Weekly Roundup: How the Cybersecurity Industry Recalibrates in 2021

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PUREVPNPureVPN UpdatesWeekly Roundup: How the Cybersecurity Industry Recalibrates in 2021

It’s 2021, and the cybersecurity industry is seeing a big evolution. 

But how did this happen when just about a year ago, things were, well, different? The short answer is validation. Companies were waiting for validation to invest in cybersecurity after recent major cyberattacks. 

They now know that these attacks can happen to anyone.

Most financial companies are now investing 10% of their technology budget in cybersecurity, on average, and the investment amounts to millions of dollars. That’s just the money part. Let’s drill down to the major changes in cybersecurity over the past couple of years. 

No One Knew about BEC Attacks Until It Happened

A decade ago, there was no monetization or insurance policy for security breaches. There was no single solution to deal with phishing attacks, BEC attacks, or ransomware attacks. After a drumbeat of cyberattacks last year, companies are now investing money in the right place: cybersecurity.

Took them long enough.

Still, the cybersecurity industry is looking for rock-solid ways to combat these potential threats. As the bad guys will keep doing the wrong, we just have to step up and protect ourselves. Quite frankly, these cyberthreats have taught us more than we know. 

We can’t ignore cybersecurity even at the government level because rival countries are trying to sabotage each other every now and them. The United States was the epicenter of cyberattacks and the new US President knows that really well.

Last year’s security breaches are now encouraging companies to take cybersecurity risks more seriously. Twitter got hacked via a Vishing attack that shocked many tech companies, which are now pondering to invest in Vishing as a Service. No one cared much about vishing or phishing attacks until Twitter got into the mud. 

The surprising part is… Vishing and phishing attacks are on the rise and this calls for a loud voice that echoes everywhere. Companies need to be more cyber aware as we step into 2021. 

Standard Security Protocols are Not Enough

Even if your company has invested in reliable security protocols, threat actors can find a way to breach them somehow. Cyberattackers always look for the next opportunity to jump in when you completely shut the door on them. If phishing attacks stop working, they will find another smart and easy way to get a hold of your data. The battle for privacy is a marathon, not a race and we are all a big part of it.   

Internet users, like you and I, know about cyberthreats, but we need more awareness. As a cybersecurity company, it is our responsibility to help you know the dirty hidden secrets of every major attack. We continue to do that every single day with our blog posts and our weekly roundups too. 

Over time, cyberattackers have become more sophisticated and advanced in their techniques. If you have no clue on how to deal with them, you will bend your knees and become prone to even mid-level attacks easily. Fortunately, the cybersecurity trend is becoming increasingly popular. 

Many Advanced Persistent Threats and threat actors are still minting money from companies, that’s why it is our job to make people aware of potential threats and security pitfalls. 

Do You Need a Red Team? 

For those who don’t know about it, a Red Team tests network security, physical security pitfalls, and other online applications of a company. Red Teaming conducts the work of an ethical hacker, in a way, and helps businesses secure their communication streams. 

Moving on, companies should think about collaborating with Red Teams more to learn about existing security protocols. 

A high-level Red Team can help you run an internal phishing campaign. This might sound like a crazy idea but the campaign can tell you a lot about employees who are vulnerable to phishing attacks.  

Get into the Attacker’s Mindset

It’s like an episode of The Mindhunter where an FBI agent tries to understand the mind of a serial killer. 

via GIPHY

Most Red Teams in cybersec companies and ethical hackers try to replicate what a real cyberattacker might do. They put on their thinking hats and try to imagine what a real hacker would do to storm past every security protocol and get their hands on private information. 

They also narrow down their playing field because something that works for United States companies may not always work for French companies. 

The most common thing any companies need to safeguard against imminent threats: 

Follow the trail and figure out what’s important for your company. Data? Communication streams? Stakeholders? Shareholders? Try to think about this existing trail and align your defense strategy and protocols accordingly.  

This is what any cyberattacker would do and think about before triggering an attack. They are going for the golden goose and you have to decide first what’s your golden goose. 

For instance: 

  1. Are you a research company? They might come for your intellectual property
  2. Are you a healthcare provider? They might come for patients’ data  
  3. Are you a bank? They might come for credit card details and online transactions

Ring any bells? We hope that puts things in perspective. 

Further, the biggest roadblock for your company in conjunction with cybersecurity might be saying “No.” You should embrace the changes instead of ignoring them, speaking from a technology standpoint. Companies have to start saying Yes more to changes, cybersecurity communities, and awareness campaigns. 

Learn and Synergize 

The keyword here is synergy. After all, a single company doesn’t have a standalone idea of how to mitigate these consistent threats. Only through collaboration and regular experiments can we become less stagnant and more progressive in our approach against cyberattacks. 

To help companies and internet users, we, the PureVengers, are starting our year with a data privacy campaign. We will explain how mobile applications leach out our data and use it to their advantage and make millions of dollars. Plus, more details on how data is going to replace oil as the biggest commodity in the coming years. So, stay tuned. 

Lastly…

We never chicken out from any cyberthreats and dealt with a few of our own in the past years. Since then, it is our mission to help the internet community to get back their privacy. You are entitled to your privacy rights. The P in PureVPN stands for Privacy. People. Protection. Let’s collaborate, learn, grow, and become more cyberaware than yesterday. 

author

Sameed Ajax

date

November 24, 2022

time

1 year ago

6-Feet Tall Tech writer.

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