The continuing growth of smart-connected home devices will drive cyber attackers to use unpatched vulnerabilities as a way to stage a full-blown attack.

Next generation technologies will also be seen as viable targets. The Fine Line: 2016 Trend Micro Security Predictions Data breaches will be employed to mine data, but the operation may not necessarily be driven by financial gain, but to expose questionable corporate practices or get to other classified information. The same impetus for stealing information goes for hacktivists as they set out to plot more destructive attacks aimed at damaging the integrity and reputation of their targets. Fear will still be part of any successful extortion scheme, and the more personal they can get, the easier the victims will cave in on their demands. This is evident from the first cases of ransomware to its fully-evolved and sophisticated form today. The past decade saw cyber extortionists banking the use of fear on its victims. In a nutshell, things are getting more 'personal'. Sometimes, simply understanding the psychology behind each scheme and its targets can be enough to make up for the lack of sophistication. The past year, however, has shown that cybercriminals don't need to use the most advanced technologies or sophisticated methods to succeed. Much has been said about how cybercriminals creatively devise ways to lock in even the most unlikely of targets. As 2015 comes to a close, it's time to look back at the year's events, and use the information to gain perspective on the future. Looking closely, we get to pick pieces of the puzzle that we can use to build a vivid picture of what's to come. Every year, the triumphs and failures reflected in cyber security stories not only leave us with valuable lessons but also hints of the foreseeable future.

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