Cybersecurity

“Maturity” might seem an odd word to apply to security. As attacks become more frequent and complex, organizations need the agility to respond to new forms of cybercrime. Old ways of thinking are seldom useful in the ever-changing world of IT.

Cryptojacking has surged in the last two years as the value of the cryptocurrency market has skyrocketed. There were more than 51 million cryptojacking attacks in the first half of 2021 alone, according to the SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. Many attacks go unreported.

Security analysts are alarmed about a bug in software few people know about — the Log4j logging utility for Java applications. In November, researchers identified a zero-day exploit that affected the Java version of the Minecraft video game. Hackers were able to trick Log4j into storing specific character strings that allowed them to take control of the compromised machine. The hackers could then execute malicious code remotely, spread malware or steal sensitive information.

Cybercriminals have accumulated a vast amount of personally identifiable information over the years. Almost any information you might want is available on the Dark Web, often for a relatively small fee. But according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center, fraudsters are shifting their focus from consumers to businesses.