Cyber Risks & Liabilities: Cyber Risks to Watch in 2020

he most effective way to deal with a cyber attack is to be prepared ahead of time so that it is completely ineffective at best and does minimal damage at worst. While it is impossible to know exactly what type of cyber attack will strike and when, analyzing recent trends in cyber security makes it possible to spot trends and plan accordingly.

The Importance of Prevention

Over 28 million Canadians were affected by a data breach in 2019, with 680 data breaches being reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. In addition, the average cost of a data breach for a Canadian business was nearly $6 million. The 2019 calendar year saw record-breaking penalties across the U.S. and Europe for not having robust cyber security arrangements, totalling nearly $2 billion in fines. Notably, the organizations fined were not necessarily victims of security breaches, but were instead found to be compromised by their respective government regulators.

By implementing extensive cyber security practices across your organization, you reduce the chances of becoming victim to cyber attacks and incurring the resulting monetary loss, public backlash and government scrutiny.

The 5 Biggest Threats Expected in 2020

• Targeted ransomware—Ransomware has become increasingly targeted toward specific businesses and industries, particularly toward government and health care organizations.
• Phishing—Phishing has become much more common in the last year, and has even spread from primarily using email systems toward including SMS and other messaging systems.
• Mobile malware—2019 saw an increase in attacks by mobile banking malware designed to steal payment data, credentials and funds.
• Internet of things (IoT) attacks—With the spread of 5G comes new devices connected to the IoT. Each new device connected to the IoT represents another possible entry point for a security breach.
• Internal attacks—One of the most dangerous sources of cyber-attacks on organizations comes from inside the organization itself. Employees with access to important data may cause a great deal of harm if they decide to abuse their access for personal gain, or if they accidentally allow their access to be compromised by attackers.