Here are 14 of the top cybersecurity trends you should know about for 2022. Cybersecurity is becoming more advanced than ever and it being a business owner it can be hard to keep up with it all that’s why we want to keep you informed.
1. Attacks Against Cloud Services
There has been a tremendous shift of business data, processes, and infrastructure to cloud computing in recent years. The cloud helps drive a faster time to market, increases productivity, lowers operating costs, and boosts flexibility and scalability. Gartner predicts the public user spending on cloud services to grow 20.4% in 2022, reaching almost $500 billion. A report by Check Point on cloud security reveals that 27% of organizations have faced compromised security over the last 12 months. With the rising adoption of cloud devices due to a shift in the work environment, such incidents will only rise.
Cloud-based threats like reduced visibility and control, misconfigured cloud storage and settings, vulnerable cloud applications, incomplete data deletion, compliance issues, migration concerns and more will continue to impact businesses in coming years. Organizations will struggle to control critical data due to attacks levied against cloud services. Nevertheless, a mature and streamlined cloud governance model can accelerate their security response capabilities.
2. Rise in IoT (Internet of Things) Devices
IoT devices facilitate complex business processes and improve connectivity across the globe. Thanks to these advantages, IoT-enabled devices have seen tremendous growth in adoption and integrations into security networks.
With the substantial growth of the IoT market, there comes an associated cyber security risk. 2022 will witness attacks on IoT devices, especially with the increasing usage of edge computing devices and cloud ecosystems. A report by IoT Analytics predicts that the number of IoT devices will reach 27 million by 2025. This puts more devices at medium to high risk. They form a porous security perimeter involving the cloud and its associated networks due to a lack of built-in security to counter threats. Businesses can expect more non-encrypted personal data, hardcoded passwords, software updates from unverified sources, wireless communication security issues and more.
Additionally, the growth of 5G networks will significantly increase inter-connectivity with IoT, making the security environment more prone to vulnerabilities. We expect manufacturers to build sophisticated 5G technologies and products to avoid data breaches.
3. Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Complete protection against ever-evolving, sophisticated threats, technologies and devices that bypass standard security measures is manually impossible. Therefore, the demand for complex security automation has expanded with the proliferation of cyber threats, IoT, connected devices and WiFi network vulnerability to security threats.
According to Venturebeats, enterprises view AI and machine learning as a support for their cybersecurity administrators. Organizations such as CISCO claim that attacks against machine based transactions are especially difficult for employees to tackle. Security professionals are using AI and machine learning models to combat malicious attacks. These advanced algorithms can boost early detection capabilities using threat intelligence. AI can identify potential attack variants, and machine learning can determine attack classes and detect threats.
Attacks meant to evade these technologies also continue to evolve with them. Cybercriminals harness the power of AI and machine learning tools to orchestrate multiple cyberattacks by identifying network defenses and simulating behavior patterns to bypass security controls. These tactics call for increases in the deployment of advanced heuristic solutions according to the scope and severity of threats.
4. Zero Trust Cyber Security
Business models and workforce dynamics continue to develop with the shift to cloud and hybrid IT environments, increasing the presence of corporate assets outside the traditional security perimeter. These exposed assets demand centralized policy orchestration and distributed policy enforcement for more responsive security control to shield them.
Zero trust security architecture facilitates effective authentication and authorization, ensuring that legitimate users and applications gain access to the protection surface. It ensures continuous trust evaluation by leveraging network segmentation, multi-layered threat prevention, lateral movement restriction and granular user access control.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further accentuated interest in zero trust cyber security with employees shifting to remote work. According to a research by marketsandmarkets, the post pandemic cybersecurity market is expected to reach $51.6 billion by 2026. Thanks to a shift in the working environment, government authorities mandate new regulations for private and public enterprises. Targeted attacks result in business downtime, loss of intellectual property and revenue loss. Despite the surge in its demand, it is not easy to integrate in an existing system – networks are rarely designed to accommodate zero trust models.
5. Privacy Enhancing Computation
The growth of digital technology and data utilization amplifies data privacy concerns as organizations base their structures around data, forcing them to maintain data privacy. Data processing activities that involve personal data transfers, fraud analytics, data monetization and more require in-depth assessment. Privacy-enhancing computation can help organizations maintain privacy and security by ensuring safe data-sharing and secure collaboration across regions.
Gartner’s top strategic technology trends of 2022 mentions using privacy-enhancing computation to protect data in use while maintaining confidentiality. It also estimates that by 2025, half of all organizations will implement privacy enhancing computing to process sensitive data in untrusted environments and multi-party analytics use cases to meet the growing need for sensitive data sharing.
Modern privacy regulations will cover the private data of 75% of the world’s population by the end of 2023. Also, with the rising number of security breaches, regulatory bodies will increase their efforts and expectations by creating new privacy regulators and closely monitoring cybersecurity preparedness.
6. Multi-Factor Authentication
The growing instances of cyberattacks, online fraud, cloud-based services and IoT trends require advanced security rather than relying on the outdated approach of using usernames and passwords for authentication. You can prevent these security breaches by deploying multi-factor authentication systems in smartphones and computer devices to identify users. A Research and Markets report states that the multi-factor authentication market is expected to reach $24.16 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 17.83% during the forecast period of 2020 – 2025.
Multi-layered verification processes require multiple safety validation variables unique to the user like login credentials, biometric verification or one-time passwords. Cloud-integrated solutions allow remote fingerprint scanning, facial recognition and document verification. Also, you can apply risk-based authentication to assess risks related to requests. You can collect user data and step-up requirements in case of suspicious user behavior using passive contextual mechanisms like geolocation and computing environments.
7. Continuously Evolving Ransomware
Ransomware attacks are one of the biggest cyber security challenges organizations worldwide face. A report by IBM that 2021 had the highest average cost of data breach in 17 years, at $3.86 million. Also, 61% of U.K. executives expect reportable ransomware incidents to grow in 2022.
Cybercriminals steal sensitive data and demand cryptocurrency or similar compensation in exchange. Also, organized cybercrime groups encrypt data and threaten to publish sensitive data unless a ransom is paid, creating a risk of not only losing data but having it shared publicly.
These attacks will continue to adapt and evolve by becoming more sophisticated, targeted and costly. The Sophos Threat Report states that 2022 will be the year of extortion, bringing aggressive cybercrime activities. Attackers will maximize their financial gains by shifting their attack focus from data encryption to data exfiltration.
8. Rise in Insider Threats
Numerous security incidents occur in organizations because of accidental breaches due to negligence or unintentional actions like opening up a phishing email or downloading malicious content. These mistakes tend to increase in a mobile or remote workforce environment. Also, organizations’ reduced vigilance creates chances for insiders with malicious intent to exploit administrative privileges to gain personal benefits by utilizing credentials to access critical assets.
In 2022, the cost of monitoring, surveillance and escalation of insider threats has increased by 114% since 2016, according to a report. Monitoring or identifying insider threats and unusual activities becomes difficult due to the misuse of personal devices, unsecured networks, unauthorized remote access and weak passwords.
9. Explosion of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and Mobile Devices
Mobile technology has evolved rapidly over the past few years, resulting in enhanced information mobility. Companies and employees are embracing BYOD policies as they foster greater flexibility. These devices often connect to corporate networks, thereby expanding the attack surface and creating a significant risk of losing sensitive information.
Despite the concerns, Bitglass Research shows that a significant number of organizations (30%) have adopted BYOD without using any protection against malware. The same report also shows that the top security concern among businesses is data loss or leakage (62%). Moreover, an alarming 49% lack the visibility to unmanaged devices with access to corporate resources and potential to download malware.
Every other device accessing the company systems is an endpoint that needs to be secured because it acts as a potential entry point for attack vectors. However, you can capitalize BYOD and mobile devices’ benefits through a continuous monitoring approach, which can be supported with automated solutions for third-party penetration testing programs and real-time vulnerability management.
10. Growing IT Skills Gap
Despite technical innovation in cyberspace, businesses require human expertise for comprehensive data protection against blackmail, espionage and other intrusions. Advanced technologies like AI and machine learning can undoubtedly handle tasks with speed and accuracy, but they cannot extend the scope of such tasks.
Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs openings will be at 3.5 million in 2025. The scarcity of security professionals has led to an increase in workloads, ineffective usage of cyber security tools and over-reliance on technology. Also, the lack of adequate training makes existing employees more vulnerable to cybercrimes.
11. Increasing Threat of Deepfakes
Sophisticated AI technology combined with age-old phishing attacks has given rise to cyber threats in the form of data manipulation.
Deepfakes are synthetic media used to replace the likeness of one person with another in audio and video. Criminals use deepfakes to extort money, steal private data, hamper an individual’s reputation, influence politics and more.
As digital communications are more common than ever, thanks to distributed workforce environments, deepfakes are expected to sharply rise in 2022.
12. Rise in Political Cyber Warfare
To gain military supremacy, national powers now have a new weapon to flex — cyberweapons. As the fight to gain regional influence and conflict of interest escalate, access to classified government data by a foreign state can disrupt the balance of power.
To target critical assets of the state, cyberweapons are becoming more prominent. For example, the Huawei ban by the U.S. and several other countries to prevent cyber espionage made headlines around the world. Also, the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware can infect phones via zero-click attacks.
Such cyber attacks also create chaos, anger and emotional distress among people. The cyberwar between Iran and Israel targeted civilians — Israelis found their private data leaked online, and Iranians couldn’t buy gas for two weeks.
With advancements in technology and political unrest between powerful countries, 2022 will witness cyberspace and geopolitics at the crossroads.
13. Organizational Behavior
With the use of personal devices, unreliable networks or browsers without a strong firewall, remote working has increased cyber attacks. Containing security incidents is costly, forcing corporates to implement steps to reduce security gaps. A holistic approach to preventing security breaches requires a combination of technology and practical processes such as monitoring unidentified login attempts, blocking unusual network access requests and taking constructive inputs from employees.
With increasing third-party risks, businesses are also assessing their stakeholders. This puts decision-makers in a tough spot as the net advantages offered by these vendors are too valuable to lose. Organizations are adopting measures and best practices like risk evaluation processes, daily monitoring of third-party vendor risk, creating a blueprint to remediate breaches and more.
14. Connected Cars
Connected cars are shaping the future of automobiles, with the global market size estimated to reach $191.83 billion by 2028. Manufacturers are steadily launching new features to enhance the driving experience, such as smart parking assistants, autopilot, cameras, intelligent emergency brakes and facial recognition, to name a few.
However, the use of connected devices (IoT/IoE) and the technologies that propel connected cars like 5G, cloud and others attract security risks. To prevent automobiles from theft and other malware attacks, automakers and cybersecurity vendors are working together to build new security applications.
To Sum Up
Tracking these trends in cyber security can help companies figure out innovative methods to incorporate safety measures into their products. To accommodate these trends and stay ahead in development, your enterprise needs to select the right solution. Buyers must understand their requirements before investing in a system. Our requirements template can help guide your business toward a successful security solution with its comprehensive list of attributes and capabilities that these systems provide.
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