2016 Security Threat Predictions - Part 2

In the second part of this three part series, we discuss additional nasty threats on next year’s horizon. It’s not all bad news, however. As these threats take the limelight, others will slowly start fading behind the curtain.

The disappearing acts? Stolen passwords and the use of email for phishing and scams. More of that in Part 3.

Back to the threats.

Everything being connected via the Internet of Things (IoT). From the cars we drive to the toys with which our kids play, it’s all becoming more connected to the Internet. The more this happens, the more risk of cybercrime hitting us. Recently, even Barbie became a spy for the potentially unscrupulous. The risks range from Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to identity theft to watching our kids at play. And that’s pretty scary.

Do This: Ensure everything you connect to the internet is as secure as possible. Change default passwords on devices and change them periodically. Create strong passwords when setting up online accounts and don’t reuse them. Make sure the Internet-connected toys your kids play with (don’t forget those high tech video game consoles) are tightened up and that you are sure you want the information that crosses through the toys to travel out to the Internet. Otherwise, maybe choose “vintage” toys instead.

Advertising isn’t just for marketing folks; malvertising is on the rise. It happened a lot in 2015. Ads are placed all around the perimeters, or even right in front of your view on a webpage. Most of them are legitimately just trying to sell you something or provide you information. However, some are not so pleasant and are hiding malware. It could be ransomware, could be a Trojan, spyware, or scareware; which is the least scary of them all.

Although they can also be real ads, clickbait is often used to entice users to click on nefarious links. These ads are intended to shock users a bit so they will want to see what is behind the curtain. Often they exploit celebrity gossip or current events as a hook. For example, one might claim that if you click, you will see a leaked photo of a naked celebrity or a video of a horrific, highly publicized event.

Do This: If you like seeing them, use caution when clicking. Take an extra moment or two and make sure they are not fake. If there is text, it should be correct use of the language. They should include real logos and are likely related to something you are viewing on the page. If you don’t like seeing them, consider using ad blocking software. These block all advertisements on the web page and also help prevent accidental clicks on potential malvertisements.

As with all of these, it is highly recommended to install anti-malware on all devices connecting to the Internet. There are many options, so do research and find the best one that works for you. When getting apps for mobile devices, make sure you stick to those in the official app stores. And keep all devices updated with the latest versions of whatever you have loaded. If you are using software that is not going to be supported anymore, such as Internet Explorer, upgrade to a supported version or use a different product that does have support.

It is not all gloom and doom, Part 3 will share some good news. Stay tuned.

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