As cyber threats have evolved over time, the risks from newer generations of attacks are real for organizations and their supply chains. Early attacks in the 1980s used viruses spread through floppy disks, leading to anti-virus solutions, while attacks in the 1990s spread over the internet, requiring firewalls. By the 2000s, attackers exploited software vulnerabilities and used botnets, prompting intrusion prevention. Now, generations five and six bring risks through highly connected networks and IoT devices, threatening business models and use of data analytics through multi-vector, large scale attacks.

1. 1.3.2 Attacks evolution
As we discussed in the video the cyber threat landscape continues to
evolve, as shown in the timeline below. Many organisations still consider
virus protection as the key method in managing the cyber risk. Yet as we
have evolved from viruses towards an every more connected world so the
threat has mutated. The risks from 5th, and even 6th, generation attacks
on organisations and their supply chains is real. Whilst the Internet of
Things and smart devices create opportunities for organisations to change
their business models, the inherent vulnerabilities create additional
opportunities for the threat actors. As finance professionals we need to
understand how the transformation of the business model and our
increasing use of data for analytics and predictions has risks attached to
it. These are risks that we need to play a full role in managing.

3. The first generation of cyberattacks in the late 1980s consisted of viruses
carried on floppy discs that would need to be inserted into computers. The
response to this was the invention of signature-based anti-virus solutions -
with first being probably from Norton.
The second generation, which came about in the early 90s, attacks were
launched over the internet instead of through floppy disks as networks and
connectivity developed. Organisations invested in firewalls to secure the
perimeters of IT infrastructure.
In the third generation, which took place in the early 2000s, cyber-attackers
evolved again to exploit vulnerabilities in software applications that relied
on internet access. Botnets were being used to send out spam paving way
for companies to introduce Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS).
In roughly 2010, cyber-attackers continued this evolution by developing 4th
generation polymorphic malware that could take a different form in different
attacks. This led to the introduction of Behavioural Analysis solutions
which focuses on detecting suspicious network or user behaviour.
A 5th generation cyberattack, is a large scale, multi-vector attack vector that
is designed to infect multiple components of an information technology
infrastructure, including networks, virtual machines, cloud instances and
endpoint devices. 5th generation attacks can be extremely dangerous
because they can spread quickly and outmanoeuvre conventional
detection-based defences such as firewalls. 5th generation attacks are a
part of the natural evolution of threats as changing defences force attackers
to hone their craft. NotPetya and WannaCry are two early examples of 5th
generation attacks.
These attacks are typically characterised by their ability to cause very large
data breaches and destruction of service (DeOS). Because 5th generation
cyber-attacks can happen faster than conventional security systems can
deal with, the focus for dealing with this type of cybersecurity problem
should be on preventing attacks by correlating, storing and analysing data
across all network devices in real time.
6th generation cyber attacks are now starting to emerge. These attacks
happen to be most destructive as hackers are devised with tools to attack
everything and anything digital. After the introduction of the 5G network,
attacks on IoT might increase at an alarming rate which will pave way for
complex security requirements.