When it comes to all things cyber, this past year was an interesting one for cybersecurity trends. From a security perspective, there were many security breaches, with the most recent one being the data breach of the Marriott Hotel group. Some of the major themes were also the blurring of lines between cyber and physical security, industry consolidation, and new AI cybersecurity tools. Public and regulatory awareness of data privacy as a critical concern and issue was raised due to seemingly unceasing scandals related to consumer privacy.
Cybersecurity experts will continue to address these topics, and some trends will dominate the cybersecurity sector in 2019.
In the world of IoT (Internet of Things), everything is connected. With so many connected devices, the division between cyber and physical security is getting more and more blurred, as well as between the CEOs, CIOs, and CTOs. Concerning sophistication, physical security is a lot behind cybersecurity. However, organizations are working to unite the two together. The range of threats across both areas is becoming more extensive, so we should expect more crossover to happen during 2019.
The human element can detect and react to a cyber breach, but not as fast as a machine could. With the growing range and number of threats, it’s clear that leveraging the power of AI is necessary. Some major companies have announced their AI-based security solutions in 2018, such as Alphabet’s Chronicle and Palo Alto Networks’ Magnifier. The AI-based security analytics that enterprises have deployed since 2017 aren’t pure-play solutions. What AI adds to these existing technologies is analytical strength. All in all, AI will continue to grow in the cybersecurity segment as it will in general (at the corporate level).
When the defense gets better and stronger, cybercriminals keep finding new and more devious ways to use malicious code. For example, experts discovered another variant of ransomware that turns victims into attackers. By offering a pyramid scheme-style discount, the victim passes on the malware link to two or more people. When they install it and pay, the first victim has their files decrypted for free.
There will be more cybersecurity regionalization, and Brexit prompts that increase. Today, foreign governments are suspicious of each other’s cybersecurity solutions, especially after recent scandals of China’s HTC and Huawei, and Russia’s Kaspersky Lab. That’s why we might expect more regional cybersecurity solutions and companies appear around the globe. In the U.S., there are clusters of security firm activity that focus on building robust cybersecurity innovation centers.
Passwords are a vulnerability, which is an issue that cybersecurity innovators are aiming to replace with biometrics. The iPhone X has Face ID for facial recognition, while MasterCard announced that all their users would be able to identify themselves with biometrics by April 2019.
There has been a lot of consolidation within the cybersecurity industry. Splunk acquired Phantom Cyber, AT&T bought AlienVault, and BlackBerry bought Cylance. According to ESG research, about 53% of companies with more than 1,000 employees “currently have three or more different endpoint security products deployed across its network.” As this leaves a lot of waste, the number of solution providers will decrease in the following year as large companies will continue to add startup tech to their portfolios to create a broader product family offering.
Digital transformation and innovative solutions in the cybersecurity industry is helping organizations in keeping their networks safe. However, cybercriminals are getting smarter and more dangerous. That’s why every enterprise needs to stay on top of the current trends and know the future predictions regarding cybersecurity. They should understand how digital transformation remakes their business, as well as what threats are introduced by new platforms, technologies, and partners to gain more control and be able to detect and respond to threats fasters.
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