New year, new cybersecurity trends!

Every new year means fresh opportunities to grow, test innovative strategies and learn fun lessons. When you go into the new year as informed as possible, you can avoid some of the more painful mistakes that can slow your business to a crawl. 

This year is sure to come with its fair share of surprises, but here are some cybersecurity trends we see that will impact companies in 2023.

2022 Stats To Know About Cybersecurity

Before we peer into the future, let’s look at this past year and how companies fared against the growing threat of cyberattacks. 

Cybersecurity statistics show that the total damage caused by cybercriminals is expected to reach $6 trillion in 2022.

Thanks to advancing technology and cyberattack techniques, cybercriminals are cashing out more than ever with complex and advanced cybercrimes. When they hit their target with the right organization, they can get several thousand or even millions of dollars. 

Cybercriminals can penetrate 93% of company networks.

If you thought your network was watertight, think again. Sophisticated cybercriminals have the tools and knowledge to break into 93% of company networks. That may seem disheartening, but there’s one significant thing to remember. Although they can penetrate almost any network, they will always choose easy wins to save time and energy. 

More than 90% of successful cyber attacks against trades are generated from phishing.

Those emails, phone calls and texts you have to dodge every day? They can cause some severe damage. A vast majority of cybercriminals use some form of phishing to create a back door into the system they’re targeting, and unfortunately, they are often successful. 

Cybersecurity stats reveal that on average small firms invest less than $500 on cybersecurity.

In 2022, the average small firm spent less than $500 on cybersecurity. Many small-to-medium firms and businesses believe they need more money to efficiently cover their bases when creating a cybersecurity plan. In fact, according to one survey, 30% of business owners reported their budgets would need to be increased to ensure proper cybersecurity. However, a significant cybersecurity attack can cause considerable damage that costs firms much more than $500. 

Every 39 seconds, a cyber attack takes place.

With automation and streamlined tactics, many phishing scams and malware files are circulating globally. Unfortunately, this leads to someone falling victim to a cyberattack more than once per minute every day. 

2023 Cybersecurity Trends To Have On Your Radar

The Most Important Protection in 2023 Is an Informed Team

Having ample software, managed services and a full IT team will take you far in your cybersecurity strategy, but it will only be airtight once everyone on your team is informed and knows what to look out for. With the rising threat of sophisticated phishing attempts, tamping down on any attempts that fall through the cracks will significantly reduce the chances of a damaging attack. 

Training, cybersecurity checklists and established verification processes that all team members understand are great places to start. Even seemingly innocuous phone calls can lead to compromised information, so ensuring that everyone from the CISO to customer service reps understands their responsibilities will save you money, energy and headaches in the long run. 

Internet of Things and How To Protect Devices

With every new year comes a slew of new technology to explore. For the past few years, this new technology has included the Internet of Things, in which everyday devices are connected to the internet, and 2023 won’t deviate from that trend. Some of these internet-enabled objects need to be connected to your network to work. While these new pieces of technology can be beneficial and streamline your workday, they can also introduce new backdoors into your system for cybercriminals to exploit. 

When buying into the Internet of Things, one of the best ways to secure your system with these new players is by enacting consistent patch management. This managed service ensures that all applications used by your company are running with their most updated and secure version. 

Software systems we need to operate our businesses come with vulnerabilities — and when bugs are found, the software companies push out updates to fix any issues. But you only get that level of protection when you actually make the update. Those users who don’t install the patches that software companies have released allow their systems to stay vulnerable and insecure.

Work from Home Cybersecurity Needs To Be Permanent

The hybrid workspace is here to stay, even after the pandemic. Most companies trying to offer competitive hiring perks will include a work-from-home option. While most companies have this system worked into their model at this point, 2023 is the time to confirm that it has been introduced to your business model with cybersecurity in mind. 

Secure work-from-home business processes need to be scalable, easily accessible and highly protected. Secure cloud computing will ensure that your authorized personnel can access business operations from anywhere. A virtual desktop ensures users can log in from anywhere and experience the same desktop with all applications in the same state as when the user last logged out. Enterprise mobility services help your employees securely use personal devices for work and stay productive and efficient while moving. Cybersecurity services ensure that no one exploits your sensitive data — and if there is a breach, an updated version of all critical data is ready to be implemented. 

With so many services that can streamline your work-from-home processes, almost any industry can offer some remote perks to their team members. 

International Attackers

We’ve seen it all over the news — Chinese hackers breach an organization’s system, or Russian hackers attempt to impact election results. We don’t just have U.S. threats to worry about. With cybercriminals from all over the globe targeting companies of all sizes, one of the best things you can do to protect your business is to get back to the basics. 

Enabling multifactor authentication is a seemingly small practice that can make a significant impact in stopping malicious international actors from breaching your accounts. Enabling this extra guard against unwanted logins will require anyone logging onto one of your platforms or applications to complete an extra level of authentication before logging in, sending a code to a trusted email, phone number or device. 

Even if one hacker gains access to a compromised account, the multifactor authentication will stop them from making it into your system without your knowledge.

Even More Advanced Phishing Threats

In 2022, the FBI reported that more than $43 billion has been stolen through compromised business email accounts since 2016. Phishing is the most prominent cause of compromised accounts. Email scams that were once easily identifiable are now increasingly sophisticated and tough to suss out. 

With access to personal information like names and professional context, or even phone calls that back up the original scam, it will be much easier in 2023 to get tricked by these scammers. Your best protection against this cyberattack is understanding the signs and never clicking on links or files from an email you don’t completely trust. Keep an eye out for weirdly spelled email addresses, poor grammar and suspicious requests in any email in your inbox. 

The Threats Can Come from Inside the House

Let’s face the facts — not all employees will be 100% satisfied with their job, perfectly competent or loyal to the company. Whether driven by disgruntled employees, money-driven schemes or innocent user error, many threats you need to watch out for are happening within your team. 

While user error and employee blunders are inevitable, there are systems you can enact to cut down on the damage employees can cause, both innocently and maliciously. Off-site backup options keep your data safe and secure if something happens to your system. If something happens in your office or to your data, you can quickly recover files and necessary information from off-site storage. Proactive maintenance services ensure users who try to perform unauthorized actions are detected in time and prevented, software licenses are kept current and piracy is prevented.

MDL can help

MDL’s enterprise mobility solutions will ensure that your company is prepared to create a streamlined and productive work-from-anywhere culture. From safe cloud storage to a 24/7 help desk, your employees can do great work from wherever they are. 

Rely on the Professionals

A long list of security measures and responsibilities can help protect your data, and it can be overwhelming to take it all on internally. However, MDL can handle your entire enterprise mobility system, so you can rest easy knowing your sensitive info is in good hands. 

Many assume that outsourcing their technology needs comes with a hefty price tag. However, with affordable solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries, MDL Technology is there for your IT needs every step of the way. Contact us today to learn more.