Cyber threat situation reaches new peak

The SoSafe Human Risk Review annually analyzes the current cyber threat landscape in Europe and the security culture in companies. The report is based on responses from more than 1,250 security managers in Western Europe and 3.2 million data points from the SoSafe platform for security awareness and human risk management.

54% of respondents rate the risk of cyberattacks having a significant negative impact on their company as high. Only 44 percent believe that cyberattacks are due to the human factor, while Forrester predicts that by 2024, 90 percent of all data breaches will involve the human factor. In addition, 3 out of 4 respondents (75 percent) state that employee satisfaction plays a central role in the company's cyber security.

"Organizations are facing a challenging cyber threat landscape. Cyber criminals are constantly developing new methods of attack, most of which target our human emotions. The current geopolitical instability creates new attack motives for criminals and state actors and results in a complex situation. The use of sophisticated AI-powered tools requires particular caution, and attacks are increasingly coming in unexpected forms. We must not underestimate the size and scale of these threats and must empower people to counter them. We can do this by understanding employees as the strongest and most versatile component of their security strategies - and helping them to activate them through holistic, behaviour-based approaches," says Dr Niklas Hellemann, psychologist and CEO of SoSafe.

What is behind the increasing cyber threats?

The Human Risk Review 2024 identifies three main causes of increasing vulnerability: new technologies, global instability and interconnectivity.

• 76% of security managers in the DACH region stated that the use of generative AI by cyber criminals is a cause for concern. According to 71% of respondents, deepfake technology in particular poses a risk to companies.

• Increasing global uncertainty is fuelling cybercrime: 73 percent of security officers believe that the geopolitical situation has increased the security risks to their organization.

• The digital world is becoming increasingly interconnected, which means that cyber criminals are increasingly intervening in networked systems such as supply chains. 74% of security experts stated that the security of supply chains has become an important issue for them.

People remain the decisive factor in cyber security

It's not just about AI - cybercriminals are using a mixture of new technologies and proven techniques.

Standard phishing emails, which have been around for decades, are still effective. At the start of a cybersecurity training session, SoSafe found that 37 percent of people click on malicious links, with 38 percent of them continuing to interact with them after that click, for example by filling out forms and sharing personal information. Content related to authority, pressure or fear, as well as trust, has the highest click-through rates. The most successful subject line of simulated phishing emails was "Payroll error"; it plays on triggering pressure and fear and achieved a click-through rate of 62 percent.

The five most common types of attack cited by companies are phishing, malware, DDoS, ransomware and social engineering attacks that go beyond phishing and vishing. Interestingly, attacks such as malware and ransomware also usually (in 80 percent of cases) start with phishing or other types of human manipulation.

Attacks are increasingly occurring through multiple channels. This year, SoSafe has measured QR codes, supply chains or third-party vendors and physical security breaches as growing threat vectors used by cybercriminals. Email remains the most popular channel for phishing attacks, with dominance trending downwards (from 61% to 51% from 2022 to 2023) as diversification takes place.

"Cybercriminals will always focus on what works. It's usually a mix of tried-and-tested and novel methods that they use to try to accelerate, personalize and expand their attacks," says Andrew Rose, Chief Security Officer at SoSafe. He emphasizes the relevance of good awareness training: "Employees need to learn a mix of strong fundamentals that will still be valid as threats evolve. But they also need a kind of 'intuition' for security threats that helps them to recognize new, constantly changing attacks and react accordingly."

DACH companies deprioritize cyber security despite risk awareness

Although strong technical security measures are essential, they alone do not protect against the tactics of modern cyber criminals. As many as 87 percent of security officers see the establishment of a holistic security culture in the company - with the involvement of their employees - as a clear priority.

Nearly all organizations (99 percent of respondents) indicated that senior executives and the board of directors are involved in cybersecurity management and decision-making. At the same time, less than half of respondents in the DACH region (43 percent) stated that the focus on cyber security is increasing on the part of senior management. This compares to 73 percent in the UK and 66 percent in Spain. A fifth in the DACH region said that the focus is waning; for 10 percent of respondents in the DACH region, cybersecurity is not yet a company priority at all.

At the same time, more than half of respondents (53 percent) stated that their cybersecurity budget had increased in the last two years, with the majority (47 percent) responding to the current threat situation and 40 percent to specific security incidents or breaches.

Dr. Niklas Hellemann is convinced that a holistic safety culture can only be strengthened by focusing on the company's employees: "We have worked with thousands of companies over several years and have put the focus on people. One thing has been confirmed time and again: A behavioral approach to sustainable human risk mitigation and employee empowerment works. In just one year, our customers have increased reporting rates by up to 147%, which is a clear sign of an established proactive safety culture. 

Source: www.sosafe-awareness.com

This post originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/cyber-bedrohungslage-erreicht-neuen-hoehepunkt/