2020 Cyber Security Trends

Do you mind blowing up your balance sheet by $8.19 million? That’s how much a firm loses on average due to a cybersecurity breach.

As the internet becomes a differentiating factor for success in business, so does the ability to stay safe online. Many firms, therefore, now invest heavily in cybersecurity to guard their assets.

Here‘s a look at some turnkey cyber security trends in 2020 you should watch out for.

1. More Cyber Security Skilled Workers

Cybersecurity is now a concern high up in the list for many executives. As such, so will the demand for skilled workers grow.

Let’s put some context to this. Research shows that by 2021, 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs that will remain unfilled.

The main reason behind this stunning statistic is the lack of enough employees. Although technology is exponentially growing, training isn’t keeping up. There is a lack of complementary investment in training cybersecurity workers.

To bridge this gap, many organizations are taking unorthodox routes.

For example, it’s becoming increasingly common for companies that hire hackers.

The reasoning here is that it takes one to know one. Since these former hackers know how attacks work, they can offer effective protection.

For other companies, altering how they hire cybersecurity workers is one way to stem the tide. Instead of demanding a college degree, organizations are looking at a recruit’s ability to learn new skills.

Even educational institutions are changing their tune in response to the apparent skills gap in the sector. Hands-on experience has now become the currency through which IT graduates land new jobs.

As such, educational institutions that focused more on the theoretical are now looking to emphasize on on-the-ground experience.

Additionally, some of the learning institutions are developing bridge programs to help train more students with the practical skills necessary.

No matter what you did for your undergrad (or where), you can now enroll in these bridge programs to gain entry into cyber safety programs.

2. The Need to Train Employees

As any cybersecurity professional can tell you, the weakest link in the security chain in the human element in it. You might have the most robust technology to protect your organization, but it only takes one wrong move by your employees to sink the ship.

Therefore, high up on the list for many companies is training their workers on cybersecurity.

For a start, it will be more critical to help your team learn where to get the right information. Be it looking up sites like megaleechers for app recommendations to more high-level information sites.

Furthermore, you will find it increasingly vital to sensitize your employees on identifying potential security breaches. That rings especially true for socially engineered hacks, which are becoming more intricate.

Expect to see more formal training sessions among staff at various organizations. You can also expect to see more expenditure on security consultants to help design relevant drills for each firm’s needs.

3. The Intertwining of the Political and Cyber Realms

The economic divisions between superpowers from the east and the west will have an impact on cybersecurity.

A silent, tech-driven ‘arms race’ fuelled by the need for supremacy will lead to unexpected results. To illustrate this, Russia has recently announced testing an ‘unplugged’ internet. In essence, that would be a nationwide alternative to the internet as we know it.

For the countries where information censorship is vital, expect the trend to continue in 2020. The governments involved will seek more control over what their citizens can access online, which can open new loopholes that have unintended security consequences.

Another aspect of the convergence of these two worlds for cybersecurity is the embargoing of technology companies. As we saw in 2019 with the United States versus Huawei, governments are willing to cut off tech companies from rival countries.

For those organizations that rely on such firms for cybersecurity expertise, the uncertainty can leave them vulnerable.

4. Vehicle Hacking Is on the Rise

Today’s cars are a hub of information. To add to that, there is talk and investment of driverless vehicles that will rely even more heavily on data to function.

Any car you buy today comes with GPS, in-car communication, and other sensors that generate tons of information. The data that these vehicles generate is tied to specific human activity, and that makes it valuable.

Malicious actors have learned how to break into private networks using unprotected connected home appliances. Much in the same way, you can expect to see more attempts at vehicle hacking through unprotected in-car connections.

These malicious actors will have the chance to target the vehicle for your personal data, such as email and passwords. From this data, they can then gain more unauthorized entry into your other digital spaces.

Another approach hackers can use is to break into the cloud services that empower connected vehicles. Selling this information to third parties on the black market is hugely lucrative and will only rise as personalized data becomes more valuable.

5. Artificial Intelligence for Both Attacks and Defense

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now in the middle of the battle between cybersecurity professionals and hackers. As more investment goes into the technology, it is for divergent objectives.

On the one hand, nations are investing in AI to find novel ways to cripple an enemy state. Similarly, many organizations are also using AI to find ways to cripple competitors.

As teams look at how AI can help them fend off attacks by their opposition, malicious actors are investing in comparable strategies. For hackers, the goal is to find out how far they can take AI in their quest to breach their target’s security.

Consequently, you can expect a rise in the number of security breaches across the board. The increase will cover not only the frequency of occurrences but also a surge in each breach’s level of sophistication.

You can also expect to see innovation in tandem with the breaches, which offers newer ways to shore up cybersecurity.

Keep Tracking Cyber Security Trends to Safeguard Your Organization

No business can succeed without the internet in today’s world, and malicious actors recognize that. As a result, you need to ensure that your firm’s cybersecurity is a top priority to safeguard your assets. Keep a close watch on cyber security trends that can help you identify new threats in time to develop protective measures against them.

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