2017 TECH TRENDS SPECIAL organisations ; otherwise , they risk dragging down their businesses or getting replaced by service providers that can accomplish what they can ’ t ,” asserted Joe Pucciarelli , Group Vice President & IT Executive Advisor , IDC IT Executive Programs . “ In the new digital economy , CIOs must manage by Leading in 3D : forging an IT organisation that can simultaneously innovate , integrate , and incorporate .”
Security 101
Intel Security has released its McAfee Labs 2017 Threats Predictions Report , which identifies 14 threat trends to watch in 2017 , the most critical developments to watch for in cloud security and the Internet of Things ( IoT ) security , and the six most difficult-to-solve challenges facing the cyber security industry .
The report reflects the informed opinions of 31 Intel Security thought leaders . It examines current trends in cyber crime and makes predictions about what the future may hold for organisations working to take advantage of new technologies to both advance their businesses and provide better security protection .
“ To change the rules of the game between attackers and defenders , we need to neutralise our adversaries ’ greatest advantages ,” said Vincent Weafer , vice president of Intel Security ’ s McAfee Labs . “ As a new defensive technique is developed , its effectiveness increases until attackers are compelled to develop countermeasures to evade it .
To overcome the designs of our adversaries , we need to go beyond understanding the threat landscape to changing the defender-attacker dynamics in six key areas : information asymmetry , making attacks more expensive , improving visibility , better identifying exploitation of legitimacy , improving protection for decentralised data , and detecting and protecting in agentless environments .”
2017 threat predictions The 2017 threats predictions run the gamut , including threats around ransomware , sophisticated hardware and firmware attacks , attacks on “ smart home ” IoT devices , the use of machine learning to enhance social engineering attacks , and an increase in cooperation between industry and law enforcement :
1Ransomware attacks will decrease in the second half of 2017 in volume and effectiveness .
Windows vulnerability exploits will
2 continue to decline , while those targeting infrastructure software and virtualisation software will increase .
Hardware and firmware will
3 be increasingly targeted by sophisticated attackers .
Hackers using software running on
4 laptops will attempt “ dronejackings ” for a variety of criminal or hacktivist purposes .
5Mobile attacks will combine mobile device locks with credential theft , allowing cyber thieves to access such things as banks accounts and credit cards .
IoT malware will open backdoors
6 into the connected home that could go undetected for years .
Machine learning will accelerate
7 the proliferation of and increase the sophistication of social engineering attacks .
Fake ads and purchased “ likes ” will
8 continue to proliferate and erode trust .
Ad wars will escalate and new
9 techniques used by advertisers to deliver ads will be copied by attackers to boost malware delivery capabilities .
Hacktivists will play an important
10 role in exposing privacy issues .
Leveraging increased cooperation
11 between law enforcement and industry , law enforcement takedown operations will put a dent in cyber crime .
Threat intelligence sharing will
12 make great developmental strides in 2017 .
Cyber espionage will become as
13 common in the private sector and criminal underworld as it is among nation-states . www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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