Even knowing about modern cyber risks on the Internet, people don’t take them seriously and think that such threats won’t affect them. This is a natural reaction of our brain – we ignore the dangers if they don’t threaten us right now.
However, cyber threats are very real and can cause serious problems. Hackers literally hunt for any personal information of Internet users to use this data for their purposes.
Here are just a few examples of what exactly can happen to users due to hacking:
- As a result of investment fraud, each victim lost an average of $70,811 in 2022.
- The city of New Orleans lost more than $7 million due to a cyber attack in December 2019.
- In 2017, global international shipping company Maersk lost $200 million to $300 million due to the NotPetya ransomware.
- In 2020, US healthcare organizations lost about $21 billion due to individual ransomware attacks.
As you can see, anyone can become a hacker victim – from an individual user to large corporations and even entire cities. And the financial loss can be enormous.
So, are you ready to lose 70 thousand dollars or more due to the poor cyber protection of your gadgets? Probably not. Then, you should take the problem more seriously and think about your safety.
To do this, let’s first understand what methods hackers most often use to get to your data.
Biggest PC security threats in 2023
It’s sad, but very often hacker attacks are successful precisely because of the naivety and inattention of users. People forget about the existing threats and do not take any action to protect themselves. In addition, they are easily deceived. That is why the most common type of cybercrime is phishing.
The top five crime leaders look like this:
1) Phishing.
2) Non-payment.
3) Personal data breach.
4) Identity theft.
5) Extortion.
Now let’s understand how these and other types of scams work.
Email still causes a lot of trouble. For hackers, this is a fairly simple and cheap, but effective way to cheat.
For example, they send emails with links to phishing sites. Also, such letters can be a point of entry for ransomware. A careless user just needs to open the letter – and the malware will be launched. Fortunately, the scale of damage, in this case, is quite low – an average of $136.
Investment fraud and data theft in businesses have a completely different scale. While casual audiences often suffer from phishing, these cybercrimes have clearer targets. To achieve the desired result, the hacker needs to make more efforts and more closely study the potential victim. The same can be said about DDoS attacks when attackers want to stop a particular site from working.
- Every year the level of cyber threats only increases.
- There are more gadgets in every home, which means more opportunities for hackers.
- During the pandemic, many people began to work remotely, so online communication is more active. For example, there are more emails sent every day. This increased the risk of phishing.
- The age of users has also changed a lot. Now gadgets are used even by small children who don’t know anything about cybersecurity, and older people who are poorly versed in modern technologies.
Also, be aware that many malware is now polymorphic, meaning they change their code to evade detection.
Risks and dangers of the AI
Artificial intelligence as a cyber threat is worth mentioning separately. Software developers are already starting to use AI in their work. And part of this process is machine learning.
For example, you can teach AI to find malware. To do this, you need to explain what exactly you consider malicious. You give artificial intelligence concrete examples that it compares and draws conclusions. The next time it notices a program with similar parameters, AI will notify you of suspicious software.
But what if hackers manage to influence the learning process of AI? What if they can change the data, based on which the AI will draw false conclusions? Experts believe that this is quite possible. This means that artificial intelligence will not work correctly and hackers will get a loophole with which to commit cybercrime.
This is just one of the possible examples. There can be many more ways to use AI for criminal purposes.
Top user security and protection software
Now you see and understand existing cyber threats. How to protect yourself from them?
First, try to learn as much as you can about at least the most common ways of cheating on the Internet so that you can see the danger in time and avoid it. Secondly, install software for cyber security on your PC and mobile gadgets. That will help you detect malware and protect your data.
1) Computer Antivirus.
This is the first step in protecting your PC. Malicious programs enter your computer in a variety of ways. You just need to accidentally go to an unfamiliar site or connect someone else’s USB drive to launch a dangerous virus. And you will not be able to track the threat yourself. Only antivirus programs can help you (Microsoft Defender, Norton LifeLock, Bitdefender, Malwarebytes, etc.).
2) Anti-Spyware Software.
Spyware can get a huge amount of personal data just by watching you. What sites you visit, who you chat with, what files you send and receive, what passwords you use, etc. Don’t you want to share such information with hackers? Install SUPERAntiSpyware, Spybot, SpywareBlaster or any other similar software.
3) Anti DDoS Software.
This is a must for all website owners, from small local companies like Good Zone to large corporations like Maersk. Absolutely any online resource can be under the threat of a DDoS attack. As protection, you can use Indusface AppTrana, SolarWinds Security, CloudFlare, Incapsula, Akamai, AWS Shield Analyzes, etc.
Also, we advise you to pay attention to network security, database security and mobile security. Install on your computer the best security software that specializes in each of these areas. This will help you protect your data from leakage.
Conclusion
To date, the United States is in the top three in terms of cybercrime density (the ratio of the number of victims per one million Internet users). This means that despite all the warnings of experts and law enforcement agencies, the inhabitants of the country are still rather frivolous about protecting their data and cyber threats. And even the numerous examples of victims who lose huge amounts of money due to hacker attacks don’t teach people to be careful.
Experts believe that in 2023 the number of cybercrimes will increase, as the world becomes more digitized, there are also more Internet users, but they neglect computer and network security. In turn, hackers are actively developing their skills and finding new ways to cheat. The amount of malware is also growing rapidly.
In this regard, we remind you of the simple rules of information security:
- Use only a strong password – combine letters, numbers and other symbols. Forget qwerty!
- Think twice before spreading any information on the Internet, for example, on social networks.
- Do not click on unfamiliar links attached to emails. Do not open suspicious emails at all.
- Be careful when connecting to unknown Wi-Fi. Hackers can create an access point to find out the data on your gadget.
And, of course, don’t forget to regularly update the software for cyber security that you have installed on your computer.
