Check Point Software’s Cybersecurity Predictions for 2023: Expect More Global Attacks, Government Regulation, and Consolidation

Rhea-AI Summary

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) has released its 2023 cyber-security predictions, highlighting significant challenges organizations will face, including a 28% increase in cyberattacks in Q3 2022 compared to 2021. The rise in threats is driven by ransomware and state-mobilized hacktivism. The company emphasizes the need for security infrastructure consolidation amid a widening global cyber workforce gap of 3.4 million. Key predictions include evolving malware, governmental regulations, and the necessity for simplified security measures to mitigate risks.

Positive

• Predicted 28% increase in cyberattacks shows growing demand for Check Point's solutions.
• Emphasis on security consolidation may drive sales as organizations seek to streamline operations.

Negative

• Competitive pressure from emerging threats may challenge Check Point's market position.
• The widening global cyber workforce gap could impact Check Point's ability to meet demand.

Hacktivism, deepfakes, attacks on business collaboration tools, new regulatory mandates, and pressure to cut complexity will top organizations’ security agendas over coming year

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Nov. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a leading provider of cyber security solutions globally, has released its cyber-security predictions for 2023, detailing the key security challenges that organizations will face over the next year.

Cyberattacks across all industry sectors increased by 28% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to 2021, and Check Point predicts a continued sharp rise worldwide, driven by increases in ransomware exploits and in state-mobilized hacktivism driven by international conflicts. At the same time, organizations’ security teams will face growing pressure as the global cyber workforce gap of 3.4 million employees widens further, and Governments are expected to introduce new cyber-regulations to protect citizens against breaches.

In 2022 cyber criminals and state-linked threat actors continued to exploit organizations’ hybrid working practices, and the increase in these attacks is showing no signs of slowing as the Russia – Ukraine conflict continues to have a profound impact globally. Organizations need to consolidate and automate their security infrastructure to enable them to better monitor and manage their attack surfaces and prevent all types of threat with less complexity and less demand on staff resources.

Check Point’s cyber-security predictions for 2023 fall into four categories: malware and phishing; hacktivism; emerging Government regulations; and security consolidation.

Hikes in malware and hacking exploits

• No respite from ransomware: this was the leading threat to organizations in the first half of 2022, and the ransomware ecosystem will continue to evolve and grow with smaller, more agile criminal groups forming to evade law enforcement.
• Compromising collaboration tools: while phishing attempts against business and personal email accounts are an everyday threat, in 2023 criminals will widen their aim to target business collaboration tools such as Slack, Teams, OneDrive and Google Drive with phishing exploits. These are a rich source of sensitive data given most organizations’ employees continue to often work remotely.  

Hacktivism and deepfakes evolve

• State-mobilized hacktivism: in the past year, hacktivism has evolved from social groups with fluid agendas (such as Anonymous) to state-backed groups that are more organized, structured and sophisticated. Such groups have attacked targets in the US, Germany, Italy, Norway, Finland, Poland and Japan recently, and these ideological attacks will continue to grow in 2023.
• Weaponizing deepfakes: in October 2022, a deepfake of U.S. President Joe Biden singing ‘Baby Shark’ instead of the national anthem was circulated widely. Was this a joke, or an attempt to influence the important U.S. mid-term elections? Deepfakes technology will be increasingly used to target and manipulate opinions, or to trick employees into giving up access credentials.

Governments step up measures to protect citizens

• New laws around data breaches: the breach at Australian telco Optus has driven the country’s Government to introduce new data breach regulations that other telcos must follow, to protect customers against subsequent fraud. We will see other national Governments following this example in 2023, in addition to existing measures such as GDPR.
• New national cybercrime task forces: more Governments will follow Singapore’s example of setting up inter-agency task forces to counter ransomware and cybercrime, bringing businesses, state departments and law enforcement together to combat the growing threat to commerce and consumers. These efforts are partially a result of questions over whether the cyber-insurance sector can be relied upon as a safety net for cyber incidents.
• Mandating security and privacy by design: the automotive industry has already moved to introduce measures to protect the data of vehicle owners. This example will be followed in other areas of consumer goods that store and process data, holding manufacturers accountable for vulnerabilities in their products.
  

Consolidation matters

• Cutting complexity to reduce risks: the global cyber-skills gap grew by over 25% in 2022. Yet organizations have more complex, distributed networks and cloud deployments than ever before because of the pandemic. Security teams need to consolidate their IT and security infrastructures to improve their defences and reduce their workload, to help them stay ahead of threats. Over two-thirds of CISOs stated that working with fewer vendors’ solutions would increase their company’s security.
  

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About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (https://www.checkpoint.com/) is a leading provider of cyber security solutions to corporate enterprises and governments globally.  Check Point Infinity´s portfolio of solutions protects enterprises and public organisations from 5^th generation cyber-attacks with an industry leading catch rate of malware, ransomware and other threats. Infinity comprises four core pillars delivering uncompromised security and generation V threat prevention across enterprise environments: Check Point Harmony, for remote users; Check Point CloudGuard, to automatically secure clouds; and Check Point Quantum, to protect network perimeters and datacenters, all controlled by the industry’s most comprehensive, intuitive unified security management; Check Point Horizon, a prevention-first security operations suite. Check Point protects over 100,000 organizations of all sizes.

MEDIA CONTACT: Emilie Beneitez Lefebvre Check Point Software Technologies press@checkpoint.com		INVESTOR CONTACT: Kip E. Meintzer Check Point Software Technologies +1 650.628.2040 ir@us.checkpoint.com

FAQ

What are Check Point's cyber security predictions for 2023?

Check Point predicts increased cyberattacks, including a rise in ransomware and state-mobilized hacktivism.

How many cyberattacks increased in Q3 2022 according to Check Point?

Cyberattacks increased by 28% in Q3 2022 compared to the previous year.

What does Check Point say about the future of hacktivism?

Check Point indicates that state-backed hacktivism is expected to grow more organized and sophisticated.

What is the global cyber workforce gap reported by Check Point?

The global cyber workforce gap is currently 3.4 million employees.

How is Check Point responding to the challenges of cyber security?

Check Point advocates for security infrastructure consolidation to manage threats more effectively.