The past year has been an interesting one in the world of cyber security. Mobile malware has become a large-scale threat, government surveillance has users asking “does privacy still exist”, cybercrime continues to steal money from individuals and businesses, and new targets for hackers like AIS and SCADA have been identified. 2013 was many things, but boring was not one of them. So, what do we have to look forward to in 2014 and beyond?
“We expect mobile malware to not just keep growing, but to indirectly affect other platforms and devices as well. Consider how we’re using our smartphones not just for banking, but for authentication (using either apps or text messages). It’s a logical step forward that cybercriminals will systematically go after these as well. 2014 will be about mobile banking. Two-factor authentication is not a cure all – while it can improve IT security, it also introduces new attack vectors that have to be considered and make secure as well. Mobile was the “next big thing” a few years ago. What about today’s “next big thing”, the Internet of Everything? Attackers and cybercriminals always go where the money and the users are. In the absence of a “killer app” that will get most users to welcome it with open arms, the Internet of Everything is probably not going to see much in the way of threats – for now” commented Dhanya Thakkar – Managing Director, Trend Micro for India & SAARC.
What is going to see threats are old systems – specifically those running Windows XP? By the time Microsoft stops supporting Windows XP next year, more than twelve and a half years will have passed since it was released. In the world of technology, that is an eternity. Unfortunately, however, many businesses are still using Windows XP. Once the patches stop being released, they will have no protection from Microsoft against zero-day exploits. We just saw a new zero-day target only Windows XP and Server 2003; there are certainly more that haven’t been used or discovered yet.
