Guessing the Future: Security Threats for 2021 | Total Security

This year that is about to end, it is estimated that in Latin America 42 Malware attacks were received per second, which is a terrifying number!

Now, surely many wonder what is malware? For common users, all malicious software is simply a "Virus" but, in reality, there are different types of Malware that basically try to steal resources from the computer, its user, or both (if possible)

Disinformation and manipulation via social networks: unfortunately, many people give as an "axiom" or "truth of faith", everything that they see on social networks without even trying to find various sources to verify the veracity of said information. Thus, cybercriminals have realized that, with the help of automation ( Bots and the like ) in addition to artificial intelligence, it is easy to visualize campaigns for the purpose of disinformation and manipulation of popular opinion. Surely, for many, this is going to seem like a scene from a science fiction movie, but it is worth thinking about how some actors manage to use the algorithm of a lot of platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and other social networks at your convenience, since this may be "the bread and butter for the next year."

Infections service providers:  a chain is as strong as its link weaker and, therefore, the miscreants will surely try attacking companies that provide software for mass use for accounting, communication and others who, many companies tend to rent to keep the operation up to date. Generally, these service providers have a large number of customers ( users ) and, although they invest heavily in new functions, they tend to neglect cybersecurity, therefore they will be an easy target.

 

Windows 7 full of worms:  Believe it or not, there are still quite a few companies using this version of Windows whose technical support from Microsoft has ended on January 14, 2020, which is nothing more than an invitation for cyber criminals to" act without restrictions ”, since no more patches will be generated to eliminate vulnerabilities in a system that has been on the market for so many years.

Theft of credentials related to entertainment sites: We have been talking for years about the tricks used to deceive users who judiciously pay to access “premium” content but, due to the growing streaming war, the opportunities to trade said Illegal access credentials to platforms have also grown exponentially. For this reason, surely, during 2021 we will see even more threats aimed at seizing this type of credentials to resell them in the Dark or Deep Web market.

Elaborate and focused scams (not so massive): where the victim is accused of having illegal content or embarrassments on his computer, followed by the corresponding threat of subjecting him to public derision and extorting him not to do so. The big difference compared to the attacks that have been seen in previous years will be that those that are to come will be tailored to certain specific markets, such as users of cryptocurrency purchase, sale or exchange sites and As expected, the bank will continue under attack.

Ransomware: this phenomenon of data hijacking to obtain a reward from the prey is not new but, during the year 2020 it had lost relevance in the face of Cryptojacking and other newer threats. However, Kaspersky Lab analysts presume that in 2021 extortion campaigns will take hold again where the victim will be forced to pay a ransom so that their information is not publicly exposed and, thus, prevent their own image and/or companies are affected.

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SIM Swapping: since the emergence of the second authentication factor, cybercriminals have tried to clone the subscribers of their prey in order to carry out illicit activities, such as identity theft or gain access to financial sites with the aim of emptying the victim. This type of threat is presumed to intensify next year.

Cybercrime is an easy way out: due to the crisis in many Latin American countries, many ordinary citizens have found themselves in dire need to move from their place of origin and be employed in anything that generates a daily livelihood. Unfortunately, it is presumed that many of these displaced people will make cybercrime a way of life, even for countries where these threats were almost non-existent.

Extortions directed at companies and large corporations: these types of companies are generally under the magnifying glass of public scrutiny that can penalize them for incidents of data leakage. For this reason, cybercriminals will try to take advantage of this to extort money from the victims,  who will find themselves in the dilemma of choosing between paying the penalty imposed by the law or paying the criminal, causing direct losses to the corporations in the region.