Every year brings new changes to the business landscape, and with those changes come new threats to the cyber security of an organization. Threats to cyber security can cause damage to the assets and reputation of an organization that is expensive and difficult to repair. Therefore, smart businesses are doing all they can to anticipate and manage potential threats before they become a problem. Part of this is a focus on hiring and training cyber security professionals, and many employees are looking to improve their skills with CCNP enterprise study material to better serve the evolving needs of their organization.
Cyber security professionals must stay on the forefront of trends in their quickly changing industry. Cyber crime is rising rapidly around the world. And business IT departments must prioritize and adapt quickly or risk shutting down. Here are eight top cyber security trends to watch for:
8 Top Trending Threats To Follow In Cybersec
1. Whole-Organization Focus On Security
From the C-suite on down, businesses will require all employees to understand the importance of organization security and practice vigilance in their implementation of defensive measures. Additionally, organizations will implement network-wide technologies to bolster the strength of their networks. Cyber security professionals will be expected to be well-versed in implementing and operating these technologies and additional training, such as online computer networking courses with certificates, will be an important part of their continuing education.
2. Attacks Targeting Remote Workers
An increasing number of businesses are realizing the benefits of allowing employees to work from home, including greater productivity and lower overhead costs. However, with these benefits come some unique threats. Unsecured personal devices and software like Zoom are potential threats to organization security and can be difficult to monitor and manage. Companies are reporting an increase in attacks on home wireless networks. Hackers are also going after smartphones of employees with valuable content and access to company accounts or personal financial information. Going forward, businesses will focus greatly on endpoint and remote access security as the shift to remote work continues.
3. Vulnerabilities Unique To Cloud Services
Businesses are turning to cloud solutions for much of their storage and applications. As this trend continues, companies will need to focus on threats that are unique to cloud-based services, including at-risk applications and reduced monitoring and control capabilities. This goes for websites, file sharing, software, data storage, and much more.
4. Ransomware Threats
Ransomware continues to be one of the greatest threats to businesses. Ransomware is a malware attack where organizations are locked out of their networks or prevented from accessing important files and data. Organizations that handle sensitive data are considered particularly attractive targets for these kinds of attacks. Attackers are often able to access networks through overlooked devices, such as printers and mobile devices. Even organizations with highly secure networks have been successfully targeted by ransomware, making the development of new protections essential to enterprise security going forward.
5. Shift To Multi-Factor Authentication
As cyber security threats become more sophisticated and remote work more popular, multi-factor authentication (MFA) will become an essential part of enterprise security processes. Employees will likely already be familiar with multi-factor authentication through single-use codes sent to their phones, but the cyber security industry will see the development of new authentication processes that provide greater protection for businesses.
Some of these new secure processes will include application-based authentication, encrypted security keys, and even biometrics like finger prints or ocular scans. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is the bare minimum now for important business logins and software to stay secure and compliant.
6. Integration of Automated Security
Automation of and integration of artificial intelligence into security procedures is already underway and will only continue as the volume of threats to organizations increases. Cyber security professionals will need to be able to implement and manage these new procedures with a high degree of confidence and skill.
7. Need for Patch Management
Businesses will turn their focus to enterprise-wide patch management. The primary way attackers target organizations is through unaddressed vulnerabilities. Patches are the way that organizations address those insecurities. Companies and financial professionals will need to have robust processes in place to detect and understand vulnerabilities and deploy patches.
8. Increase in Insider Threats
Many organizations are finding themselves unprepared to deal with insider threats to their network security, particularly as the remote work trend grows. Because cyber security attacks can be highly lucrative for the attackers, many are hiring people to work inside organizations to identify weak points and help implement attacks. With the reduced capacity to monitor employees that comes with remote work, companies will see an increase in this type of threat.
Cybersec Conclusion
Threats to enterprise security and digital privacy will continue to evolve and become more sophisticated. As they do so, it is essential that organizations stay on top of changing trends in their industries and in cyber security in order to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate the ability of threats to impact their business and their customers.
