TALKING BUSINESS
HOLDING SECURITY RANSOM
ESET has released a report with eight researchers examining the speed at which new technologies emerge and attack surfaces widen . In this context , ESET considers where security risks will migrate and what companies , experts , governments and users can do to face them .
An overview of the cyber security landscape for 2017 If 2016 was the year of ransomware , 2017 could perhaps be the year of jackware , as Stephen Cobb suggests . It means that this could be the year in which the ruthless threat of ransomware migrates to other platforms beyond computers and smartphones , whose primary purpose is not data processing or digital communications . Connected cars , as in the situation above , are an example .
However , smart devices will not be the only viable targets acquired through the internet : attackers will surely use it to probe critical infrastructure and will continue to look for ways to cause damage , deny service , or hold data hostage . Attacks on critical infrastructure , which Cobb and Cameron Camp analyze in a section of the report , relate to the compromise of data and services that are essential for systems related to physical , economic or national security . In short : those vital for the everyday stability and development of a society .
And if we talk about things that are vital , what could be more important than protecting the systems that support the functioning of the healthcare industry ? As it becomes increasingly computerised , more practitioners and patients are using internet-connected medical and fitness devices that are full of sensitive information . However , security and privacy are often an afterthought , explains Lysa Myers in her section , indicating that the future of healthcare will possibly continue to bring significant challenges .
There is another sector where device integration is increasingly common : videogames . Cassius Puodzius describes the potential risks of integrating consoles with computers , in a system that is increasingly internet-dependent and could lead to the exploitation of vulnerabilities , or malware infections aimed at stealing personal , financial and even the game play information of gamers .
It is true that the exploitation of vulnerabilities will continue to be an important attack vector , just as it has always been , but we should not lose sight of the trend in this regard . Lucas Paus points out that although the number of vulnerabilities reported in 2016 does not yet equal the number recorded in 2015 , nearly 40 % are critical – and this is a larger proportion than in previous years . So why are there fewer flaws reported , but more of them proving critical , and what does this mean ? In this section ,
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