Cybersecurity trends to look out for in 2020

The rise of cybersecurity threats in 2019 has made corporations across the globe, increasingly aware of the importance of security measures needed to combat these threats. There are a plethora of questions from a cybersecurity perspective that need answering. What are the tech trends and associated risks? What will be the new strategy of attackers and what innovative ways do they plan to devise to thwart them? Companies are struggling to define and execute security measures to shield them from such threats while searching for answers. With the dawn of a new decade, the attackers are sure to implement new innovative ways against organizations whether it be for data breaches or virus attacks or ransomwares.

Thus, the cybersecurity industry that now stands at $120 billion is expected to grow to $300-plus billion by 2024. Let us take a look at some of the biggest cybersecurity trends shaping the new decade:

Data Breaches: One of the biggest threats in 2019 faced was of data breaches and which continues to haunt the year 2020. The average cost of data breaches totalled up to almost $4 million per business for the affected corporations. Personal data is a valuable commodity. Also, instead of going for just going after personal data, attackers are changing their methodology and opting for a planned attack on the website data. This can cause long-term, reputational damage to individuals or groups as the integrity of data comes into question. To stop or prevent such attacks, companies are taking the help of AI and also prioritizing the security and security testing of web applications as they are a leading source of data breaches.

Growing Need for Cybersecurity Skills – With an increase in cybersecurity threats, the direct response is securing the IT environment. However, only professionals with adequate skills can address this situation. A global shortage of cybersecurity skills in professional space makes companies attractive targets for hacking. Thus, 2020 will see a rising demand for cybersecurity expertise. According to The World Economic Forum, there was a massive shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the year 2017. Also, Cybersecurity Ventures reports that 2021 is expected to see 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally. Thus, growth in security training institutions will fill the employment space. Also, companies are insourcing their security requirements though internal training with tailored programs matching the needs of the organization.

Need for Cyber Insurance – An upsurge in cyber threats across the globe has prioritized the need cyber insurance for both small-to-medium enterprises and big organizations. Therefore, it will play a prominent role in operational risk strategy. However, insurance companies will need to customize their products according to the various security needs of the clients and not just provide a cover generic to existing risks. $11.5 million is the aggregated loss and extortion from cyber hacks for 2019! No wonder the cyber insurance is expected to double or triple by the end of 2020.

Risk Related to IoT Devices – Connect devices are flourishing in the market and throughout industries for numerous reasons. One of the prime reasons is the efficiency the IoT technology brings to the flow of work. Corporations can innovate as well as deliver new products and services while saving time and money. However, it also brings with it a wide variety of security threats: wireless communication, unencrypted personal data, vulnerable web interfaces, etc., and more.

Moving to the Cloud – Corporations will turn to cloud-based security solutions to guard their digital assets. They are likely to opt for cloud providers having partnerships with various security vendors to support defences of their cloud-based offerings or platforms. Also, organizations realize that manual security management is impossible for web application infrastructures of considerable size. They are thus reconsidering their approach to web application security.

Cloud-security platform sales, even though a small fragment of cybersecurity, and is expected to grow to a $460 million industry. Cloud-based security is economical, efficient in performance, offers a higher threat of intelligence and is compliant with the government as well as industry standards. Kaspersky Lab predicts that about 75 percent of companies will move applications to the cloud by 2020 and continue to flourish.

Mobile Devices Under Threat – Another very likely target of cybersecurity breaches are mobile devices. As they become an essential part of daily work processes, the amount of business data stored on them is also quite high. With the number of data breaches continuing to rise, we can expect mobile devices to play a huge role in it. Thus, securing via web application infrastructure with vulnerability management or pen-testing methods can help identify and address security weaknesses.

To conclude

The prime focus of cybersecurity trends in 2020 is to enhance and improve measures against security breaches, hacking and phishing attacks. For adequate protection, proper cybersecurity training along with an in-depth security and vulnerability management and pentesting needs to form an essential part of IT programs in every organization.