Cyberthreats are becoming more and more sophisticated and tricky. It is not anymore enough to come up with a secure password to be totally protected.
There is a true battle of professionals – of security specialists and hackers. And both sides do not seem to be giving up: companies invest millions of dollars in implementation of the cybersecurity measures and at the same time cyberattacks happen each minute (according to the research conducted by the University of Maryland).
Addressing cybersecurity is challenging since there is a diverse set of aspects and issues that deserve attention: shielding the net from invasion, protecting critical and confidential information, software composition analysis, encrypting files and communications and so on. To be effectively protected one should take care of all of the aspects and keep up with time, adapting the used measures to the ever changing reality.
Let’s look at what risks are now of a great concern to security professionals in 2020 and at the trends of the cybersecurity world.
Data Breaches
Data branches is an “evergreen” risk for the data owners and an “evergreen” headache for the cybersecurity professionals. Probably, personal data will always remain sought after on the black market, therefore, the need to protect such information will stay just as actual as it is now.
Potential threat is coming from any data leakage and third parties’ activity. Third parties may get in tough as contractors or vendors, that is why more attention is being paid to cyber supply chain risk management.
According to the research shared by Riskonnect, 60 percent of data breaches in a way involve third parties. What is more persuasive only half of observed companies seem to have working security standards for third parties.
5G – A Curse Or A Blessing?
Sure 5G is attractive for users. But its usage may bring threats associated with IoT. The point is that 5G is a complex technology and it takes professionalism to have it protected. Scams may take advantage of the blind spot to steal large amounts of SaaS data.
Phishing Threat
Even in 2020 phishing attacks are still used for stealing data, money and identities. The problem is that even with the strongest and most modern tools companies cannot get away from having a weak point – human factor. Hackers with ill intentions may be masters not only in the technologies, but also in the psychology, so they may know how to use it to get what they want.
Sure security measures and constant security monitoring is a way out. But not less decisive could be a thorough cybertraining of all of the net and tech users in the company. Cybersecurity is not a concern for executives only – it is a common problem that can be faced only by the whole team. Every worker should properly understand what cyber risks there are, what is his or her role in risk management and what measures could be taken in case of a risk situation.
In general, people are becoming more conscious of phishing attacks, however, scams do not seem to give up, they master trickery and psychology usage and still perform successful attacks.
Shortage Of Professionals
The risk may come from unprofessional addressing of cybersecurity issues. Many companies experience a shortage of IT professionals. It is not enough to be educated -experience plays a huge role and the ability to keep up with the time and never stop learning. Such specialists are hard to find and sometimes are expensive to work with. However, when it comes to the losses cyber attacks may bring, the investments in security become reasonable and worth it, when the measures taken are truly professional.
2020 – The Year Of Disinformation Prosperity
There are many elections ahead in the world in 2020 (around 70) and that is a sign for net and tech users to be aware of the disinformation spreading that may take place. Political parties and its supporters may run a disinformation campaign to influence public opinions, politics’ images, events presentations and thus the results of the elections.
Unfortunately, we are used to getting information easily – via preferred channels. But sometimes the disinformation is hidden so well that to expose it one should go into really deep research and that rarely is done. Mass media are bought and sold, their data can be intruded – actually, there are many scenarios of how the wrong information can reach masses of people. The solution would, probably, be to stay critical and conscious when receiving any information, especially when it comes to politics.
Mobile Devices Could Be A Weak Point
We tend to keep all sorts of information on mobile devices and that explains why it is a wholesome vector of attacks. Malicious software is designed to steal information including commercial information, emails and SMS communications, passwords and PINs. This trend is actual for 2020 and it explains why cyber security specialists use systematic approach to security campaigns taking into consideration all of the devices that are used within the company and by its workers.
A Danger From The Inside – Employees
We can talk about AI and sophisticated software, professional cybersecurity teams, and expensive security campaigns – but it all crashes when the human factor slips. It may take an emotional rush or simple inattentiveness for a worker to take some action that would lead to data leakage or abusage.
In 2020 a special attention is taken to grow workers’ engagement and improve cybersecurity consciousness.
AI As A Great Player For Both Teams
From using the AI both can advance – security specialists and scams. And that is an intrigue of 2020 – who would take more of its usage? Capgemini’s recent A.I. the report shared that around 60 percent of companies use AI to monitor breach attempts. And it is believed that the role of AI in cybersecurity will increase. At the same time, as digital professionals hackers with ill intentions may also use AI to attack in a more efficient way.
Physical Cyber Attacks
Cyber attacks take place in industries where the threat is physical. It is possible to hack into any electrical device, transporting system, healthcare devices… The intrusion into such tools can easily cause physical threat. In 2020 it is more obvious than ever that cybersecurity is a concern for all industries.
Pragmatic Approach To Cloud
Cloud software is widely used in 2020. With new opportunities, the cloud brings new vulnerabilities that could be taken advantage of. Some attacking methods are so effective that they may cope even with two-factor authentication.
However safe it may seem to use, for example, Google, Microsoft or other credible applications, it is important to remember to take actions to protect the data associated with the cloud usage.
Summing Up
The digital world is changing with lightning speed and makes it challenging for cybersecurity specialists to react in time and lead effective cyber defensive campaigns. They should continuously follow up on the trends and tools that are actual. The more a security specialist knows about the tendencies of the cyber activity, the more effective should be the taken security measures.
“Forewarned is forearmed,” – they say. That implements perfectly well in regards to the cyberthreats. The challenge is to be truly “forewarned” and professional enough to get “forearmed”.
