IT leaders struggle to keep up with emerging threats

A new report shows that 95 percent of IT leaders say that cyberattacks are more sophisticated than ever and they are unprepared for this new wave of threat vectors.

The survey, of more than 800 IT and security leaders around the world, from Keeper Security reveals that firms are witnessing AI-powered attacks (51 percent), deepfake technology and supply chain attacks (both 36 percent), cloud jacking (35 percent), Internet of Things (IoT) attacks and 5G network exploits (both 34 percent), and fileless attacks (24 percent).

Many IT leaders also say they lack defenses for these attacks, 35 percent struggling to defend against AI-powered attacks, 30 percent against deepfake technology, 29 percent against 5G network exploits and 25 percent against cloud jacking.

As well as looking to emerging threats the report finds older ones are still an issue. 61 percent experienced phishing, 59 percent malware, 49 percent ransomware, and 38 percent password attacks. 73 percent of respondents report experiencing a cyberattack that resulted in monetary loss. Direct financial impact is one of many consequences of a successful attack, along with business disruption, enduring revenue loss, customer and partner attrition, and damaged reputation.

"Malicious actors are wreaking havoc on vulnerable organizations in novel ways, leveraging emerging technology to execute devastating cyber attacks," says Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder, Keeper Security. "Fighting evolving threats requires constant adaptation, underscoring the need for a proactive approach to cybersecurity -- one that combines advanced defense mechanisms and basic best practices to identify evolving threats and defeat a cyber attack."

The explosion in AI tools has intensified problems like phishing attacks by increasing the believability of scams and enabling cybercriminals to deploy them at scale. 84 percent of respondents say that phishing and smishing have become more difficult to detect with the rise in popularity of AI-powered tools, and reveal that AI-powered phishing is their top concern (42 percent) when it comes to AI security. In addition to phishing, malicious actors weaponize AI to speed up and scale other common attack techniques, such as password cracking.

The full report is available from the Keeper site.

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