Prediction is fraught with difficulty; however, one thing is certain when it comes to cybersecurity – threats are likely to continue and the pace of the threats to a typical enterprise will become more common and more sophisticated.
The key predictions from Dr. Teow-Hin Ngair, of SecureAge, are:
Encryption will be one of the biggest piece of cybersecurity investments towards protecting privacy
With rapid innovations and increasing threats in the banking and finance industry necessitating better regulatory monitoring, reporting, and compliance, there will be increased interest among VCs for investments in RegTech in 2020. Data being at the center of it all, innovative encryption technologies will play an increasingly important role in shaping RegTech in 2020, as it (encryption) will be a fundamental requirement for compliance moving forward.
Cyberattacks, especially Ransomware, will continue to increase
Ransomware is making so much money. It’s the no-brainer cyber threat that people should be wary of in 2020, especially since Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) alarmingly hastens the rate of new attacks by making strains more accessible and easier to modify and iterate. While Zero-Day Attacks & Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) will persist, both will be overshadowed by the prevalence of ransomware attacks.
We’ll hear more on Artificial Intelligence
It will be more pervasive in the cybersecurity industry. There are simply countless applications of AI. The trick is to find where it fits best – by introducing new techniques or enhancing existing ones? One technique to look out for is Endpoint Network Security, where AI is used to detect anomalies in either user or application behavior. This function is shaping up to be a powerful component of Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) solutions.
Fileless Attacks will be the new norm
They are nigh undetectable by traditional AVs and will be a new preferred cyberattack technique favored by malware creators in 2020 and beyond. Detecting fileless attacks is tricky, as so many of these appear harmless. Moreover, there are no clear indicators that tie them back to specific threats, at least until they download a payload, which can also remain undetected and cause real havoc.
Cyberattacks, in general, will focus on Government, Banking & Finance
While the Healthcare industry will continue to make news headlines, it will continue to lag behind in cybersecurity. It believes that it does not stand to lose much from having patient data stolen, at least not enough to inspire greater investment in better security measures. Another industry that may also be a top concern for cyberattacks, especially for data breaches, is the Oil & Gas industry, due mainly to the high value of research, technical, and negotiation data available.
