According to our customers and security commentators here are some major trends that will be a feature of Cyber SecurityManagement in 2018.
Cyber Security Resource Shortage
The shortage of cybersecurity-skilled individuals will continue to be problem during 2018. Globally, many thousands of cybersecurity roles remained unfilled during 2017. Based on the numbers of qualified and suitably experienced candidates expected to enter the profession, as compared with increasing demand, the outlook is one of a greater shortfall over the next 12 months.
Outsourcing of Security Services Set to Increase
With the expected skills gap comes the issue of organisations not having the in-house talent available to effectively manage security effectively and deal with incidents and issues. Companies will increasingly look to security vendors and managed services providers to help mitigate security risks and keep abreast of day-to-day challenges.
More Women in Cyber Security
The lack of security talent also presents a massive opportunity in 2018 for women to enter the field to make up for the shortage currently seen in cybersecurity. According to recent research, currently, only 11 percent of the world’s information security workforce are women. As companies seek to balance out their homogeneous cyber security staff they are actively seeking women. Not only is employing a more diverse staff beneficial from a public image standpoint but more importantly, a diverse workforce drives innovation.
Increased Automation
Even the organisations who do have sufficient skilled, in-house security talent find it very challenging to do much to improve on the time it takes to detect and to remediate security incidents. This is largely due to the fact that basic tasks and communication happens relatively slowly. In 2018, expect more organisations to look to security automation tools to overhaul internal processes and streamline lines of communication.
The People Problem
Social engineering has been used successfully for decades to get a foot in the door with minimal technical effort and this isn’t going to slow down any time soon. Security specialists can spend a huge amount of time dealing with incidents that were caused by human frailty. The best way to address this problem is through education and awareness training. In 2018 companies will invest more time and effort in strengthening the weakest link, people.
Whether it comes from social engineering or from an insider threat, the human attack surface will continue to reach new heights. There are approximately 4 billion internet users today and that number is likely to reach at least 6 billion by 2020. In 2018, expect organisations to look for solutions that focus on the people problem. To combat the human risk factor, organisations must put together a plan that creates processes which align with security objectives as well as delivering business functionality. Greater use will also need to be made of various technologies to detect insider threats, streamline investigation process, prevent data loss, and respond more quickly and effectively.
Security breaches are now inevitable in today’s technology-driven economy. Organisations that wish to remain a hard target for cybercrime will need to continually update their processes and technical defences.
If you would like to find out how to best protect your organisation from cyber attacks or would like to carry out penetration testing or an IS/IT audit, please feel free to contact us through the KRYPSYS website www.krypsys.com