2020 taught us that the cybersecurity landscape can change in a heartbeat. This has forced CISOs to adapt to sudden and unexpected challenges. Moreover, 2020 has made us wonder what new obstacles, changes, and trends wait for us in the upcoming years.
There is no better way to prepare for the upcoming years than to embrace the current trends that will shape the cybersecurity landscape in 2021.
Remote working will likely continue in a post-COVID world
Remote working is the “new normal”. Many companies have realized the many benefits that it brings. Some of those benefits are:
- a tremendous increase in productivity
- lower operating costs.
Moreover, many organizations have already embraced the idea of remote work as a standard.
However, security professionals didn’t like it very much when most employees shifted to a work-from-home setup. The main reason is hackers can now easily hack personal networks. These networks are typically less secure, unlike well-protected office networks.
This means that cybersecurity professionals have to exert even more effort. That is by locking down all poorly protected employees. Furthermore, they must up the security awareness training they give among employees.
Cybersecurity professionals must also add new and stricter security policies. That is to lessen the chances of experiencing a breach in remote working environments.
Even COVID-19 can’t stop hackers
Organizations didn’t have enough time to prepare for the shift to remote work. For just a few days, millions of workers worldwide suddenly started working remotely. Many companies even did it overnight. Meanwhile, hackers saw this unprecedented change as a great opportunity to attack companies.
As mentioned, personal networks are far less secure. Furthermore, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices has put organizations in dire need. That is of extending their network visibility. Hence, expect that network visibility-enhancing technologies will be a major trend. That is for years to come.
Beware of ransomware
No one is exempted from cyberattacks. However, there are more industries that are more prone to attacks due to their lucrative nature. These industries include financial, healthcare, and government institutions.
A study by Cybersecurity Ventures reported that the projected damage costs brought by ransomware will be $20 billion by 2021. That is almost twice the projection in 2019 ($11.5 billion). Organizations have an option to boost their cybersecurity posture. Otherwise, the number of successful ransomware attacks will reach a new record.
Budget restrictions will force CISOs to invest in cloud-based security
Companies are having restricted budgets due to the unstable economic situation caused by COVID-19. This goes for cybersecurity budgets as well. Hence, CISOs will need to make every penny count in justifying their 2021 budget. This means that they have to achieve the first and second trends mentioned above with a limited budget.
Fortunately, cybersecurity providers have anticipated this trend. They have started offering cloud-based security options. As result, clients that are struggling with these difficult times can still benefit from cybersecurity. For instance, DFLabs started offering their IncMan SOAR as a cloud, SaaS solution.
