Cybercrime: An overview of the threat situation
Swisscom's Cyber Security Threat Radar reveals the approach of cybercriminals and shows which attack methods they are putting their energy into. AI-based attacks have gained significant momentum. But there are also other challenges.
Telecommunications service provider Swisscom has published its latest Cyber Security Threat Radar. This publication is intended to serve as a guide and compass for maneuvering safely through the cyber world. The report observes trends and challenges in the cyber world, links and evaluates them, and provides a compact overview of the threat situation and its development in Switzerland by pooling expert knowledge. And the situation presents itself as follows: The number of cyber threats remains unabatedly high. New cyberattacks are reported in the media every day. Regardless of whether it is a large company or an SME, it can affect anyone. Hackers are constantly on the lookout for new methods to improve their attacks.
AI-Based Attacks on the Rise
Accordingly, this year's Swisscom Cyber Security Threat Radar focuses on AI-based attacks (artificial intelligence). These are cyber attacks in which artificial intelligence technologies are used. This enables hackers to carry out their attacks more effectively and efficiently in order to circumvent defensive measures.
Swisscom has observed a sharp increase in threats in this area in recent months. This has to do with the publicly available tools, which have made a real evolutionary leap. These include, for example, the Large Natural Language Model ChatGPT, which was published in November 2022. The AI model was developed to generate human-like text and act as a voice assistant. Cybercriminals have also discovered it for themselves. It can be used, for example, to formulate personalized phishing emails more convincingly. This makes phishing attacks harder to detect and can trick recipients into revealing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links.
Perennial Ransomware
In most cases, phishing is also the gateway for Ransomware attacks - another major challenge for IT security. Hackers penetrate a system via malware, encrypt files and then demand a ransom for their release. Here, Swisscom's security specialists expect a significant increase in multiple extortion, i.e. the combination of several attack tactics such as ransomware, data theft and denial of service. Managed service providers are also increasingly under attack, as they are often willing to pay ransom and their customers can be attacked directly.
Preventing the shortage of skilled workers with internal training
In order to strengthen the resilience against cyber threats in one's own company, it is essential to consider cyber and IT security in its entirety. After all, in addition to technical precautions, well-trained employees and internal cyber experts also play a key role. However, IT security experts are in high demand and hard to find. In a constant battle for talent, a company can get carried away and try to work the labor market that has been fished dry. Another option is to look inward and invest in the further education and training of your own employees.
The report explains more about this and what other countermeasures companies can take in the current threat situation.
Source and further information: Swisscom
