While there are thousands of predictions for the “State of Cybersecurity” for 2019, the ultimate trend points to an increased awareness of the general public (your customers, partners and friends) of how their data is being used and protected. 2019 is the year to stop underestimating individual’s awareness of cybersecurity issues and start making the people part of the solution. Businesses should expect to deal with a more “security-minded” public with more questions about how their data is used, stored and protected. In what ways are people becoming more aware of their cyber-environment? I’m glad you asked!
Empowering the People
This increased awareness of the potential pitfalls of poor security will likely give rise to businesses and methods aimed at empowering individuals to protect their own personal information – leading to the potential for conflict with companies with less than stellar data storage and protection methods. If you can’t clearly answer customer questions about security, you’ve already lost the customer.
Head in the Cloud
2019 will see increasing connectivity to the cloud – and more awareness of this relatively undervalued connection. Individuals will become more aware of devices (i.e. refrigerators, watches, home security systems, etc..) connected to the cloud and what it takes to protect themselves and their data.
Industrial Attacks Hit Home
2018 saw increased targeting of largely unprotected industrial control systems in factories, buildings and utilities – an industry which is largely uncontrolled and unprotected thus far. When hackers are able to access electricity or water utilities for large areas – people will start to take notice of their slow adoption of security controls.
Education in 2019
Surveys have conveyed a shocking lack of cybersecurity minded talent in the market, making 2019 the year of increased investment in continuing education for current professionals and a blurring of the lines between what is expected from individuals, employees and the IT department. Look out for changing curriculums, expanded or decreased job responsibilities in tech, a massive recruitment of tech professionals and increased training for employees on how to protect themselves and their BYOD devices.
Cyber-Health Gets Personal
Anyone who has ever filled out forms in a hospital is becoming increasingly aware of how valuable their healthcare information is. Names, dates, children and spouses among a myriad of other PII is available in every hospital, insurance agency and doctor’s office globally. Expect to see less willingness to part with personal information as the healthcare industry is targeted more often.
Passwords? Not Anymore!
Passwords have been on their way out for a while in favor of more comprehensive authentication methods like biometric and two-factor. Naturally, 2019 will see a significant increase in implementation of these methods and increased awareness of how they protect PII – and less emphasis from the public on “how cool” it is to open your phone using only your face or fingerprint.
SMB’s Look Out!
Large organizations have been dealing with issues of security for much longer than SMB’s, but 2019 expects to see small and medium sized businesses taking cybersecurity much more seriously. Every breach at this often-unprotected level has the potential to yield massive amounts of sensitive information as well as opening a door to breaches of larger organizations – and if your SMB has inadequate security, expect to see less large business partnerships and fewer security-minded customers.
Large-Scale Regulations
The GDPR was just the first step in what is becoming an increasingly data security-responsible world. It’s naive to think that citizens of the EU will be the only group to enjoy increased data privacy. Global businesses should be prepared for more complex and restrictive policies with higher penalties for breaches. Customers will have more choices and control over how their data is collected and used and increased legislation allowing them to sue for compensation after a data breach – a scary thought for unprotected businesses!
Social Media = Social Engineering
While people are largely aware of major breaches and theft of PII, they will really start to see this being used against them in 2019. While they may not see their bank accounts depleted overnight, they will notice an increased amount of social engineering created with their own stolen PII, targeting individuals with more personalized malicious links and phishing.
2019 is just beginning and in less than 24 hours there was a massive data breach of the PII of Australian government employees with 30,000 people affected. That didn’t take long. It’s time to start educating yourself and your company on what to expect in 2019 – and to take a more personal, hands-on approach to securing your information. Sangfor Technologies supplies the tools to make true security possible and is hitting the road in over 12 regions of SEA to teach the tricks-of-the-trade to security professionals, businesses, customers and partners. Visit our website to see more information on the upcoming 2019 Sangfor International Roadshow or just to check out some of our newest network security and cloud computing innovations!
For more information about Sangfor’s Solutions and Roadshow dates and locations, visit the Sangfor Technologies website at https://www.sangfor.com.
About SangforFounded in 2000 and a publicly traded company as of 2018 (SANGFOR STOCK CODE: 300454 (CH)) Sangfor Technologies is the global leading vendor of IT infrastructure solutions specializing in Cloud Computing and Network Security.
