This year companies were rocked by over 90 million cyberattacks. In 2017 the number could double. Cybersecurity expert Sameer Dixit explains how new innovation leads to increased vulnerability.
By Dan Patterson | October 11, 2016, 12:43 PM PST
The threat of cybercrime looms ominously over companies and individuals. To raise awareness of the growing threat, October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month in the United States and Europe.
The economic damage caused by cybercrime is massive and quantifiable. In 2016 companies and individuals will be hit by 90 million attacks. That's 400 raids every minute. Nearly 70% of of these attacks will go unnoticed, yet the fallout is massive. Hacking costs companies $15.4 million per attack, according to Sameer Dixit, Senior Director of Security Consulting at cybersecurity firmSpirent.
The incentive to hack is generally financial, Dixit explained. "Cybercriminals buy and sell stolen data at underground black markets. Social Security numbers, bank account info, credit card data, personal identity information, and personal health information are sold," he said, on the Dark Web.
Coupled with emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and self-driving cars, Dixit said, new threats emerge with every new innovation. "Given the increase of internet-enabled devices in the market," he said, "the security threats associated with those devices will also continue to increase."
Dixit shared his predictions for emerging cyberthreat vectors in 2017:
Espionage
Next generation cyberwar is fought on the internet. Every day a new headline, tweet, or alert appears suddenly, and more often than not companies are
