Hackers are always on the prowl for sensitive business data. Current forecasts of information security threats suggest that data breaches and cybercrime will continue to menace enterprises large and small throughout 2018. Worse still, cybercriminal tactics are evolving in consequential and ingenious ways that cost businesses an average of $3.62 million per data breach. Here are some of the most hostile IT security threats to prepare for and why working with tech recruiters can improve the potency of your cybersecurity strategies.

Security Flaws in Your Processors

As the New Year began, security researchers stumbled upon serious CPU vulnerabilities in the Intel, AMD, and ARM processors. Because most devices are equipped with a processor from one of these three ubiquitous brands, this might very well be the mother of all information security threats in 2018.

In a nutshell, the flaw takes advantage of a practice that the big processor manufacturers adopted to maximize processing speed. Computer chips are equipped with speculative execution, where they predict the commands and requests that will come from users’ applications. If the prediction is inaccurate, the speculative code gets undone, sent to the trash, and replaced by a new one.

That means passwords and sensitive data can be queued up by computers unprompted, letting hackers spoof instructions to prompt speculative execution or dig through the trash to get around cybersecurity measures. From individual machines to servers shared through cloud services, information can leak out to unauthorized parties if quick and effective responses are neglected.

What is being done to counteract this problem? For starters, companies like Amazon and Googlehave implemented security patches to minimize the threat to cloud services and keep client data safe. Other vendors should be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine vulnerabilities and next steps. Beyond that, companies will need to review their processors, operating systems, and hardware to gauge their susceptibility to IT security threats before taking mitigating actions.

Cybercrime-as-a-Service

Hackers are now slashing the difficulty it takes to start a career in cybercrime. In the tradition of the “Anything as a Service” model, hackers and crime rings are increasingly selling tools and services that enable IT laymen to effortlessly compromise data. No longer do the people pursuing your data need to understand how to write code, navigate network security, or play around with social engineering. They just need to pay to play.

One example has been seen through the rampant spread of ransomware. Criminals are able to purchase ransomware which they can embed in links or even potentially release like the autonomous, self-spreading Petya malware from last year. With more instances of ransomware in the hands of more criminals, the scope of attacks can harm more businesses.

For companies to boost their immunity to these types of threats, their cybersecurity strategies need to be proactive and preventative. Very few types of ransomware can be removed once they lock or encrypt your data. Creating secure backups and establishing recovery protocols reduce the sway hackers have over your business. Additionally, anti-ransomware projects like No More Ransomprovide cybersecurity education, resources, and the occasional decryption tool for some already-cracked malware strains.

Most importantly, your business needs to anticipate the ongoing upsurge of cybersecurity threats and have a response team ready to defend your IT assets from a variety of angles.

Artificial Intelligence Turned Swindler

Machine learning is being weaponized to steal your data. Studies have found that AI using phishing tactics on social media had a 30% to 66% click-th.... Their human counterparts are lucky if they can get a fraction of those results.

Yet that is only the tip of the iceberg of possible information security threats. Currently, 91% of cybersecurity professionals fear hackers will leverage artif.... These strategies will make hackers harder to catch due to the increased sophistication of attacks, leading to greater and more frequent loses.

On the plus side, 87% of cybersecurity professionals are currently using artificial i.... AI-powered tools provide opposition to hackers by learning from previous breaches and allowing companies to be proactive about finding fixes. Though not a flawless fix, cybersecurity professionals using artificial intelligence significantly diminish the number of threats facing your business at a given moment.

Fortify Against the Worst Information Security Threats

Though these new threats are imposing, all of the classic cyberattacks are still harmful given the right conditions. Trojan horses, malware, phishing schemes, and other IT security threats can be just as damaging if your network security or employees are not sufficiently prepared against them. Any real level of protection from old and new threats depends on businesses having an experienced and knowledgeable cybersecurity team leading the defense.

However, finding cybersecurity talent in a market where such skills are scarce requires experience attracting passive candidates. That’s exactly why technology staffing companies can be indispensable to your ongoing data and business protection. By finding the right staffing partner, you can connect to candidates who fit your business when they are available and interested in changing jobs.