Cybersecurity Industry Update

2018 will see many changes to the way that businesses manage security, but unlike 2017, when many companies suffered from large high-profile data breaches, the trends aren’t as obvious as you might think. We’ll go over some of the potential trends we could see as a result of 2018’s security developments and why they matter to your business.

Ransomware Will Continue to Be an Issue
While ransomware isn’t as high-profile of a threat as it has been in the past, it still continues to be a problem that could create dangerous situations for your business. Just the threat of it being out there is enough to make the average business question their security. Unfortunately, ransomware is one of the more difficult threats to protect your business from, as it can make its way into your office through a tricky medium--Internet of Things devices.

IoT devices are on the rise even today, and with so many devices being connected to the Internet, it’s inevitable that one of them will become infected by some type of malware (perhaps even ransomware) and bring it to your office, where it can populate your network. To secure your network from IoT devices, you’ll have to have a discussion with your team members about data access best practices, as well as mobile device practices that minimize their likelihood of exposing themselves to potential threats. You can also round out your network security by implementing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy for your business in which employees who want to use their personal devices for work purposes must subscribe to specific practices, including device monitoring, remote wiping, and more.

Artificial Intelligence Will Plague Businesses
Artificial intelligence has been used by security professionals to make considerable leaps and bounds in network security, but it’s thought that in the near future, hackers will be able to leverage it to their own nefarious ends. With security software constantly learning and adapting to specific scenarios, it makes sense that in order to combat these types of protective solutions, hackers would want threats that can do the same.

A.I. can be used to collect information on specific businesses from all parts of the Internet, be it support websites, directories, and so much more. Artificial intelligence threats can then use this information to methodically create a targeted attempt at breaking down your organization’s defenses. If you’re not concerned about the future of A.I. in regard to cyber threats, you should be, as it represents a dangerous trend toward intelligent threats undermining the best efforts by security professionals at keeping up with the industry.

GDPR Will Shake Things Up
As of this past May, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is in full effect. While this does aim to help protect users’ data privacy, it presents some complications for businesses. Since these organizations aren’t allowed to store information (like cookies) without the user’s consent, it’s expected that at least a couple of businesses will fail to adhere to these new regulations.

According to Forrester, it’s expected that 80% of businesses will fail to comply with these new regulations. The reasoning, however, is a bit odd. 50% of these organizations will actually choose not to comply, citing the reason as the fact that actually complying with these new guidelines will cost more than the fines associated with failure. Whatever the case, it’s likely that this will have an impact on user security and data privacy in the future.

Don’t let your business fall behind the times in terms of network security. To learn more about how you can protect your business, reach out to us at 407-478-6600.