Due to the rapid rise in technology, an increasing portion of our personal lives and professional enterprise are overseen online, in the ever-growing phenomenon that is the World Wide Web. As a result, the chances of important information being in the hands of someone you don’t know will increase. In the Global Risks Report of 2020, cyber-attacks were ranked as the fifth biggest risk. The growing risk caused means that cybersecurity in 2022 has become of substantial importance.
Over the years, a large number of businesses, small and large, have suffered from these attacks. According to Accenture’s Cost of Cybercrime Study, 43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses. In more recent years, the emergence of COVID-19 has meant that security teams have had to operate in a different environment without maintaining the ability to access important tools, with cybercriminals taking advantage to exploit certain areas. Businesses have struggled to adapt to the new cyber security climate shaped by the pandemic and this is clear to see with the United Nations stating that cybercrime has seen an increase of 600% as a result of COVID-19.
Nobody will be able to predict what the next significant cyber threat will be or where it will come from but what is promised is that the future of cybersecurity will be challenging. The industry is continuously expanding following the different methods of cyber-attacks being developed and the behaviors of these cybercriminals. Businesses will need to continuously adapt so that people will feel more secure and be better off.
Cybersecurity Talent Shortage
Where we have witnessed a rise in cyberattacks on businesses, we have seen a sharp decline of cybersecurity workers. According to an annual cybersecurity workforce study published by (ISC)², the cybersecurity workforce gap increased in every region of the world except the Asia-Pacific region. Due to this challenge, many businesses have found it hard to employ cybersecurity experts which in turn will affect the levels of protection. But in spite of the talent drought, companies from across private and public sectors have been assiduous, attempting to fight against the new challenges that have come to light and protect their organizations, but have found it increasingly difficult. That being the case, companies have begun venturing into a different avenue of protection.
Increase in Ransomware Threat
One of the methods increasingly used by hackers to gain access is through ransomware. This method has slowly grown into one of the leading cyberthreats for numerous years and has become more prolific. One of the most well-known ransomware attacks was the 2017 WannaCry outbreak. This affected in excess of 200,000 computers in over 150 countries across the world. This led to global costs of a colossal £6 billion. The profitability of ransomware attacks has made attacking companies through this method a business with criminals successfully preventing users from accessing their systems and then demanding and receiving payments to regain access.
Businesses need to be wary of these types of cyber-attacks and will need to have the ability to respond. Having close contacts with administrators, legal counsel and public affairs will ensure that companies are always one step ahead and guarantee that their response will be undertaken without any issues.
Keep up to Date with the Latest Threat and Mitigation Information
There are various ways in which you can keep up to date with the latest information regarding cybersecurity. Things you can do to always stay one step ahead include, following security professionals and influencers, continuously browse security-related social media pages, attend useful live events on cybersecurity and check vulnerability and risk advisory feeds. Following these protocols will provide you with a better understanding and make sure you always stay on top of cybersecurity developments adapting allowing you to adapt to an ever-shifting landscape.
Automation within Cybersecurity
The rise in cyber-attacks has meant that security teams within companies have struggled to keep up with the variety of threats that they could face. This is where the introduction of technology such as machine learning and artificial intelligence comes in. Industries have already begun adopting and have increased their reliance on the technology, cementing it as a key core of their cybersecurity systems.
These tools are an upgrade that will be able to detect possible threats at a quicker pace than people can, crunch data and discover worrying trends of malicious activity. In addition, security automation will be able to spot the existence of new software vulnerabilities, configuration mistakes and other problems and guarantee that whatever the problem is, it is mitigated quickly.
These burdens will be taken off people and instead they can spend their time more productively focusing on matters that could have a positive impact on the business in the long term.