Top 3 Cybersecurity Trends Hackers are Targeting in 2018
As relentless as hackers are in today's vast landscape of social media networks and all-time-high Internet traffic, they seem to have backed off the traditional targets of desktop computers and inched towards newfound platforms. The trends of today's hackers are very different from those of yesterday, and it's mostly due to the changes in tech.
Possibly one of the better ways to get a full grasp on what the emerging and top trends for hackers in 2018 is to look to the annual Black Hat and DEF CON security conferences. The conference events, currently taking place this month, is where experts in the tech field converge and cover a wide range of new hacking research. The twin hacker conventions are an excellent predictor of the emerging trends of the cybercriminal and hacker communities. Possibly the ultimate takeaway from the events will be our top 3 cybersecurity trends to watch from the mobile field and connected devices realm.
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#1 Top Cybersecurity Trend Targeted in 2018 – Smartphones
Let's not beat around the bush. Smartphones are an integral part of virtually everyone's life in one way or another. Smartphones and the many variations of mobile devices have long been on the minds of hackers. Though, it isn't until now that hackers are wising up and realizing that smartphones and mobile devices are prime targets for attacking. Such devices can be accessed through vulnerabilities and exploited in ways unfathomable just five years ago.
People utilize their smartphone devices that are always connected to the Internet to conduct all sorts of activity, such as checking their banking account, paying for items at the checkout line, storing personal information, or sending private SMS/Text messages. During the Black Hat and DEF CON security conferences, experts are concluding that smartphones are a critical technology for hackers and during the proliferation of so many fake apps they look to be one of many gateways to attacks. Not to mention, the Android OS has been more open than say Apple's iOS leaving gaping holes within malicious apps circulated over third-party sources.
#2 Top Cybersecurity Trend Targeted in 2018 – Malicious Apps
While smartphones are a hot topic at both the Black Hat and DEFCON events this year, the proliferation of apps is a trend that is expected to be highly targeted throughout the rest of 2018. Just as we said in our #1 Top Cybersecurity Trend in 2018, mobile apps will be one of many gateways to hacker attacks that may force an emergence of new antimalware apps or general security features to protect smartphone devices.
Malicious smartphone and mobile apps have long been a nuisance for device users. Though, in the recent years, especially in 2018, malicious apps have taken on a new face where hackers can plant the apps and attack devices through back-end networks and services. The traditional method of offering a malicious app disguised as a legitimate one in hopes smartphone and mobile device users will eventually download it looks to be a thing of the past. Now, as the talks at Black Hat will show, there are new techniques for spreading malicious mobile apps and directly attacking the LTE networks, mobile point-of-sale systems, and of course, the mobile operating systems like Android and iOS.
#3 Top Cybersecurity Trend Targeted in 2018 – Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
The Internet can be thought as a galaxy in the universe, a nearly endless vat of masses that harbor data. Within those masses are devices that communicate with one another only to transmit vulnerable data that hackers seek to grab to either control, manipulate, or collect for malicious purposes. Certain new "connected" devices (IoT – Internet of Things) that share such data are often found to be in growing in popularity. IoT devices are now found in homes where they operate to make a house "smart" or integrate many devices into a centralized control hub that can all be controlled with a mobile device or smartphone.
IoT devices present a money stream for hackers who look to leverage devices that may be outdated or run outdated software/firmware. The controversy surrounding spying on people comes into play with IoT devices where hackers at the Black Hat and DEF CON events uncovered methods for attacking such devices. For the first time, a comprehensive study of IoT malware will be presented at the Black Hat event potentially revealing many methods for successfully attacking IoT devices using sophisticated malware.