7 Cyber Security Threats for 2016

From ransomware to sextortion to the security of IoT devices, cyber security will continue to be a mainstream topic in 2016. Life-saving devices like pacemakers or insulin pumps can also get hacked.

- Govind Rammurthy

The year went by will be remembered as a year of data breach. We witnessed data leaks from Ashley Madison to JP Morgan Chase & Co, and the list can go on and on. There is no magic bullet technology which would stop cybercrimes, but being well prepared to combat such attacks is a wise one. With companies beefing up their cyber security measures in this digital era, eScan team predicts that 2016 can be alarming. There are several security predictions for the coming year as discussed below:

1 Ransomware: Ransomware will be a major threat in 2016. It is one of the easiest ways for cyber criminals to extract money from victims. In 2015, we witnessed Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) hosted on the Tox and making use of virtual currency for payment purposes. This is expected to grow in the coming year as technological prowess will enable cyber criminals to make an attempt to access and use it in hacking users’ computers. In addition to it, ransomware creators would be looking to target new operating systems such as Mac and would be looking for an unpredictable encryption key on linux platforms.