privacy concerns around wearable technology gadgets haven’t yet made the threats list for 2014, in its press release, Trend Micro added those will be something to watch in the next couple of years. That’s especially true for cybercriminals who might want to steal others’ identities.
For the full report on Trend Micro’s predictions for the coming year, head on over here.