Posted by Tempe, USA – Prague, Czech Republic: Norton, a consumer cyber safety brand of NASDAQ-listed Gen Digital today released its top Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023.
Norton experts predict the pressures associated with economic uncertainty and rising costs will create the perfect environment for scammers to take advantage of people when they are more vulnerable. Cybercriminals are expected to trick victims into surrendering personal information, emptying their bank accounts, or spending money for products, services or “lottery winnings” that never arrive.
“We anticipate scammers will continue to prey on the vulnerability of people as economic pressures rise in 2023,” said Kevin Roundy, Norton’s Researcher and Technical Director.
“Cybercriminals love to exploit seasonal opportunities, and consumers are facing a perfect storm of rising prices in the middle of the busiest shopping season of the year when scammers are particularly active,” added Roundy.
“Scams are always harder to detect during the holiday season because consumers expect deep discounts and may believe prices that would normally seem too good to be true,” explained Roundy.
According to Roundy, this year, inflation and other unfavourable macroeconomic factors are likely to make people particularly eager to find good deals and they may therefore be at greater risk than in previous years. “Taking a few proactive steps today could help you to be safer all year long.”
Norton Labs’ Top Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023:
- Scammers will prey on vulnerable consumers: Expect a rise in financial-based scams such as assistance scams faking government assistance programs to steal Personal Identifiable Information (PII); shopping deal scams setting up fake e-shops promoting low-cost products to steal personal information or cash out without delivering the order, and romance scams asking emotionally vulnerable consumers for money or gift cards.
- Short-staffed companies will be more open to vulnerabilities: Operating with a smaller staff, short-staffed companies will experience a jump in data breaches and ransomware attacks.
- Advances in AI will make scamming easier: Expect scammers to continue to wield AI in their crimes as this technology becomes even more accessible and easier to use. As language and video AI models advance, scammers can imitate real people in real-time with deepfakes to trick people into giving over their financial and personal information.
- Anticipate more breaches: Cybercriminals are finding ways to breach standard multi-factor authentication technologies. Companies that continue to use weak two-factor authentication (2FA) practices will leave themselves and their customers open to serious data breaches, which can lead to mass leaks of consumer information. We can expect to see more data breaches, making it even more critical to continue to use unique, complex passwords across your accounts.