The Country Head for Nigeria at HP, Mr. Emmanuel Asika, has warned that the increased collaboration in cyber threat, coupled with the low cost of malware, where three-quarters of malware kits cost less than N7,000, would further trigger cybercrime to be more accessible in 2023.

Asika, in a statement, said the implication would mean that more devices and end-users would be vulnerable to being under attack in 2023, adding that as cyber criminals intensify attempts to access enterprises, their PCs and printers will be the target.

According to hum, "These challenges, for cyber-security experts, will be intensified by the growing economic slump and uncertainties. As cybersecurity spending is set to increase by 13.2 per cent, cost projections will be under observation, with emphasis on the most important cybersecurity demands."

He listed four cybersecurity trends that institutions must plan for in 2023 to include: Increasing costs that will power cybercrime economy; Investment in more attacks below the operating system; Attacks on remote access equipment and Neglect of print security.

Giving details of the cybersecurity trends, Asika explained that the increasing costs that would power cybercrime economy could prompt an inflow of cyber hustlers and money mules, powering the cybercrime economy and leaving users at risk.

He also explained that notorious hackers would invest in more attacks below the operating system. He said until recently, firmware attacks were only used by sophisticated threat groups and countries, but that last year, early signs revealed an increased interest and development of attacks below the operating system - from tools to hack BIOS passwords, to rootkits and trojans targeting device's firmware. "Today, we now see firmware rootkits advertised relatively cheaply on cybercrime marketplaces," he said.