The growing sophistication of cyberattacks continues to affect organizations in every sector. In addition to well-known cyberattack techniques, new attack vectors are emerging worldwide. Therefore, organizations must stay vigilant and secure against cyberattacks, from ransomware to insider threats.

Cybercriminals usually consider small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) easy targets due to their poor cybersecurity infrastructure. Reportedly 33% of SMBs will experience security breaches every three months and face around one week of business disruption by 2024.

Below is a list of prevalent cyber threats that SMBs must be aware of in 2023.

1.  Software Supply Chain Attacks (Leveraging Zero Days)

In a software supply chain attack, the malicious actor infiltrates the software vendor’s network and compromises it before the vendor is aware of the vulnerability (known as a zero-day attack). These attacks are increasing due to open-source vulnerabilities in the software supply chain. They are particularly dangerous because even a single compromised application or code can affect the entire supply chain and lead to widespread and damaging effects.

2.  Multi-Factor Authentication Attacks

Also known as multi-factor authentication fatigue attacks or MFA bombing, MFA spamming attacks refer to a social engineering strategy. Here, the threat actor runs a script attempting to log in repeatedly with stolen user credentials, leading to a continuous stream of MFA push requests to the target victim’s email, phone, or registered devices. The goal is to break the target’s cybersecurity posture with constant MFA prompts.

3.  Targeted Deep Fake Compromises

Cybercriminals use AI-generated media to deceive viewers, listeners, and technology systems. Additionally, cybercriminals will continue to leverage targeted deepfakes to impersonate decision-makers and lure unsuspecting employees into facilitating malicious activities. Unfortunately, deepfakes technologies are readily available to anyone on dark web forums.

4.  Misconfiguration Cloud Solutions

Organizations use cloud-based software solutions and cloud storage for convenience and off-site security. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are always searching for misconfigured cloud assets, as they are a potential doorway to the theft of location data, passwords, financial information, contact details, health records, and other sensitive personal or business data. The complexity of cloud-native platforms, limited expertise, and failure to change default settings are some of the main reasons behind cloud misconfigurations.

5.  Poor Security Compliance (Lackluster Policies and Procedures)

Compliance with leading cybersecurity standards and regulations represents an organization’s commitment to safeguarding its business and customer data. However, reports show that 51% of small businesses need better cybersecurity compliance structures. Moreover, the absence of incident response plans, policies, and non-compliance with cyber regulations result in weakened infrastructure and heavy fines in case of security breaches.

6.  Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware attacks are poised to be a significant threat to SMBs in 2023. Cybercriminals consider these organizations as low-hanging targets due to their poor cybersecurity posture. Attackers today use increasingly automated processes to infect systems, encrypt data, and deliver hostage letters in minutes. These usually involve a multistage infestation of IT systems resulting in a ransomware attack.

7.  Insider Threats

In cybersecurity, insider threats are those security risks that originate from within a targeted organization — involving the individuals associated with it. The malicious insiders intentionally abuse legitimate credentials to steal information on behalf of threat actors seeking financial gain. However, the careless insider threat comes from an innocent individual who unknowingly exposes an internal system to outside threats.

8.  Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attacks

BEC attacks involve spoofed emails that appear to originate from a trusted source, such as a company executive, employee, or vendor. Here, the imposter asks the recipient to transfer funds urgently and uses manipulative social engineering techniques to urge the victim to take quick action.

9.  Targeted Phishing Attacks

Cybercriminals masquerading as legitimate sources in phishing attacks entice users to click or download malicious links or files. Unfortunately, many employees still need to learn cybersecurity best practices, so there are high chances of opening malicious emails and unleashing malware. In addition, phishing attacks continue to be challenging to tackle as they use social engineering to exploit human weaknesses rather than targeting a technological vulnerability.

10.  Data and System Poisoning

While organizations are turning to AI and machine learning to improve their cybersecurity posture, cybercriminals are using this technology to launch attacks themselves. For example, data poisoning is an emerging cyber threat where malicious actors tamper with machine learning training data to manipulate its ability to produce accurate predictions.

Conclusion

The cybersecurity landscape is fast-changing, and the best way to tackle it is to ensure the robustness of your organization’s cybersecurity defenses. As more organizations move to a digitalized ecosystem, strengthening their cybersecurity posture should be a requirement to safeguard their business from cybercriminals. Increasing cybersecurity awareness, enforcing cybersecurity best practices, and implementing well-designed policies across the organization are steps toward achieving cybersecurity resilience.