2019 is quickly drawing to a close, making for another fantastic year in cybersecurity innovation. However, as cybersecurity advances, so does the calibre of threats. At the same time, as the importance of data grows for businesses, so does the value of it for malicious actors. In turn, cybersecurity measures within the enterprise have become more vigorous than ever. Year on year, budgets have been on a steady increase, and 2020 is looking no different. Looking ahead, we explore some of the trends that will undoubtedly make 2020 a unique year in cybersecurity.
5G
2020 will welcome in a more prevalent 5G presence. Employees will have the luxury of working from wherever they want without worrying about poor coffee shop WiFi. Not only that, they can send masses of data internally quicker than every before. However, while all industries look forward to a connected future, security teams are standing by in angst. Billions more devices will become connected to the internet, which equals billions more vulnerabilities. This ultimately leaves cybersecurity teams wondering how on earth they're going to protect this diverse range of devices from security breaches. Furthermore, while 5G promises ultra-fast speeds, this in turn leads to high-speed data thefts. Thus, organisations must prioritise visibility to identify the threats as quickly as possible. As a whole, businesses mustn't race to utilise 5G; instead, they should test all devices for security and only pass these onto employees who have a real need for it.
Education
A large portion of cyber attacks could be mitigated simply through education. You can invest in all the solutions you want, but that's not going to stop your employees leaving Post-it Notes on their screen with their passwords on it, forgetting devices on public transport, and falling victim to phishing emails, among many more. It's important for organisations to remind employees that cybersecurity is an enterprise-wide effort. In particular, businesses should schedule regular workshops and mock attacks to keep their staff vigilant. As well as this, they should outline to the workforce what the impact is of cyber incidents and why they must keep their wits about them. With the right training and practices, your risk of attack lowers drastically.
Data privacy regulations
Following 2018's GDPR, and ahead of 2020's CCPA, attitudes will focus on data privacy regulations more than ever. Governments in particular are sure to continue rolling out regional regulations in recognition of the increasingly threatening attack landscape. What the regulations will often have in common is empowerment for the consumer. Today, customers know better than ever that they have control over their data. In particular, they can refuse for organisations to share it with third parties and request its deletion at any time. Not only that, but they can check in at any time to find out what data organisations hold about them. In turn, businesses must make sure that they can comply with these regulations or face dire consequences. Current paces and conversation about data regulations would indicate that 2020 will surely see the introduction of new regulations, particularly in the US following the CCPA.
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