The key cyber threats to businesses in 2017

The past year has been a pretty eventful one for many reasons, not least in the area of cyber security which has seen attacks gaining in sophistication and persistence.

If you were expecting 2017 to be an improvement you may be in for a disappointment according to the Information Security Forum (ISF) which is today publishing its outlook for the threats businesses will face in the next year.

The four key threats it identifies will come from the Internet of Things, crime syndicates, end users, and an over reliance on government and regulators. These it says are are not mutually exclusive and can combine to create even greater threat profiles.

"The pace and scale of information security threats continues to accelerate, endangering the integrity and reputation of trusted organizations. In 2017, we will see increased sophistication in the threat landscape with threats being tailored to their target's weak spots or threats mutating to take account of defenses that have been put in place," says Steve Durbin, managing director of the ISF. "Cyberspace is the land of opportunity for hacktivists, terrorists, and criminals motivated to wreak havoc, commit fraud, steal information, or take down corporations and governments. The solution is to prepare for the unknown with an informed threat outlook. Better preparation will provide organizations of all sizes with the flexibility to withstand unexpected, high impact security events".

The threat from the IoT comes with the flood of new devices that will add to the security burden for enterprises as connected devices may be deployed unwittingly without regard to the risks. Organized crime is expected to become more sophisticated and will look to commoditize its operations and diversify into new sectors. Rogue governments are likely to continue to exploit the web too, leading to more damaging and persistent incidents.

The ISF believes that although governments will be pressured to introduce tighter data protection legislation, this will create new compliance headaches for organizations while doing little to deter attackers. It also acknowledges that end users are a key link in the security chain. Businesses of all sizes need to work to embed positive information security behaviors and make all employees part of the security culture.

"The stakes are higher than ever, and we're no longer talking about merely personal information and identity theft," says Durbin. "High level corporate secrets and critical infrastructure are regularly under attack and businesses need to be aware of the important trends that have emerged in the past year, as well as those we forecast in the year to come".

You can find out more in the ISF Threat Horizon report for 2017, available from the organization's website.

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