Cybersecurity Trends. IT & Computer Science Research Paper

Cybersecurity Trends
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Cybersecurity Trends
In the digital era, the number of people connected to the Internet is increasing tremendously. Many individuals who did not have access to electronic devices in about a decade ago can now afford to buy a smartphone today since they are cheaper and have a high processing power. As web users increase, their vulnerabilities on the Internet become very high. For this reason, cybersecurity is a crucial field that protects individuals’ data on the web to avoid access by unauthorized personnel. In particular, it refers to the practice of safeguarding smartphones, data, servers, computer networks, and electronic systems from malicious attacks (Marr, 2020). The three primary cybersecurity trends include the evolving phishing techniques, data privacy, and the introduction of 5G networks, which foster the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The increase of electronic gadgets connected to the Internet makes people’s data more vulnerable to information breaches, which is the reason why data privacy is the primary cybersecurity issue that affects correctional facilities.
Phishing is one of the primary strategies that hackers use to obtain individuals’ information, which they use for fraudulent activities. Specifically, it refers to an attempt by hackers to get one’s sensitive information, namely details of credit cards, passwords, and usernames by disguising themselves as trusted entities in electronic communications (Ronquillo et al., 2018). The common tactic used by cybercriminals to trick people into sharing their personal information involves sending emails, pretending to be members of a support team of a particular company or financial institution. Hackers try to make the messages appear like they are from a trusted entity so that receivers can respond unsuspiciously. Those who reply to these phishing emails are socially engineered so that they can share their personal information without realizing that the sender is not genuine. When hackers get the data they need, they use it to breach victims’ social media network or bank account. Based on the Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) by Verizon, which was released in 2019, about 32% of data breaches and 78% of incidents involving cyber-espionage occurred due to phishing (Crane, 2019). Cybercriminals keep advancing and coming up with new tactics to trick individuals into sharing their personal information. For example, they can call or send text messages to their victims, expecting that some of them will respond. As a result, individuals need to be careful and avoid sharing sensitive data, such as login details, phone numbers, addresses, credit card, or social security numbers, to strangers on the Internet.
Many large technology corporations, such as Huawei Technologies Company Ltd, are rolling out a 5G network. The launching of the fifth-generation network will increase the number of IoT devices rapidly. For instance, many companies will not hesitate to implement this network so that they can increase their production efficiency and effectiveness (Lu & Xu, 2019). Teleconferencing, video calling, and the use of three-dimensional images...