With the U.S. Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reporting the number of data breaches through September 30, 2021 exceeded the total number of those in 2020 by 17 percent, no clearer sign that cyberattacks are of immense significance is required.
Such figures also suggest that understanding the cybersecurity landscape has never been more critical for businesses to thrive.
For businesses to do well, an assessment of trends is required. Former chief strategy officer for cyber policy for the office of the Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration, and now current senior director of cybersecurity strategy and policy at AttackIQ, Jonathan Reiber, has pulled together some high-level trends for Digital Journal.
Reiber believes companies should keep in mind when developing their cybersecurity strategy for next year.
Reiber is of the view that over the coming year, cybersecurity trends indicate the pressing need for an increased focus on cybersecurity prioritization at the organizational and national level to improve cybersecurity effectiveness.
In terms of specific concerns, Reiber says that over the course of 2022, MITRE ATT&CK will continue its movement from a niche tool used by experts to become a foundational element of cybersecurity management with increasing resonance in the C-suite. This means this becomes technology that larger businesses should be considering.
MITRE developed ATT&CK as a model to document and track various techniques attackers use throughout the different stages of a cyberattack to infiltrate a business network and exfiltrate data.
The connection between healthcare services and technology will continue to tighten, notes Reiber. This further elevates the risks in the healthcare sector. Such risks are particularly from ransomware.
Consequently, the threats faced by healthcare are driving further investments in telehealth functions, like mobile technology, and enterprise cybersecurity, Reiber’s analysis finds.
Further trends assessed by Reiber indicate increasing pressure to regulate the spread of disinformation on social media, including with practical recommendations for amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Reiber’s final assessment is that the crackdown on spyware and hacking tools, which has featured strongly in 2021, will continue and could lead to a consequent development of spyware capabilities on the global black market. On the defensive side, trendlines indicate a growth in mobile device cybersecurity solutions.
