Stay alert and watch out for these risky cybersecurity threats in 2020

As cybersecurity experts and researchers continue to warn users against security risks, the rate at which hackers and bad actors are carrying out cyber attacks on businesses and individuals is at an all-time high. In 2020, these attacks and solutions to prevent those attacks are going to get even more sophisticated.

Cybersecurity experts at SophosLabs have published new research that explores how threat landscape changed in the past 12 months and what will be some of the key security trends to watch out for in 2020,

Needless to stay, ransomware attacks continue to remain on researchers' hit list for the upcoming year. Ransomware is the type of attack that holds sensitive information of a person or a business to ransom. Meaning, hackers threaten to publish or block sensitive information unless a ransom is paid.

According to SophosLabs Threat Report, the following is the list of cybersecurity threats to watch out for in 2020:

Ransomware attacks

Businesses are to face even more ransomware related threats in 2020. Recently, researchers revealed that as much as 67 per cent of companies do not even report cybersecurity incidents to regulators due to lack of compliance with mandatory industry regulations.

Malware apps

Potentially unwanted apps causing malware attacks will be a much bigger threat in 2020. Recently, cybersecurity researchers found that a new malware app was at large for Android users. Dubbed Xhelper, this 'persistent' malware app has reportedly infected more than 45,000 devices.

Cloud computing misconfiguration

Cloud computing has become even more robust, complex and vulnerable with looming cybersecurity threats. Thanks to more flexibility, researchers fear operator error is a growing risk. Furthermore, a general lack of visibility and understanding of security risks and threats make cloud computing environments an easy target for cyberattackers.

Machine learning under threats

As researchers explain, Machine learning, which is supposed to fight malware finds itself under attack. According to researchers, machine learning detection models could be tricked into activities that generate highly convincing fake content for social engineering

Other major cybersecurity threats are driven by Remote Desktop Protocol exploits as well as automated active attacks (AAA).

"The threat landscape continues to evolve – and the speed and extent of that evolution is both accelerating and unpredictable," said John Shier, senior security advisor, Sophos. "We highlight how adversaries are becoming ever stealthier, better at exploiting mistakes, hiding their activities and evading detection technologies, and more, in the cloud, through mobile apps and inside networks."