Below-the-OS attacks. Attackers could look for weaknesses in firmware and hardware as applications and operating systems are hardened against conventional attacks. The lure would be the broad control attackers can potentially gain through these attacks, as they can conceivably access any number of resources and commandeer administration and control capabilities.

Detection evasion. Attackers will attempt to avoid detection by targeting new attack surfaces, employing sophisticated attack methods, and actively evading security technology. Difficult-to-detect attack styles could include fileless threats, encrypted infiltrations, sandbox evasion malware, exploits of remote shell and remote control protocols, and the aforementioned below-the-OS attacks targeting and exploiting master boot records (MBR), BIOS, and firmware.

New devices, new attack surfaces. The ease and affordable cost of developing connected devices will fuel an explosion of new products. While there has not yet been a surge in IoT and wearable technology, by 2020 we may see installed bases of these systems reach substantial enough penetration levels that they will attract attackers. To ensure that security and privacy aren’t playing catchup to innovation, technology vendors and vertical-solution providers will work to establish user education and industry best practices, as well as build security controls into device architectures where appropriate.

Cyber espionage goes corporate. As is the case in so many other areas of crime-ware, the dark market for malware code and hacking services could enable cyber espionage malware used in public sector and corporate attacks to be used at scale for financial intelligence-gathering and the manipulation of markets in favor of attackers’ financial interests.

Security industry response. The security industry will develop more effective tools to detect and correct sophisticated attacks. Behavioral analytics could be developed to detect irregular user activities that might indicate compromised accounts. Shared threat intelligence is likely to deliver faster and better protection of systems. Automated detection and correction technology promises to protect enterprises from the most common attacks, freeing up IT security staff to focus on the most critical security incidents.