While many believe another global pandemic, inflation, or a widespread natural disaster will be the catalyst for an economic collapse, others say it is the lack of cyber security. Many financial institutions are at risk of being destroyed from the inside. 

The global reaction to cyber security has been questioned quite a bit recently. Large-scale hacks have been on the rise, with some banks fighting off hundreds, sometimes thousands, of cyber security threats every day. Personal security tips and extensive scale protection are needed to combat these attacks. 

Threats

Hacks and takedowns have been commonplace since the dawn of computing. However, as technology is advancing, these hacks and security threats are simultaneously  becoming more advanced. 

The majority of these attacks aren’t committed by someone angry at the world and who wants to “stick it to the man,” but by large groups, with endless resources and time. These are the groups that we need to be worried about. 

Governments and financial institutions are constantly defending themselves against these attacks. While 98% of them are stopped, many succeed and threaten society as a whole. 

Social engineering threats are still rampant. While many of us can recognize a scam email, there are just as many people who can’t. Considering how many of these emails are sent every day, the number of successful hacks or phishing is astonishing. 

Ransomware accounts for 22% of cyber security threats and costs financial institutions and governments billions. DDoS attacks are also becoming increasingly popular, with over 4.3 million attempted DDoS attacks alone in the first half of 2020. 

These are only some of the few threats that institutions and individuals are dealing with daily, and how the world reacts to them will determine if long-term protection is even possible. 

Response 

The first thing that many individuals and institutions are doing is to better understand all the possible risks and how to deal with them effectively. You can’t defeat an enemy if you don’t even know who or where they are. 

The use of AI is also becoming increasingly popular. AI is easily the best way to spot a potential threat and then deal with it immediately. AI can also learn, which is proving to be most valuable. 

AI technology is advancing rapidly in multiple sectors, but it is proving invaluable in cyber security. As mentioned, it can spot threats quickly, automatically process the danger, understand it, and deal with it more quickly and effectively next time. 

Since the pandemic’s beginning, the need for more advanced cyber security has increased over the past 12 to 18 months. With so many people working from home, not on secured lines as they would have at their office, the danger has increased. 

On a micro-level, down to individual employees, the need for cyber security needs to be emphasized. It is much easier for a would-be hacker to gain access to an employee’s laptop than to get into a company’s central system. 

More businesses and institutions realize the need for more money and resources for cyber security. This money is also being directed at creating new systems to deal with threats, as the current ones aren’t cutting it anymore. 

As mentioned, the advance in technology is a double-edged sword. Cyber security will improve, but the threats will adapt. Getting ahead of the curve should be the primary goal instead of simply keeping up. 

Another step that is being taken is on a much broader scale. The strongest countries on earth are coming together to form a unified response to the threats instead of everyone doing their own thing. 

This will allow the pooling of resources and expertise and a more holistic approach and solution. Once again, if you are fighting an enemy, having twenty armies on your side is much better than fighting by yourself. 

There is also the beginnings of a “911 for cyber security threats”. Countries and governments need to have access to the resources and personnel required to deal with a threat and know who to call in the event of an emergency. 

The Future 

The scale at which these attacks are performed makes it incredibly challenging to predict when another one will happen or how big it will be. Underestimating these attacks could have dire consequences. 

A better understanding of the threats is critical to being able to deal with them. While there are many issues that governments and countries face daily, cyber security needs to make its way to the forefront. 

As mentioned initially, cyber security threats are no longer small-scale operations but fully-fledged armies of online attackers who spend all day and all night trying to find and exploit weaknesses. 

At a national and international level, more practical protocols need to be developed at a pace because the threats aren’t slowing down or getting weaker; their strength and effectiveness need to be matched. 

A mass response is needed if these threats are going to be dealt with, and at the current rate of attacks, this is quickly becoming essential.