Following an insolvency scare that prompted a run by depositors, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was shuttered by US regulators. Shortly after, regulators seized Signature Bank—representing the third largest bank failure in U.S. history. These bank failures will have a significant impact on their customers—with many tech start-ups and small businesses facing financial instability and layoffs as they seek alternative funding. Unfortunately, there is much more at risk. These disruptive situations create tremendous opportunities for cybercriminals.
“The search for financial stability has made the depositors, as well as their customers and vendors a prime target for threat actors looking for sensitive data and information,” says Bob Keegan, Senior Vice President of Tandym Tech. “This specific situation involves a lot of money, urgency, and uncertainty. Financially motivated threat actors will take advantage of the fear and sensitivity surrounding these events.”
As a result, companies and individuals must understand their current risk and remain vigilant to protect themselves against these new cybersecurity threats. Continue reading to learn more about the new wave of cybercrime and how you can minimize your risk.
Generally, threat actors are likely to execute SVB or Signature Bank-themed social engineering attacks. They’ll focus on phishing scams, business email compromise attacks, and malware lures. In fact, Cyber Research & Intelligence Labs (CRIL) has already identified several suspicious domains. Similarly, several new domains for known SVB competitors have popped up.
“There is a significant number of account changes underway,” says Bob. “Attackers will be impersonating vendors using these new domains to collect sensitive information or manipulate victims into sending funds to actor-controlled accounts. These attacks can have severe ramifications on an individual and at the company-wide level.”
These cybersecurity risks are unfortunately all too common surrounding newsworthy events. As a result, you may find yourself concerned about your level of risk in the wake of these bank failures. To help protect your data, there are a few immediate steps you can take.
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The demand for security professionals will continue to soar, even faster than companies can hire. The number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs grew by over 26% from 2021. Today there are 3.4 million open jobs. If you are a tech professional, now is a great time to break into or land a new job in cybersecurity! Due to the fact that data protection is a critical business function and market fluctuations can often trigger bad actors, this is even true in times of economic uncertainty. Read also: Is A Job In Cybersecurity Your Next Move? Read These FAQs
Looking for a new job in cybersecurity? Check out our open jobs!
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