In an era where the global cost of cybercrime is predicted to reach about $6 trillion by as soon as 2021, it’s safe to say that we’re now living in a time that is getting more and more dangerous.
But thankfully, a number of recent trends have emerged that should give us all hope, as they represent significant advancements in keeping our data safe from the types of sophisticated, multi-faceted attacks that are unfortunately becoming increasingly common.
Here are five key cybersecurity trends you needed to know about in 2019.
Mobility: The New Battleground in Cybersecurity
Over the past few years, cloud computing and smartphones have evolved so that every team member can become a remote worker on demand — much to the benefit of productivity for businesses everywhere.
This has, however, created one of the most significant new challenges in terms of cybersecurity that we collectively face: if your data is mobile, the potential “attack surface” that you now need to protect against increases exponentially.
You can be reasonably certain that you’ve taken the appropriate steps to safeguard information when someone is accessing it from your internal network. But what happens if they’re pulling up that same data from the cloud while sitting halfway around the world in an airport lounge on vacation?
With an estimated 83% of all enterprise workloads predicted to become cloud-based by as soon as 2020, this problem will only intensify. Experts agree that businesses need to invest in tighter cloud security and techniques like at-rest and in-transit encryption, and two-factor authentication, among others. This will allow you to enjoy the mobile workforce you need with as few security-related downsides as possible.
Internet of Things Attacks and the Rise of Unsecured Endpoints
Never forget that any device with an active Internet connection is a potential vulnerability.
Once you realise that there are expected to be more than 64 billion devices connected via the Internet of Things by as soon as 2025, you better understand how devastating unsecured endpoints can be.
Cybersecurity isn’t just for desktops, laptops, and even mobile devices anymore.
- Businesses need to develop cybersecurity strategies that generate total visibility into all of their IoT-powered and connected devices – no exceptions.
- Techniques like risk-based authentication, or RBA, must also be employed. This looks at multiple factors to determine whether someone should or should not be accessing specific information.
- This will go a long way towards fending off DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks that will become a lot more common in the future.
The Cyber Skills Shortage: Trouble on the Horizon
As the types of modern-day threats we face become more sophisticated, our defences must do the same.
- According to one recent study, about 53% of organisations say they have a “problematic shortage” of cybersecurity skills.
38% of respondents said they also lack IT architecture and planning skills. - To make matters worse, these numbers are also on the rise. In 2015, only 42% of people said that they were experiencing this type of problematic shortage.
If you already feel like you don’t have access to the talent needed to stay one step ahead of the hackers, think about how much more severe the problem might be in another six months.
This is one of those situations where partnering with a Managed Services Provider (MSP) makes excellent sense. Instead of worrying about finding a new team member with the right skills to bring into your organisation in-house, you can outsource those skills to a partner with expertise in those core areas.
That way, you have the protection you need and the ability to quickly adapt to trends or address issues moving forward while circumnavigating the skills gap.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Your First Line of Defense
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have already made businesses smarter, faster and more efficient. It makes sense that the benefits extend beyond business analytics and into network protection.
With the right Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools, you can automate analysing your network for suspicious or otherwise irregular activity. Not only will this allow you to put an end to a small problem today before it has a chance to become a bigger one tomorrow, but it can also uncover trends and patterns to prevent that problem from happening again in the future.
The Era of Biometric Security is Here
In terms of cybersecurity, it’s important to remember that our physical efforts are often just as important as our digital ones. You might install all of the sophisticated virus and malware scanners you come across, but this does little to prevent a rogue team member from walking into the room and stealing a hard drive that was left unsecured.
In this light, the final major cybersecurity trend to be aware of in 2019 is biometric security – tools that use facial, fingerprint, and other types of recognition to control access to sensitive environments and systems.
- According to another recent study, the current biometric security market is valued at about $16.8 million. By 2023, that number will climb to a staggering $41.8 billion.
- Gartner estimates that about 40% of mid-size organisations (and larger) will be using biometric solutions by as soon as 2022.
Your Partner in Cybersecurity Has Arrived
All of these trends together help underline that nothing short of a comprehensive, holistic, and proactive approach to cybersecurity will suffice in the modern era. Technology has expanded what is possible in terms of the work you’re doing on a daily basis. However, it has also dramatically exposed the volume of threats you’re exposed to and the opportunities that malicious individuals have to take advantage of you and your business.
It’s also a large part of why, at Datcom, we’ve gone to great lengths to offer the backup and disaster recovery, network security and other cybersecurity-related solutions that organisations like yours can depend on. In the modern era, preventing yourself from becoming the target of a cyber attack is no longer possible. What you can do is prevent yourself from becoming a victim – which is exactly what we want to help you accomplish.
If you’d like more information about the significant cybersecurity trends that you should be aware of in 2019 and beyond, or if you’d like to learn more about how we can help protect and fortify your infrastructure, contact Datcom today.