2021 Predictions: New year, new risks?

In 2020, covid-19 has been on everyone’s lips, and it brought on a wave of cyber-attacks which seems to stretch into 2021 with a global cybercrime costs estimated to grow 15% per year over the next five years. When looking at cybercrime in 2021, the predictions aren’t uplifting as organizations will struggle to stay secure as online dependency grows along with the magnitude of cybercrime operations. 

Now you might ask yourself: ‘’What are the main cyber risks going into 2021?’’ You are in luck, because we’ve listed the 3 main cybercrime predictions that you should be aware of: 

Employees working from home will be the focus for cybercriminals

Cybercriminals will take advantage of remote workers following their online habits and behaviors, launching phishing, malware and ransomware attacks. This will turn home offices into new criminal hubs, and we’ll see the consequences of employees letting their guards down. Because there is an 80% greater risk of cyber-attacks when working from home.

Ransomware attacks will continue and get worse

Ransomware will get worse and worse during 2021 with new emerging twists, malware packaging along with very specific targeting of organizations, that can provide a bigger return on investment. Cybercriminals will look for the most sensitive data that when stolen will cause the most harm and result in a higher ransom request. Ransomware attacks in 2021 is predicted to occur every 11 seconds and will mount to $2 billion by the end of the year.

Social engineering attacks

Humans are prone to error and social engineering is one of the biggest security risks we face going into 2021. It has been reported that 93% of business data breaches in 2020 came from employees that unknowingly engage with such an attack and this is not to slow down in 2021 – even less with prolonged home offices. One of the most common tactics from a cybercriminal is to have someone think they are helping someone in need and thereby play on a person’s emotions. 

This is just to mention a few predictions set for 2021 – there are plenty more to be aware of. 

Anything we’ve learned from 2020, you ask? The importance of securing employees is imminent as the inside security risks have been amplified. However, these risks can be eliminated with our security solution, ReTrust, which will secure both customers and revenue. This is done with a high level of accuracy in location detection, user attributes, behavior, device fingerprints and much more, that will help create a frictionless experience, ensure customer loyalty and maintain digital trust. 

Know this: your company are more at risk of a cyber-attack than ever before – the next thing is, if you don’t do anything about it! Protect your loyal customers, because not doing so is not an option anymore.

We will continue to feel the aftermath of covid-19, which have had a tremendous impact on jobs, economic and health. So, this year’s new year’s resolution is to be alert of the damaging cyber threats we face in the digital world, take every precaution and don’t underestimate cybercriminals and their ability to damage your business.