A cybersecurity threat is an incident that has the potential to adversely impact an information system through unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure or modification of data. Threats are caused by malware, viruses, worms, spyware, rogue software programs, brute force attacks and zero-day vulnerabilities.
In today’s hyper-connected world, threats are more prevalent than ever before. Cyber attacks threaten the security of our financial systems, businesses and personal devices. By 2025, the global cost of cybercrime is projected to hit $10.5 trillion annually.
Threat actors range from nation-states and their proxies, to hackers, hacktivists and criminals. These entities steal innovation, erode our democratic institutions, and seek to exploit our critical infrastructure. Terrorists are increasingly leveraging cyberspace to undermine our national interests. In addition, the proliferation of IoT devices presents a new attack surface, as hackers can exploit temperature sensors in industrial settings or inject code into cars to take control and potentially cause physical harm.
As a result, the number of data breaches is on the rise and companies experience significant financial loss due to costs associated with incident response, regulatory fines, legal fees and lost investor confidence. Additionally, human error is responsible for 95% of breach incidents and business leaders make technology-related risk decisions every day without realizing it. This can include trialing a new email marketing tool or using a password manager that doesn’t protect sensitive PII. These risks are compounded by our hyper-reliance on third parties and the need for more advanced, automated processes to manage cyber risk in today’s rapidly changing landscape.
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