As we dive into 2021, we are reminded that with a new year comes new cyber risks for organizations. Our goal is to prepare and inform you on how to best handle these difficult situations. To increase awareness, our team of IT experts have identified the below predictions for the new year.  

1. Spear phishing attacks will become automated and result in a higher attack rate of targeted individuals. With this method, attackers use programs and custom tools to scan data from social media networks and company websites to create convincing malicious emails that include specific details about an individual or their role at a company. To increase the effectiveness of these email attacks, they appear to come from a trusted source from within the company.

2. Hackers will infiltrate home networks and use worms, or viruses, to search for devices that connect to a corporate network. These programs exploit vulnerabilities on a network, also known as network service worms, and can spread to other networks through email.

3. Cybersecurity awareness training will become more common in 2021 as corporate entities realize the value and importance of having an educated workforce that practices good cyber hygiene and is capable of recognizing attacks and incidents. 

4. Attacks against endpoints using Windows 7, which can include servers, PCs, printers, laptops, mobile devices, and more, will increase as cyber criminals take advantage of weak systems. They will identify vulnerabilities in this unsupported legacy software, which is still widely used.

5. Federal and State funding in support of cybersecurity initiatives for local governments will increase in 2021. Recently, the H.R.5823 – State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act was passed by the House of Representatives and is under review by the Senate. This bill establishes a program to create grants for state and local governments to mitigate cybersecurity risks and threats against their IT infrastructure. To track the status of this important legislation, you can visit Congress.Gov.

Now that you are aware of what can happen, it is important to prepare your organization with the proper IT services. Edmunds GovTech can help you tackle each of the above concerns while alleviating some of the burden you may face as a result of cyber-attacks.  

To learn more about Managed IT Services by Edmunds GovTech and to schedule a complimentary discovery call or on-site visit, check out the below links. 

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