Cyberattacks in 2017: Who Is the Next Target?

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 12, 4:50PM EST · Published Dec 13, 7:10AM EST

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Cyberattacks in 2017: Who Is the Next Target? — © Thinkstock

In 2016, hacking on a large scale made the headlines more than ever. Whether it is political parties, government databases in the United States and Saudi Arabia, or large corporations such as Anthem and Target, cyberattacks seem to be on the rise.

Forecasters at Forrester Research recently predicted that the next U.S. president can expect a “major cybercrisis” as companies “grapple with how to defend against escalating, dynamic security and privacy risk.” The researchers lay the blame to a large extent on the increasing complexity and vulnerability of the Internet of Things.

Here are five specific predictions for 2017 from the Forrester researchers:

A Fortune 1000 company will fail because of a cyberbreach.

Healthcare breaches will become as common as retail breaches.

More than 500,000 internet-of-things devices will be compromised.

Within 100 days, the new US president will face a major cybercrisis.

National security risks will drive agencies to expand surveillance technologies, creating legal and ethical conflicts between governments and people.

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Experian’s latest Data Breach Industry Forecast expects the health care industry to be hackers’ most heavily targeted sector in 2017. So-called ransomware attacks may shift from blocking a provider’s access to patient information and then selling them the key to reopen the data, to selling the data itself on the dark web or leveraging it for identity theft.

The 2016 Verizon Data Breach Report points out that nearly 60% of the security incidents with confirmed data loss occurred in small companies, those with fewer than 1,000 employees. The dominant mode of attack remains email phishing aimed at installing persistent malware, and the primary motive is access to cash.

There are even worries that hackers could hurt the American economy by, among other things, taking down huge parts of the national electricity grid.

A recent report from the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity had some critical advice for the next president. The report’s Action Item 4.1.1 pointed out:

The next President should initiate a national cybersecurity workforce program to train 100,000 new cybersecurity practitioners by 2020.

The report also said:

If our digital economy is to thrive, it must be secure. That means that every enterprise in our society—large and small companies, government at all levels, educational institutions, and individuals—must be more purposefully and effectively engaged in addressing cyber risks. They must also have greater accountability and responsibility for their own security, which, as we now know all too well, directly impacts the cybersecurity of our country.

Identity Theft Resource Center reports that there have been 957 data breaches recorded this year through December 6, 2016, with more than 35 million records exposed. Since beginning to track data breaches in 2005, ITRC has counted 6,766 breaches, involving more than 886 million records.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.