Smartphones face high hacking risk in 2020: Report

New Delhi (IANS): There was 54 per cent increase in data breaches in 2019 as compared to 2018 and 2020 will see significant rise in the number of mobile-focused malware and banking Trojans, a new report has predicted.

With 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) devices arriving on the horizon, data speed will increase but the speed of cyberattacks would also rise, said the report from leading accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton.

"Threat actors are expected to deploy advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-led attacks to boost the speed and impact of their campaigns. IoT will throw new challenges to data security," said the report titled 'Cyber Trends in 2019 and Predictions for 2020'. "Cyberattacks are on the rise and will continue to rise. It's not a matter of if but a matter of when. A framework-driven approach with continuous monitoring will help companies mature their cybersecurity posture and address incidents proactively," said Akshay Garkel, Partner, Cybersecurity & IT Risk Advisory, Grant Thornton India LLP.

According to the report, cybersecurity incidents including cyberbullying have skyrocketed by more than six times from the last year and data analytics will be critical to predict crime patterns and to reduce cybercrimes.

The report expects the number of smartphone users in India to reach 673 million this year.

"Ninety-five per cent of cybersecurity breaches are expected to arise due to human error. Human-centric security continues to be a major concern and requires people-centric solutions as well as technology," the findings showed.

In 2019, 4.3 billion estimated records were breached as 34 per cent of reported cybersecurity breaches involved internal actors. "Every 14 seconds, a ransomware attack was carried out on companies in 2019 while 71 per cent of reported breaches were financially motivated," the report said.