Emerging Threats in Cybersecurity
By Kyle Dickson
In our current global economy people around the world rely on electronic
communications, commerce, and daily tasks. A fast paced digital realm where all we need is at
our fingertips or just a swipe away is a huge benefit but also a vulnerability. Has the average
person thought of their cybersecurity or what new threats may exist that could disrupt our daily
life? Today we are examining the latest threats in cybersecurity.
Have you ever backed up your data to the cloud or a separate device? While a fantastic
mitigation effort to prevent data from being lost or stolen permanently it is still not bulletproof.
According to Simplilearn the number of threats continue to grow and are numerous in variety.
Most breaches occur due to user errors and phishing attacks. Be sure to constantly evaluate and
update cloud security to minimize or mitigate risk. This can be the mundane of things but what
of the not often thought of vulnerabilities?
One of the emerging threats for 2024 is attacks over the Internet of Things or in layman’s
terms electronic gadgets. When we purchase and set up a device to access our email and other
essentials we rely on the common security measure is a password and username. This extends to
our workplace and home. A frequent practice according to the cyber management alliance is a
company giving work issued equipment such as an iphone or laptop but not encouraging the
user to change their password every so often or utilizing a default password that may be easy to
guess or known to others in the workplace as the one password all employees use. This could
allow a disgruntled employee unleashing a cyber attack of their own or stealing confidential
information that is not meant for public use.
It is recommended that work or personal devices change your password at a set interval
of time to mitigate the chance of a malicious individual breaking into your computer.
Furthermore it is a good practice for you to never allow google or any browser to remember your
password or username. Another vulnerability is one not all think of and one we rely on to get to
work.
We are referring to our cars and vehicles we drive everyday. However, if one considers
this view we realize how connected our personal vehicles are to the internet and can be
exploited. Cars carry fantastic technology but are essentially computer systems on wheels. In the
article written by Simpilearn using sophisticated features like bluetooth a skilled hacker can gain
control of the operating systems of the car itself or listen in on private conversations using
microphones inside the interior. That very threat is why we must move cautiously to improve
cyber defense methods for self-driving cars in the future. The last cybersecurity threat that has
emerged and a hurdle we must overcome is our supply chain.
As a society we rely on supply chains to have what we need when we need it but what if
that were to come under attack? Such crucial items may be our utilities or retail products for
example. A hacker may try to hinder another from access to certain material or in a lot of cases
according to Terranova Security may be after a large financial gain. In the process they may even
have the ability to steal credentials to another operating system. Thankfully the step to stopping
this is by building a cyber security awareness program for employees and building a robust
system over time that will find, identify, and halt threats.
Securing our cyber security is a top priority but emerging threats are ones we can’t
always predict. Advances in artificial intelligence may help us with combating threats but have
their own set of vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Stopping and preparing threats for now
and the future will help protect us from financial loss, data theft, economical harm from both
actors at home or abroad that have ill intent. We can all take preparedness and mitigation
practices that can secure the future
by Kyle Dickson Disaster Program Specialist @ American Red Cross | Emergency Management Talks about #cybersecurity, #riskmanagement, #crisismanagement, and #emergencymanagement
My name is Kyle and I have been in the field of disaster and emergency services for over 10 years. The majority of that being a volunteer for several organizations and for my professional career I am a Disaster Program Specialist in South Florida with a non profit organization. I started volunteering in high school at the age of 15 in 2008 with the Civil Air Patrol in my home State of Rhode Island. It was there where the match was lit for emergency services, disaster response, search & rescue. From there I have volunteered for Community Emergency Response Teams, and joined a volunteer fire department for 2.5 years. At this time I still volunteer for Civil Air Patrol in South Florida as an emergency services officer and an operations support specialist for Clay County West Virginia Community Emergency Response Team working remotely. I look forward to several more years of volunteer work in my chosen field of study.
