With this year 2022 coming to an end, it’s time to know the “Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023” from some of the leading InfoSec leaders of the Indian Industry.
Anil Kamble, Director – Information Technology, LGT Wealth India Pvt. Ltd.
“People within an organisation will continue to be the weakest link in cyber security chain in 2023”
In 2022 cyber criminals and state-linked threat actors continued to exploit organizations’ hybrid working practices, and the increase in these attacks is showing no signs of slowing as the Russia – Ukraine conflict continues to have a profound impact globally. I could visualise three types of cyber security threat which will emerge in 2023, One people within organisation and access provided to vendor resource, second Saas Security and third collaboration tools.
I see a need which should take place in developing a security culture across organizations. Most organizations now recognize the importance of security awareness trainings, and many are shifting their focus from training alone to including behaviour and culture. Building a strong security culture with the backing of executives and the entire employee base will gain positive momentum.
People within an organisation will continue to be the weakest link in cyber security chain in 2023. It looks Sad to read, but people will remain the main source of cybersecurity risk in any organization. Despite all the training, employees are still likely to provide threat actors with an entry point through social engineering, phishing or lapses that include sharing of passwords and log-in credentials. Insider threats from corrupt employees or individuals bearing a grudge will continue to be a serious concern. Threats from employees at partner organizations and third-party suppliers will require continued vigilance and increased implementation of zero trust strategies.
In 2023, along with compromising collaboration tools used by the malicious attackers and phishing attempts against business and personal email accounts would be an everyday threat. Cyber criminals will widen their aim to target business collaboration tools such as Teams, OneDrive and Google Drive with phishing exploits. These are a rich source of sensitive data given most organizations’ employees continue to often work remotely.
Bijender Mishra, CISO, Alkem Laboratories Ltd.
“2023 will be filled with attacks originating from RaaS and extortion groups, possibly intensifying an Extortion-as-a-Service model”
Data encryption and confidential information theft attacks are on the rise. We see two extremes in a growing trend that I believe will intensify in 2023. On the one end, in the infamous Ransomware-as-a-Service, attackers focus on both encryption and data theft. On the other end, extortion groups, such as LAPSUS$ and RansomHouse, breach companies solely to exfiltrate sensitive data without encrypting any files. We believe that 2023 will be filled with attacks originating from RaaS and extortion groups, possibly intensifying an Extortion-as-a-Service model.
Software supply chain security will be a bigger focus for organizations
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in software supply chain attacks. I expect this type of attack to grow as more vulnerabilities in application source code are discovered, particularly in open source software.
The world of tomorrow is a “quantum” one
In 2022 guidelines and standards were made available for quantum-resistant algorithms. In 2023, organizations will start to prepare for a quantum world and this means organizations need to start thinking about things like post-quantum cryptography challenges. While it’s a way off, regulatory groups like NIST and ENISA are urging organizations to start their programs now to make sure they are prepared.
Attitudes toward the “industrial metaverse” will begin to shift
Our Collective attitudes towards the “industrial metaverse” will begin to shift in 2023. Instead of being seen as something esoteric, we will see wider recognition that its key components—the digital shop floor (used interchangeably as a “digital twin” by some) in combination with supply chain automation and optimisation through AI/ML models—are real and relevant, bringing new cybersecurity challenges with it. And with this new attitude toward the industrial metaverse comes the opportunity to drive a deep technological shift as a business change initiative.
Phishing operations will increase in sophistication to bypass MFA
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has long been touted as a “solution” to the phishing problem, but what it really does is force attackers to change tactics. Between easy-to-deploy reverse proxy phishing tools and techniques for abusing OAuth workflows to sidestep MFA and gain direct access to cloud apps, we expect to see an increase in sophistication in targeted phishing attacks to bypass MFA.
Dilip Panjwani, Global Head – Cybersecurity Practice & CoE, LTIMindtree
“The integration of zero-trust architecture with identity tools and solutions for continual validation will be one of the top priorities of organizations”
As we enter 2023, cyber resilience will continue to remain a priority for CISOs and boardrooms alike. As attackers continue to develop new techniques and tactics for compromising organizations, supply chains, and critical infrastructure, organizations will look for ways to defend themselves against ever-evolving cyber threats and prevent regulatory non-compliance penalties.
Here is a look at few trends that will be shaping cybersecurity in 2023:
• New Threats, New Strategies: Cyber Defense strategies will evolve, and organizations will transform their resiliency strategies from reactive to proactive. They will look to integrate security solutions and security data lakes with real-time cyber analytics to build a single pane of glass view and ensure strong integration between IT and cybersecurity.
• Convergence of IT-OT-IIOT: With the growing sophistication of ransomware attacks targeted toward IT and OT infrastructure, organizations will be looking to integrate physical security and cybersecurity and to build an ecosystem of IOT/IIOT/OT and IT for integrated threat defense.
• Shortage of talent will continue to plague cybersecurity efforts: Organizations will continue to build a talent pipeline and partner with MSSPs and OEMs for fulfilling the talent shortage and upskilling the existing talent pool via managed detection & response (MDR) offerings.
• Enforcement of Zero-Trust Security Framework: The integration of zero-trust architecture with identity tools and solutions for continual validation will be one of the top priorities of organizations across industries to reduce potential risks associated with insider threats and compromised identities.
• Consolidation of technology mesh: Consolidating OEM/solution partners will be a top priority to reduce vendor footprint, enable an integrated approach to holistic security with high-level automation, and adopt a platform-based approach relying on AI, ML, and automation, improving response efficiency and reducing the need for multiple cross-skilled resources and focusing on developing SMEs on platforms instead.
• Adoption of best practices and approaches to ensure adherence to data sovereignty principles by major countries: Most CISOs will adopt best practices to remain cyber vigilant and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. They will reevaluate their architecture and solutions to comply with data sovereignty requirements rolled out across various geographies.
Maharajan S, CISO & AVP – IT, Navitas Life Sciences
“As 85% of data breaches involve human interaction, social engineering attacks is one of the most cybersecurity threats”
Today’s security problems are still to be fixed. But evolving technologies and a fast-changing world mean there are new challenges, too in 2023. Technologies such as Web3 and the Internet of Things (IoT) continue to make headway in 2023, they’ll become an even bigger target for cyberattacks and hackers.
When people think of cybersecurity, they typically think about technology and data. But, they should also be thinking about the aspect of human behaviour. As 85% of data breaches involve human interaction, social engineering attacks is one of the most cybersecurity threats. In social engineering, it is simpler to mislead a person than to compromise a security system.
The reality is our IT landscapes have become disparate – we have workloads in the cloud, SaaS solutions, on-premises or hosted, coupled with remote workers and human error. What this means is that you can no longer protect every environment in the same way. So, my prediction in 2023, is social engineering attacks would continue to be high.
A shift in focus to create a security culture within organisations across the globe
The need for security awareness training is now obvious to most of the organisations. Hence it is imperative to evolve from just training to set additional emphasis on behaviour and culture. In 2023, there would be a positive momentum towards building a strong security culture globally.
Regardless of prediction of 2023, cyber security incidents will continue to happen as it is difficult to stay away from each security breach and threats. Hence, my resolution in 2023 is to follow the 5 most efficient aspects of cyber defenders which are Anticipation, Education, Detection, Reaction and Resilience.
Ratan Jyoti, CISO, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
“The need of the hour is Automating the Attack surface Management in order to have a bird eye view on the Virtual Presence of the organization”
The Security Trend of Automating Attack Surface Management in 2023
Attack surface is the exposed Virtual presence of the Organization and all the possible entry points for unauthorized access into any system to carry out activities malicious in nature.
Attack surface management is important because reduced attack surface makes it easier to prevent organization.
Virtual exposure for an Organization can be broadly categorized in the below categories:
1. Website security
2. Network security
3. Brand & Reputation Risk
4. Phishing & Malware
5. Email Security.
As the nature of cyber security attacks are evolving due to enhanced digital footprints of an organization, the need of the hour is Automating the Attack surface Management in order to have a bird eye view on the Virtual Presence of the organization.
It aids an organization be filling out the knowledge gaps as in the present tech world and ever-expanding nature of Business, digital footprints are increasing day by day leading to the enhanced attack surface.
Automating attack surface management helps an organization in discovering, prioritizing and remediating vulnerabilities which can be exploited and aids an organization to act proactively instead of reacting to the incident.
Effective attack surface management software allows us to monitor digital presence 24*7 for newly discovered vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, security and compliance issues.
Additionally, it allows you to quantify your Cyber Risk for the digital presence and grades you accordingly.
In 2023, we can see organization spending a huge amount of money on automating attack surface management to quantify their Cyber Risk based on the digital footprints.