ThriveDX: Cybersecurity Threats and Strategies in 2023
Once, cybersecurity was only the concern of IT staff members and cybersecurity specialists. These days, that’s no longer the case. Employees at all levels of an organization must be aware of the cybersecurity threats they face, especially in 2023.
In 2023, some of the top cybersecurity threats identified are large-scale social engineering campaigns on social media and deep fake technologies in images, videos, and audio recordings. Critical infrastructure cyberattacks can also disrupt businesses, as well as threats in the metaverse for businesses with a presence there. Organizations can reduce risk by building a security culture through training, like ThriveDX’s cybersecurity training and coding bootcamps.
In this guide, you’ll discover more about the top cybersecurity threats in 2023. Then, you’ll learn how organizations across all industries can implement straightforward strategies to reduce their cybersecurity risks with the help of the right industry partner.
What Are The Top Cybersecurity Threats In 2023?
The cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing from year to year. So, businesses and institutions must always stay up-to-date with the latest developments. Only then can they provide their staff with the proper cybersecurity training required to minimize cybersecurity risks.
As we progress further into 2023, here are 4 of the most pressing cybersecurity threats that you should be aware of:
1. Large-Scale Social Engineering Campaigns
Social engineering refers to cybersecurity criminals’ techniques to obtain revealing information from individual staff members. That information enables them to penetrate computer systems, gaining unauthorized access to whatever they need.
Social engineering is nothing new and has been going on for decades. However, the widespread use of social media has made it much simpler for criminals to target workers, commit scams, and steal privileged information.
In the past, social engineering had to be done up close. In 2023, however, it has become far too easy to lure victims online and from a distance. Worse yet, social media allows people to assume any identity and portray a trustworthy image, all to threaten your business with cyber attacks and scams.
2. Deepfake Audio, Images, And Videos
Older cybersecurity training programs have quickly become obsolete, especially if they don’t address this second threat: deepfakes. Deepfakes are manipulated images, videos, and even sound recordings that make it seem like someone did or said something even though they never have.
Deepfakes originated in the late 1990s but lacked the quality to convince viewers of their authenticity. That’s no longer the case in 2023, as deepfake videos, pictures, and sound recordings have become almost impossible to identify by the average person.
Cybercriminals are expected to use deepfakes even more in 2023 and beyond to trick unsuspecting viewers into believing things that aren’t true. It’s believed that criminals could normalize using deepfakes to spread misinformation or to support the social engineering attacks described earlier.
3. Critical Infrastructure Attacks
Unfortunately, the advancements in cybersecurity threats don’t just threaten local businesses and institutions. Worse than that, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure with their attacks in recent years.
These attacks aren’t just carried out by cybercriminals looking to steal money and resources or hold critical computer systems for ransom. Activist hackers or ‘hacktivists’ also target critical infrastructure. While their motivations vary, what hacktivists share in common is their intent to commit civil disobedience in cyberspace instead of doing so on city streets. With the right know-how, they can disrupt infrastructure like power, water, and government services to attract attention to their cause.
With the increase in these attacks over the past two years, analysts believe these infrastructure attacks will continue, if not escalate, in 2023.
4. Metaverse Concerns
Lastly, cybersecurity concerns continue to grow surrounding the metaverse. There are many ways to describe the metaverse, but it’s simplest to view it as a network of virtual reality worlds connected to each other.
Many leading real-world brands have sought to build their presence in the metaverse and pay top dollar to do so. That, in turn, has attracted everyday individuals to do the same, buying virtual lands and assets using real money.
Unfortunately, the presence of large brands, combined with the social aspects and virtual assets worth real money, has all attracted the attention of cybercriminals.
Crimes like identity theft and stolen data have already become normal in the metaverse. Experts believe there’s plenty of room in 2023 for more sophisticated cybercrimes to occur.
How Can You Prepare Employees For Cybersecurity Threats In 2023?
Reading the list of cybersecurity threats and trends in 2023 can concern everyday users, corporations, and governments alike. However, the situation isn’t completely hopeless.
Whether you run a business or lead an institution, there are plenty of ways to mitigate the cybersecurity risks everyone faces.
The most important thing you can do is to shift the focus to where it belongs. Often, people focus on minor solutions that treat symptoms but don’t help the organization become safer.
Instead, the better strategy is to focus on creating a culture of security that permeates the entire organization. You’ll need a trusted industry partner like ThriveDX to guide you and your team members in the right direction.
ThriveDX, a global leader in cybersecurity training, is the perfect partner to help with that. They provide a vast range of cybersecurity training aimed at reskilling members at all levels of your organization. With a low tuition cost and award-winning solutions, ThriveDX knows how to equip teams to face today’s cyber threats better.
For instance, the coding boot camp facilitated by ThriveDX is one way they’ve helped companies train their employees to learn to code and appreciate the ins and outs of cybersecurity. In doing so, staff members can interact with technology in a much safer way, reducing the overall risk to their organization.
Final Thoughts
Cybersecurity will undoubtedly be more prominent in small and large organizations across all industries. However, while some of the threats occurring in 2023 are already apparent today, there’s no telling how these trends will evolve in the future.
That’s why the most sustainable approach to cybersecurity is to build a culture of security with staff at all levels with the help of a knowledgeable partner like ThriveDX.
