cyber trends

ZEKI TUREDI , CTO EMEA , CROWDSTRIKE , DISCUSSES THE CYBERSECURITY LANDSCAPE IN THE MONTHS TO COME AND WHY THE WAY FORWARD DEPENDS ON YOUR CHOICE OF PARTNER , NOT TECHNOLOGY .

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Ransomware remained the most dangerous , costly and prevalent cyberthreat to EMEA organisations in 2022 and will continue to be the most damaging cybercrime tool of 2023 . According to CrowdStrike ’ s 2022 Global Threat Report , there was a terrifying annual increase of 82 % in ransomwarerelated data leaks in the year to date , costing the companies concerned € 1.72 million on average .

It ’ s easy to understand the enduring appeal of ransomware to cybercriminals : it is increasingly easy to use and wildly

lucrative . Over the course of the last two years , obtaining and using ransomware tools has become simpler than ever , with an ecosystem of criminal suppliers offering Ransomware-as-a-Service , with other elements of the operation , from stolen credentials to payment services and money laundering , also available as third-party services from a growing range of providers . Getting started as a cybercriminal requires no more than a working credit card nowadays . This coordination of criminal service providers to offer specialisation and automation is sadly only likely to grow over the course of the year . Ransomware will continue to grow until such a point that the vast majority of organisations have adopted advanced tools that make other criminal tactics more profitable .

Europe also at risk

Unfortunately , it seems likely that European organisations will suffer as badly as anywhere else from cybercrime in 2023 . While some countries have developed a mature understanding of the risks and available defences , in Europe , the picture is more fragmented , with low levels of cybersecurity understanding common across some areas of the

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