The exponential development of computing devices has expanded access capabilities for cybercriminals to detect and exploit vulnerabilities in innovative ways. With a medium-grade smartphone now more powerful than the most advanced computers were only a few years ago, for example, cybercriminals can launch powerful and sophisticated attacks at a relatively low cost from a mobile unit while also working from home.
That ease of access goes some way to explain why there is a cyberattack every 39 seconds. As industrial organizations embrace digitalization, inadequate security protection can open up their systems to malicious actors. Criminals today use a wide variety of methods, from commonly used techniques such as phishing and computerized password hacking to more sophisticated operations such as watering hole attacks that deliver malware to visitors.
Increasingly, the same innovative technology that is being used to deliver innovative solutions for common benefit is being deployed in destructive ways to inflict catastrophic damage to infrastructure, business systems, and, ultimately, the citizenry.