Top cybersecurity threats for 2021, find out!

In 2021, online activities are expected to continue to increase, which means more threats. Let’s learn how to combat the top cybersecurity threats.

One of the consequences of the year 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic was the popularization of digital activities; from leisure to education, health and employment; were many of the activities that went online due to the circumstances that were occurring at the time. And such was the impact this had on society; that many companies adopted a digital transformation if they wanted to stay in business; so they should know the top cybersecurity threats.

Thanks to this fact, and with the increase in Internet traffic; criminals and hackers took advantage of this fact to cause an exponential increase in the number of cyber-attacks on a global scale. In many countries, cyber-attack rates increased by more than 50% and, to a large extent; it was businesses and companies that were among the most affected by these attacks. As a result, they were forced to make large investments in technology and cybersecurity; since in 2021 it is expected that cyber-work and e-commerce will have even more growth.

Top cybersecurity threats

Cybersecurity by 2021

Although some countries still have measures of social isolation; in general the world is already preparing for a return to the new normality; and one of the most important aspects is that, although we can again have contact with the outside world without fear of catching the coronavirus; the reality is that for many companies, working online or from home has become a more economical and efficient way to carry out their activities.

Therefore, experts predict that online work, instead of decreasing, will increase and eventually become a new modality; as well as the hybrid form (online/online) for 2021 and beyond. And although for some companies this may be a benefit; there are others that have not fully adapted to the new online mode and thanks to this; attackers have been able to exploit vulnerabilities to take advantage of it.

In this sense, not only companies suffered damage, but also ordinary people, government agencies, hospitals and others; have been the most vulnerable to hacker attacks; which range from malware such as Phishing or rasomware, to attacks such as brute force and DDos.

And although efforts have been made to try to curb this type of threat, for many people today; they are still vulnerable to this type of attack. Mainly individuals and companies that are just starting to venture into this digital modality; therefore, they still lack the knowledge and technology to avoid this type of inconvenience. Being one of the favorite victims for attackers, since generally; this type of Internet users have accounts with weak and easy to steal passwords; are easy to fall into phishing and do not have a cybersecurity software that identifies and protects from threats.

Top cybersecurity threats in 2021

In terms of cybersecurity, in 2021 it is expected that online activities will continue to increase in size and demand; and as we well know, this could bring consequences such as the emergence of cybersecurity threats for users. That is why we must know what they are and what is the most effective way to protect ourselves; at the top of the cybersecurity threats are:

Rasomwares

Rasomwares were one of the malwares that caused the most impact during 2020. From ordinary people to sophisticated companies have been victims of this type of attacks; in which the authors of the malware claim that; once the virus enters the target, it encrypts all the victim’s files; to later ask for money in exchange for the return of the information.

And that is why it is one of the threats that we should be more cautious of, since in addition to being able to lose huge amounts of money; it is very difficult to recover the information without the help of the hacker who is the author of the rasomware. Due to the development of new technologies, this type of attack has an advanced encryption system, which makes it almost impossible for us to recover the information on our own; an example of this is the Regret Locker.

Other Top cybersecurity threats: Phishing

Continuing with the top cybersecurity threats; phishing is one of the most well-known malwares globally and although for many it does not represent a major danger, phishing still causes many losses of data and information on a global scale. And although certain methods have become obsolete in phishing attacks, still the most common way for this malware to enter our devices is through fake emails and visits and downloading files from unsecured sites.

For this 2021, one of the most expected attacks is through the false offer of vaccines and medicine against Covid-19, this is why we must be cautious and only seek information from safe and/or reliable websites.

Attacks on information in the cloud

One of the ways in which our data can be vulnerable is if we store it on a site with a low or very low level of security, or similarly, even if the site has a more robust security; hackers may try to access it if we do not have a two-step authentication system and have a weak password.

So this is one of the aspects that we must strengthen the most if we want to prevent all these threats.

Q “shing”

Another threat that is part of the Top Cybersecurity Threats is the Q “shing”. During the year 2020, following the boom in online shopping, QR codes also became popular, due to their wide range of functions and their application on smartphones. In many places when making a payment, the bank details of the site are reflected in a QR code.

Thanks to this, one of the scams that has become more popular in recent months; has been the impersonation of the real data of the owners by the data of the scammer, simply by changing the QR code, so that many times payments are made to the scammers without the victims even realizing it.

There are many more threats that threaten our information and integrity; so if we want to prevent them we must be constantly investigating and researching about the possible threats and how to protect ourselves. In addition, the best option will always be to make an investment in technology and cybersecurity; although it may seem excessive in the short term, in the long term it will always prove to be our best option.


Interesting related articles: Why are low-rating vulnerabilities important?

Other articles that may interest you: How COVID-19 changed technology.