Internet has grown exponentially in the recent past and so has the vulnerabilities. We have already seen a lot of security breaches in 2018. The most recent being Quora on 4th December 2018.
What’s the solution then? Cyber Security!
In simple words, cyber security means the protection against digital attacks.
Cyber security is over the top of every leader’s mind. Hence, it’s very interesting to see the trends in 2019.
So, what we can expect in 2019 when it comes to cyber security? Let’s see them below –
1. GDPR
GDPR which stands for General Data Protection Regulation, is the most important change in data privacy regulations in 2018.
While most organisations have implemented GDPR, we are still awaiting for the first GDPR penalty. It will be very interesting to see when it’s enforced.
GDPR affects everybody whose business is in the EU and to those who offers goods and/ or services to citizens in the EU.
Hence, clearly GDPR will have a very big impact in 2019.
2. Data Theft & Beyond
Hackers have been stealing data from the existence of the internet. But the problem is that now it’s not only about stealing the data, it’s about manipulating it.
Let’s understand this by an example –
Let’s say someone steals your account information of Quora. You get notified by Quora, you change your password and everything is back to normal.
But in another case, let’s say your answers gets deleted which can’t be recovered too. Isn’t that worser?
Yes, it’s definitely is.
Hope my point is clearer now.
3. Malware
Malware is nothing but a software designed to disrupt, damage, or gain authorized access to a computer system.
You must have heard about the WannaCry ransomware attack that took place in 2017. It’s a great example of a malware attack.
Hence anti-viruses need to get better and better in protecting against malware.
Few ways to protect yourself from malware are –
- Keeping all software up to date
- Using Antivirus
- Using a Firewall
- Keep a strong password (You can also use Google auto generated password)
4. IoT
According to a data from NewgenApps –
In 2016, 28.3 million units of IoT devices made it to the market. According to IDC forecasts, this number will rise to 82.5 million by 2020, showcasing a 31% growth.
Related Read: Why Development of IoT is Important For Business
There are lot of security challenges that have come up because of IoT. Because IoT deployments are away from the main network area, the security risks is quite higher.
The private networks created by vendors for interoperability among their own products are not compatible with others. The major challenge is the integration across multiple solutions.
Hence, in 2019 the challenges will only increase when it comes to IoT.
5. Shift in Attacking Vectors
Commonly in the past the hackers were only after the network of an organisation. But the motive has changed from network to users recently.
Hackers understand that for any organisation the users are the key. After the introduction of GDPR it has become importanter.
Hence this makes us more vulnerable to attacks.
6. DDoS & Its Impact
DDoS is a type of DOS attack where multiple compromised systems, which are often infected with a Trojan, are used to target a single system causing a Denial of Service (DoS) attack.
These attacks will grow significantly in 2019. The problem is that launching such an attack is very cheap when compared to the amount of damage it can do.
You won’t find news about such attacks unless a big company is involved. It can sometimes create a huge problem for companies.
7. Attackers Will Get More Smarter
The ways used by hackers has evolved considerably in the recent past. They are becoming smarter with every attack.
Dark Web, a small portion of the Deep Web is used by hackers for communication with other criminals.
Your mobile device is equally vulnerable compared to a laptop. Make sure to protect your privacy online.
8. Insurance
Owing to the increasing number of attacks, more and more people will take up Cyber risk insurance for protection.
CIO says- “Cyber insurance can’t protect your organization from cybercrime, but it can keep your business on stable financial footing should a significant security event occur.”
9. Increase in Demand of Cyber Security Experts
The world has a lot of developers, but there’s still a shortage of cyber security skills in the workplace. This is the reason for the increasing number of cyber attacks.
Similarly more and more agencies will come up in this space too. So if you are planning to start something, start today, it’s a great time.
10. Passwords
Do you know the key way how hackers attack individual?
Simple passwords are one of the key tools of attack vectors, from novice hackers right the way up to nation-state players.
Related Read: Is Your Password Secure?
Password theft has increased considerably in the recently and will only increase in 2019. Hence, we’ll see more of 2 factor authentication to prevent such theft.
A recent study by IBM found that although people ranked security as their highest priority — over privacy and convenience — for logging in to most applications, less than a third are likely to enable MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) after a data breach.
Conclusion
Hope you loved these interesting cyber security trends. It’s very crucial to any business.
Computer networks will forever be the target of criminals & hackers, and it can be argued that the danger of cyber-security breaches will only increase in the 2019 as networks continue to grow.
Let me know thoughts in the comments below.