Digital forensics incident responders worry most about ransomware, but risks associated with remote work are also top of mind. Credit: Getty Images The rise of ransomware attacks that occurred after the global pandemic in March 2020 remains a problem. However, ransomware is not the only threat. According to a new report from IDC and Magnet Forensics, the significant lack of cybersecurity skills gap and a plethora of other cyber risks are growing concerns. State of Enterprise DFIR highlights the impact of hybrid work and the growth of data volume on digital forensics incident response (DFIR) teams. It also provides an overall assessment of the global state of DFIR across industries, with the three most prominent being financial services, healthcare, and technology.Workplace scenarios are now parameter-less, involving BYOD, mobile devices, and cloud infrastructure. This hybrid work environment provides threat actors with a significantly larger attack surface. Similarly, BYOD devices such as laptops and mobile devices are often unsecured, posing a significant risk of data breaches and insider threats. For example,38% of respondents working in the financial industry considered insider threats as the top challenge. According to Magnet Forensics CEO Adam Belsher, “The best strategy to address the threat of insiders combines preventative and reactive measures. A robust data loss prevention program could detect potential data breaches and exfiltration, which can then be investigated using digital forensic tools that deploy remote agents.” Increase in DFIR resources needed and expectedThe report surveyed nearly 500 DFIR professionals and provides a deeper look at the rising cyber threats and the conditions of DFIR within various organization sectors. Findings include: 59% of the respondents expect significant investment in DFIR.Nearly half of the respondents identified cloud forensics requiring significant additional resources.Ransomware remains a rising problem, with one in four respondents identifying it as the most frequently encountered threat.Nearly a third cited growing data volumes as to the most challenging aspect of their job.Monetary damages from ransomware prevail; 5% of respondents revealed they paid over $1 million.Endpoint threats the number one riskSome of the most common security threats that the respondents identified are:Malware and ransomware infected endpoints (40%)Loss of record containing personally identifiable information (14%)Lost or stolen endpoints (13%)According to the respondents, the same security threats will most likely prevail within the next two years. The respondents identified some of the following security threats as significant: 29% highlight malware and ransomware infected endpoints.10% are concerned over business email compromise attacks.10% consider internal fraud as a significant concern.9% worry over the loss of substantial intellectual property.Ransomware remains one of the top security concerns, probably because these attacks continue to become more sophisticated. Another challenge for Digital Forensics is the skills shortage, said 32% of the respondents. “The cybersecurity skills gap is one of the most difficult challenges today in our industry,” says Belsher, “particularly because it’s occurring when we’re seeing concurrent record increases in cybercrime.” Related content news Kroll cyber threat landscape report: AI assists attackers AI is simplifying all sorts of tasks — and not always for the better: cybercriminals, too, are adopting it. By Lynn Greiner May 24, 2024 4 mins Threat and Vulnerability Management Cybercrime Vulnerabilities news analysis Windows Recall — a ‘privacy nightmare’? The Windows AI feature announced by Microsoft this week quickly drew criticism for recording regular screenshots of a user’s screen; one security expert compared it to keylogging software. By Matthew Finnegan May 24, 2024 1 min Privacy feature What is spear phishing? Examples, tactics, and techniques Spear phishing is a targeted email attack purporting to be from a trusted sender. Learn how to recognize—and defeat—this type of phishing attack. By Josh Fruhlinger May 24, 2024 14 mins Phishing Cyberattacks Fraud news analysis Emerging ransomware groups on the rise: Who they are, how they operate New and developing ransomware gangs move to fill the void left by the shutdown and law enforcement disruption of big players, with differing tactics and targets. By Lucian Constantin May 24, 2024 6 mins Ransomware Cybercrime PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe