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The frequency and sophistication of cyber attacks is increasing continuously. Customers expect their data and privacy to be fully protected and companies need to ensure they meet customers’ expectation and comply with privacy laws and regulations, noted an expert.
The webinar ‘Security Challenges of e-commerce’ held in collaboration with Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), Tasmu Digital Valley and GoDigital provided a recap on the latest 2021 major threats, their impact on the digital economy and at the same time how these new threats are raising the bar of security requirements.
Jean-Michel Kaoukabani, Head of Information Security at Byblosbank Group, an information system professional for more than 20 years, focused on e-commerce and digital commerce.
He said, “The most valuable currency for e-business is trust, which should be portrayed and provided to the customers. If there is a breach in privacy, integrity, and confidentiality it will expose to different risks such as losing customers, financial risks, penalties, and violation of regulation of laws. All the measures are needed to protect the confidentiality of data, information, and privacy of customers. Once the confidentiality is breached there will be leaks everywhere which is being witnessing these days.”
He explained about the evolution of e-commerce ecosystem by highlighting digital enterprise which is fourth generation in e-commerce where you have digital business and technology like artificial intelligence (AI), drone technology, and IoT technology. Digital enterprise requires a lot of delivery channels, new technologies, new development methodologies, cloud, virtualization, containers, he said.
According to European Union national institute for cybersecurity (ENISA) report, the top threats from 2020 are malware, web-based attacks, phishing, web application attacks, spam etc.
According to the expert, 2021 threat forecast will shift from ransomware to targeted ransomware, increased targeting of remote workers and use of AI for voice phishing, emergence of 5G vulnerabilities and advanced swarm-attacks, the quantum computing threat, compromising satellite base stations to spread malware and cloud security will take the limelight as companies are shifting to cloud and hackers are focusing on cloud to steal credentials by exploiting misconfiguration or attacking some cloud vulnerable applications.
He said, “Hackers are taking advantage of technology improvements and they have different motives. Every time a company acquires a new technology to protect the digital enterprise, the hackers will benefit from this and use the same technique to evade as they have access to information and tools and to leaked credentials and use it to mimic the identity of someone to gain financially.”
