Contemporary trends like remote work, Internet of Things (IoT), bring-your-own-device (BYOD), and cloud initiatives have lent hackers new ways to intrude your organization by exponentially increasing the surface of attack.
Data centers have become an important vertical for security after COVID-19 increased the importance of cloud-based solutions. According to Mordor Intelligence, The Data Center Services Market was valued at USD 48.90 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 105.6 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 13.69 percent.
Most physical security companies are making data centers a primary focus as data is now one of the most valuable resources that require protection. But physical security companies also need to become more aware of the cybersecurity threats that surround datacenters to offer better services. After all, the two segments are becoming more and more inseparable.
It is in such a contex that Kaspersky, one of the leading providers of cybersecurity services, explains how COVID-19 has changed the concept of cybercrime. Speaking to asmag.com recently, a spokesperson from the company pointed out that the behavioral and technological changes that began in 2020 have changed how hackers operate too.
“Cybercriminals are on their own journey of virtual transformation,” Kaspersky said. “Contemporary trends like remote work, Internet of Things (IoT), bring-your-own-device (BYOD), and cloud initiatives have lent hackers new ways to intrude your organization by exponentially increasing the surface of attack. Technological advancements like AI and ML have offered these hackers new tools to allocate malware, vector in on high-end targets, and reach a bigger and more varied set of audiences.”
Criminals becoming more evasive
And as these advancements progress, cybercriminals are becoming more and more evasive. Some of the emerging cybersecurity threats for data centers are phishing engineering attacks which are social engineering attacks where-in the cyber-attacker produces a fake text, email, or website to misinform a victim into releasing sensitive information.
“This could encompass login credentials for work, credit card details, or passwords to online accounts,” Kaspersky said. “Ransomware is another type of malicious software that can deny access to an organization’s computer system until money is paid. These attacks usually include the attacker infecting an organization’s data center through a piece of malware that encodes all of their data.”
3 key steps to protect your data centers
Protecting data and ensuring cybersecurity requires a collaborative effort from both the physical security and IT teams. For all practical purposes, these are no longer separable departments. Kaspersky itself points out that cybersecurity should begin with protecting your hardware.
- Protect your hardware: Most organizations only tend to focus on the safeguard of their software without throwing emphasis on the security of their hardware. If this is ignored, the company tends to lose its devices to the attack, and this only makes it easy for the manipulation of private information to be manipulated.
- Encode and backup data: Organizations can avert access to sensitive data by disguising important data by means of a code. Data encryption remains the most effective fix for data attacks.
- Invest in cybersecurity insurance: It is always advisable for data centers to minimalize the jeopardy by seeking a cybersecurity expert’s assistance to select the best type of insurance for your company, based on the danger of attack and the economic impact of such an event.
Conclusion
Datacenter cyber and physical security is a hot topic now as this is an area that could drive demand and growth in many industries. However, protecting data centers requires a clear understanding of the changing nature of threats and cybercrime. It is essential to understand that whatever changes have taken place in terms of technology and behavior have impacted these criminals.
Protecting the hardware, encoding and backing up data, and cybersecurity insurance and three key steps that data center service providers can immediately take to ensure peace of mind to their customers. But as technology progresses and the COVID-19 situation persists, more changes may be on the way.