laptop cybersecurity

Five Surprising Trends in Cybersecurity

The impact of GDPR, the increasing number of issues with shadow IT and the more advanced solutions for IoT devices are among the most surprising trends.

Cybersecurity has become one of the largest sectors in the tech industry. As such, cybersecurity has continued to develop surprising new technologies that are transforming the business landscape. This expansion has left some issues that need to be dealt with, however, amongst them being exploited devices and incomplete stock inventory.

The IoT has created a previously unthinkable world of interconnected devices that grants access to the internet across the globe. It has been, by all accounts, a resounding success. However, the IoT is not without its issues, as demonstrated by the number of unmanaged devices without cybersecurity connected to secured internet lines.

1. Managing unmanaged devices

Gone are the days of closed systems. When working in a group, company or any kind of organization, you’re dealing with many devices, some secured, some unsecured.

With the advent of the Internet of Things (the IoT), this problem has only worsened. In fact, many companies don’t even have an inventory of devices that are on their network. Obviously, this is troublesome.

However, cybersecurity professionals are implementing new strategies for managing these unsecured, unmanaged devices by cutting off open access points from sensitive data.

2. Integrating data protections a la GDPR

Europe has implemented data protections for all citizens. With the steady increase in data breaches, the general data protection regulation requires organizations to handle sensitive data with more care than in the past.

Read more: GDPR's Impact on Incident Response

3. Operationalizing small business security

Cybercrime has surged over 175 percent. With this rapid and pronounced increase in cybercrime, there are more incidents of small and medium businesses coming under attack.

Due to recent cyber crimes and major data breaches, smaller companies are beginning to understand the importance of implementing their own system for data protection and crisis management.

Read more: House Passes Two Bills Aimed at Improving Cybersecurity for Small Businesses

For smaller companies, enterprise cybersecurity can mean different things. For medical and law professionals, data should be managed with the utmost care: encrypted and seldom transferred.

4. An increasing number of problems with shadow IT

Updating your IT systems is incredibly important. Many companies do update their operating systems, databases, and protocols. However, they may leave traces of the old systems active, creating a secondary unseen system or “shadow IT system” that is unprotected, unsupported, and unsupervised.

As companies upgrade, update and replace aging systems, it’s going to increase the number of vulnerabilities that are possible, therefore increasing the attention paid to managing shadow IT systems.

5. More advanced solutions for protecting IoT access points

Managing unmanaged devices and protecting data from vulnerabilities due to shadow IT systems are facets of a growing trend. As the number of devices on a network proliferates, the amount of data surges and the number of transfers and exchanges expands, new solutions for protection are necessary.

Namely, cybersecurity professionals are aiming their sights on supervising the unsupervised. One way to protect open access points is to simply have protocols in place that essentially unlink access points from sensitive data in the event of a breach.

Conclusion

The onboarding of millions of unmanaged devices has created millions of exploitable gaps that can be infiltrated by malicious hackers. Solving the issue is not a simple equation, but a start would be taking a complete inventory of managed devices.

A shocking 15 percent of businesses reported having a complete list of their connected devices. This leaves their network and other users subject to the whims of hackers at any time due to unmanaged devices. Expect these two issues to come up often as cybersecurity continues its forward march. Luckily, the GDPR has ordered businesses to protect consumer privacy, no matter the cost.

Then there are the issues of shadow IT that continue to cause massive problems for internet users. Old tech covered up by new technology is a recipe for cybersecurity catastrophe. It leaves security holes for the internal system and the external users. This can easily be accomplished by simply switching off noncompliant technologies and replacing them with cloud technologies.

Overall, it tends to be cheaper to transfer the data and dispose of old technology as an incentive to become more secure. A good deal of rising trends deal with the IoT access points and securing those by whatever means necessary.

Featured

  • Return to Form

    My first security trade show was in 2021. At the time, I was awed by the sheer magnitude of the event and the spectacle of products on display. But this was the first major trade show coming out of the pandemic, and the only commentary I heard was how low the attendance was. Two representatives from one booth even spent the last morning playing catch in the aisle with their giveaway stress balls. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
  • Live from ISC West: Day 1 Recap

    The first day of ISC West 2023 is in the books, and it’s safe to say that vendors have brought their A-game to Las Vegas. The booths of this year’s Live From partners—NAPCO Security, Alibi Security, Vistacom, RGB Spectrum, and DoorKing—were swamped all day long. Here’s a brief recap of just a few highlights from each partner’s presence at the show. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
  • Turn on the AC, ISC West is Hot

    Nothing warm about the Las Vegas weather outside. It is cold, and it was raining after the opening day. No one seemed to care inside the convention center. The hall was packed with inquisitive security professionals. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
  • Live From ISC West 2023: Day 1

    ISC West 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada, has officially begun! Make sure to keep an eye on Security Today’s ISCW Live 2023 page, as well as our associated Twitter accounts—@SecurToday and @CampusSecur—for the latest updates from the show floor at the Venetian Expo. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

New Products

  • PACE® Long Range Ethernet Solutions

    PACE® Long Range Ethernet Solutions

    Altronix introduces the newest addition to its portfolio of PACE® Long Range Ethernet Solutions. 3

  • Camden Door Controls CV-603 2 Door Bluetooth Access Control System

    Camden Door Controls CV-603 2 Door Bluetooth Access Control System

    his app-based system is designed to provide ‘best in class’ security of doors and gates, with up to 2,000 users. The intuitive programming app is Apple® and Android® compatible, with easy to use system set-up, user administration, downloadable audit trail and data back-up. 3

  • BriefCam v6.0

    BriefCam v6.0

    BriefCam has released BriefCam v6.0, which introduces the new deployment option of a multi-site architecture. This enables businesses with multiple, distributed locations to view aggregate data from all remote sites to uncover trends across locations, optimize operations and boost real-time alerting and response – all while continuing to reap the benefits of BriefCam's powerful analytics platform for making video searchable, actionable and quantifiable. 3