Cyberattacks in 2018 will exploit vulnerabilities says Trend Micro

Cybersecurity solution provider Trend Micro shared insight in a special press briefing into the prevailing cybersecurity threat landscape and gave predictions as to the most likely avenues of cyberattacks and cybersecurity  trends on the horizon in 2018.

“We are constantly scouting out future threats that will have the greatest impact for businesses, and we predict which vulnerabilities will make the biggest waves in the coming year,” said Mr. Goh Chee Hoh, Managing Director of Trend Micro Malaysia at the briefing.

The prevalence of devices connected to the Internet of Things presents new avenues of attack for cybercriminals along with unpatched vulnerabilities in existing hardware. “Many devastating cyberattacks in 2017 leveraged known vulnerabilities that could have been prevented had they been patched beforehand. This trend will continue in 2018 as we see more local enterprises expanding their network connectivity, potentially increasing their exposure to vulnerabilities,” added Mr. Goh.

During the briefing, he elaborated on key points and best practices distilled from Trend Micro’s recently published annual report dubbed “Paradigm Shifts: Trend Micro Security Prediction for 2018” The biggest takeaway is the upcoming trend that last year’s onslaught of ransomware attacks like the infamous Petya will continue and develop into a business model for cybercriminals coming into 2018.

While antivirus and cybersecurity programmes have become more robust and effective, user education remains paramount in thwarting the threat. In Malaysia, internet users are predicted to increase year-on-year to reach 23.41 million active users by 2022.This represents a massive happy hunting ground for cybercriminals. Regardless of name, age, rank or station, internet users have to practice vigilance at all times: users have to avoid opening unverified emails from suspicious sources and ensure that software and operating systems remain up to date to patch critical vulnerabilities.

The next upcoming trend predicted is that Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams from social engineering and other cyberattacks will continue and likely exceed US$9 billion in 2018. Like before, users, especially in highly sensitive or secure vocations need to be both aware and vigilant against potential phishing attempts and social engineering attempts to prevent loss of data or financial loss.

Wrapping up the briefing, Mr. Goh stressed that cybercriminals will attempt to exploit the growing array of devices connected to each other in the Internet of Things, more so with Malaysia’s burgeoning presence in the new digital economy. According to the National Internet of Things Strategic Roadmap by MOSTI, Malaysia is expected to reach RM9.5 billion in Gross National Income by 2020; an impressive figure by any measure. 

To tackle this multi-avenue attack, Trend Micro emphasis multiple interlocking layers of security in any cybersecurity platform that encompasses real time scanning, web and file reputation analysis, behavioural analysis, machine learning and endpoint security which is what their expansive series of security products are able to offer.

To read the report in its entirety, swing by https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/research-and/analysis/predictions/2018