In terms of malware, 2015 will go down as the year that ransomware got big, and the organized criminals behind it got bolder. IBM's Limor Kessem discusses what to expect from advanced malware variants in 2016.

A senior cybersecurity evangelist at IBM Security, Kessem says she sees a significant new sophistication in common malware - signs that organized crime has stepped in and exerted influence.

"Malware developers are bunched into organized cyber-crime groups that are getting stronger and larger," Kessem says. "[And] there is a push in the sophistication of malware from banking Trojans to ransomware to point-of-sale malware - all of these codes have been upgraded. In some cases, we're even seeing nation-state level features in this malware."

And, ps, the fraudsters behind the malware are also aiming higher at bigger targets, seeking even bigger payoffs.

"They are diversifying what they're doing to go after bigger money," she says.

In an interview about malware advances, Kessem discusses:

How malware evolved in the past year; The variants that concern her most; Where organizations are now most vulnerable to attack.

Kessem is one of the top cyber intelligence experts at IBM Trusteer. She is a seasoned speaker and a regular blogger on the cutting-edge IBM Security Intelligence blog. She comes to IBM from organizations such as RSA Security's research labs. She also served as the Marketing Director of Big Data analytics startup ThetaRay, where she created the company's cybersecurity thought leadership. She covers the full spectrum of digital crime trends affecting consumers, corporations and the financial industry as a whole.