Cyber Threats in the SaaS B2B Ecosystem

With new and advanced technologies coming up in the SaaS ecosystem every day, it is imperative to understand that the accompanying cyber threats can be equally hazardous. Cybercriminals can attack, steal, destroy, expose your data, or gain access to unauthorized assets causing massive losses.

In the Cyber threats 2020 FBI talk by one of the top officials in the cyber department, cyber threats are on the rise in the American business space, and their impact is alarming. Different types of cyber threats have caused businesses to undergo financial, operational, and legal downsides out of the blues.

So to avoid falling for that, you need to deploy the best cybersecurity practices in your business for guaranteed safety. Basically, cybersecurity aims at safeguarding your electronic devices, servers, databases, networks, and any other delicate asset from unwarranted access. So let us see its relevance in businesses—both start-ups and established.

So to avoid falling for that, you need to deploy the best cybersecurity practices in your business for guaranteed safety. Basically, cybersecurity aims at safeguarding your electronic devices, servers, databases, networks, and any other delicate asset from unwarranted access. So let us see its relevance in businesses—both start-ups and established.

Cybersecurity boosts customer confidence

This is perhaps one of the primary reasons why identifying cyber threats and proactively addressing them is so important. It inspires confidence in your clients because they are sure their data is safe when transacting with your firm. That's why every online platform with integrated payment systems will always assure its customers of safety.

Safeguards your business

In the list of cyber threats that we are just about to learn, there are ransomware that can endanger your employees and result in massive losses if they aren't aware. Cybersecurity offers them digital protection.

Higher productivity

Malware and viruses are some of the worst cybersecurity threats because they drastically reduce computers' performance to the point that they cannot work. But with effective cybersecurity measures in place, you can optimize their performance and cut short any possible future attacks.

Protects your website

Cyber threats examples that can severely affect your website include error 404, error 50X, phishing domains, and data breaching. Some may even redirect part or all of your traffic to their websites, resulting in significant losses.

Types of Cyber Security Threats

As we have just pointed out, understanding the different types of cyberattacks and how to prevent them can be the game-changer your business needs. With most businesses switching to online operations, everyone is highly conscious of cyber attacks and the mess they can cause. So let's discuss some of the types of cyber threats with examples where necessary.

Malware

Malware is a software developed to corrupt a device or gain unauthorized control for ill intentions. That's why it is advisable always to install verified software on your devices. FBI listed it as one of the most common cyber attacks in 2019.

Trojans

According to the SBRC's "types of cyberattacks pdf", a Trojan is a form of malware branded safe, but in the real sense, it intends to cause harm to your system. Typically, trojans target mobile devices. Hackers use the software to mine data using your device, delete, or transfer your credentials to their databases.

Ransomware

Skillshare's "types of cyberattacks ppt" points out that ransomware encrypts your data and demands a ransom if you are to have it back. It can range from a trivial attack to a serious attack like the Atlanta Municipal government attack in 2018, which saw it lose over USD 2.6M trying to retrieve their data!

Phishing

The United States DHS's alert on "cybersecurity issues 2020" shows that phishing is one of the most critical concerns during this COVID-19 period. The cybercriminal emails the target person and requires them to follow a hyperlink that then prompts them to enter confidential details. If successful, the data goes to the cybercriminal's database.

Password attacks

Even with the development of highly secure systems, password attacks remain among the top types of cyberattacks in 2020. It can happen in different ways, such as traffic interception, Key logger attack, dictionary attack, "Man in the Middle" (MitM), and thwarting password attacks.

SQL injection attack

SQL injection is one of the most disastrous attacks in the list of cybersecurity threats 2020 for any business. Injecting code into your database can manipulate your website's entire functioning or gain access to your clients' sensitive data.

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks

According to the Imperva Research Labs cybersecurity threats 2019 report, records that by the first quarter of the year, 580M PPS had been recorded—which is the highest ever! So from now on, you can be sure the risk will be even much higher.

Recent Cyber Attacks in the News

Over June and July 2020, the following U.S. cyberattacks news were on the headlines.

Russian Intelligence hackers

The U.S., Canada, and the U.K. governments reported that Russian hackers tried to access COVID-19 information about the development of the vaccine. "The Dukes" alias "Cozy Bear" is said to have targeted medical research laboratories, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies. Fortunately, the responsible security departments responded swiftly.

Students under ransom

There have also been cybersecurity threats to universities during this COVID-19 period using ransomware. Once the cybercriminals acquire students' confidential details, they demand a ransom against which they threaten to transfer it to the dark web. As of now, the authorities are still in the process of addressing the matter.

2018 leakage of U.S. presidential elections information

During the 2018 presidential elections, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) coveted cyber operations that went against four countries—Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran. This news was among the top cybersecurity threats in the U.S. political space and has raised concerns even up to date.

Phishing emails from North Korean hackers

The group emailed 5M+ businesses and individuals in different countries like U.S., U.K., Japan, and Singapore. The emails were COVID-19 themed, although the cybercriminals targeted their credentials, especially their financial details. The good news is that the governments exposed the vice to curb further phishing.

How to Detect Cyber Threats

Cyber threats can be classified into two—known and unknown. Known cyber threats are common, and most likely, you've encountered them in the past. In contrast, unknown threats are entirely strange—they use new technologies and advanced tricks. So to identify a potential cyber threat, invest in your cybersecurity experts so they can develop agile and highly functional programs. Note that speed is critical in cybersecurity.

But before we dive deeper, "how much is it estimated that cyberattacks cost the global economy as of 2020?" Well, in case you had no idea, it currently stands at $173B and is projected to scale-up to $270B by 2026.

So, here's how to identify threats:

Threat Intelligence

Threat intelligence is a simple method of identifying security threats, where you compare your enterprise data with signature data—one that you have encountered attacks in the past. As you can almost tell, this strategy works best for known cyber threats.

It finds excellent applications in technologies such as IDS, SIEM, web proxies, and antivirus.

User and Attacker analytics

To identify risks to data security using this method, you need to monitor both user and attacker engagements. For user engagement, consider a typical example—your remote workers. You can monitor the time they log on, their location, and perhaps the data they interact with. That way, a malicious log in from a different place at weird hours can easily be identified.

Cyber threat hunting

As we've seen for the user engagements, it may not be easy to trace the attacker. So, to take a proactive measure, threat analysts investigate their endpoints and networks from time to time to identify any intrusions.

Deploying different intruder traps or "honeypots."

Since every intruder's obvious intention is to get away with credentials or assets, set up appealing traps that promise some privileges should they perform your target action. Be sure that immediately they interact with the "honeypot," your team a signal is sent to your team a quick action.

Emerging Cyber Threats 2020

IoT technology

IoT comes first in Cyberthreat trends because of three main reasons. First of all, since the technology is still in its early phases, there may not be enough technologies to address some advanced cybercrime activities.

Secondly, at the rate at which IoT is growing, it is almost impossible to develop cybersecurity systems that adapt so fast to the changes.

Lastly, the number of devices is also increasing exponentially—which equally translates to the number of threats.

Deepfakes

Everyone in Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence environment can tell you Deepfakes will be among the most alarming "cyber security attacks 2020" and even afterward. The technology applies AI and ML algorithms on videos or images to manipulate them into something different—which may propagate deceit.

In fact, there have been speculations that Deepfakes may promulgate propaganda in the U.S.'s 2020 elections.

One of the most recent cyberattacks in 2020 that caught the attention of many netizens is Obama's impersonation using FakeApp. The application mimics both voice and gesture as he speaks.

Insider threats

Now that most companies are operating remotely, it is obvious that some employees will want to take advantage. So they may begin to threaten the management anonymously because they have all the information. Some may even threaten to crack your security systems. So, the whole point of insider threats is—attacks from employees.

5G technology

It would be very unfair to wrap it up without mentioning 5G—the era of high speeds, in our "cyber security trends 2020" list. Its large bandwidth and crazy speeds may multiply the avenues of cyberattacks a hundredfold without the right strategies.