KPMG: Cybercriminals moving from mass to personal

Cybercrime in the year 2015 will be more personal as cyber-criminals will selectively target their victims instead of using mass spear-fishing tactics, says KPMG. According to the firm, this will result in more matured cyber protection and the involvement of governments to protect confidential data.

According to Big Four firm KPMG, the year 2015 will be defined by the motto ‘this time it’s personal’ as the firms predicts that cyber-criminals will become more selective in the way they target victims.  In the coming year, e-criminals will move away from mass spear-fishing tactics in favour of highly targeted ‘campaigns’, based on the data trail people leave in their online lives, explains Stephen Bonner, Partner in KPMG’s Cyber Security Practice. This is the result of consumers’ desire to be seen overtaking their desire to be secure. “It is possible that our willingness to share and shop online will let criminals become more selective about who they target.  They won’t need to maintain the current ‘hit and hope’ approach of spear phishing, instead only attacking specific users and computers based on the data these give away about their owners.” 

The transformation from mass-fishing to personal attacks will, according to Bonner, result in a business world where cyber protection matures and third party assurance becomes a flourishing industry as firms seek to protect themselves against lawsuits for loss of data or revenue. In addition, Bonner believes that in this new world governments will come together to improve ways in which confidential data is secured. “Ultimately, cyber defence will be akin to a game of whack-a-mole – with more emphasis on spotting attacks, more sharing of intelligence in near real-time and more efforts by companies and governments to counter and disrupting cyber-attacks quickly.”