The world is awash in cybersecurity attacks, and there seems to be no end in sight. What was once a rarity is now being accepted as commonplace in today’s world as data breaches just keep coming and coming, an almost one-way freight train that can’t be stopped. Think of the recent high-profile cyber-attacks and how devastating they’ve been – the Sony Pictures breach of 2014, Yahoo’s compromise of hundreds of millions of user accounts from 2012 to 2014, and to top it all off, Equifax, the company who makes a living reporting, securing, and monitoring credit files, and their massive – and no doubt embarrassing – data breach.
The cold hard truth is that hackers are good at what they do, and getting better all the time. Remember, they only have to be right once, whereas businesses have to be right every time when it comes to effective InfoSec and cybersecurity measures. That’s not a winning formula, and its exactly why breaches will continue in 2019, and why they’ll also grow in terms of occurrences and in severity.
FireEye, an industry leading professional security services firm disclosed the following in their publication titled, “2019 – Facing Forward, Cybersecurity in 2019 and Beyond”:
- In 2019 and beyond, we expect to see more nations developing offensive cyber capabilities. There are people that claim nations should not do this, but in the halls of most governments around the world, officials are likely thinking their nation needs to consider offensive operations or they will be at a disadvantage.
- There have been a lot of cloud-related challenges throughout 2018 and we expect to see those continue and evolve as we move into 2019. First, a lot of data is moving to the cloud and the attackers are going right along with it. We’re seeing a massive uptick in the number of incidents that involve cloud, and that’s really just attackers following the data.
- Cyber espionage activity related to the initiative will likely include the emergence of new groups and nation-state actors. Given the range of geopolitical interests affected by this endeavor, it may be a catalyst for emerging nation-state cyber actors to use their capabilities.
- Attribution and accountability are two of the biggest sticking points when it comes to winning the war in cyberspace. Without risks and repercussions for malicious activity carried out on the internet, attackers will keep attacking and organizations will keep getting breached.
So, is all lost and can nothing be done against what seems to be an onslaught of never-ending cyberattacks coming our way? Not so fast, and let’s not get down on ourselves. Yes, there are effective measures that can be used for pushing back on such attacks, but the bigger question is this: Are businesses truly prepared to face the music and invest in comprehensive InfoSec and cybersecurity resilience measures?
We can only hope.
Talk is cheap, as the old saying goes, but businesses will need to step up to the plate and hit a grand slam in terms of investing in information security strategies that work. This means acquiring proven security tools and solutions, hiring competent and well-qualified I.T. personnel, training employees on current and emerging security issues, and more. But more than anything, businesses need an about-face change when it comes to security. This is not a start and stop strategy, a one-and-done scenario that’s turned on and off like a light switch. This is about a true culture change whereby security is engrained into the mindset of the organization. Implementing information security, the “right” way will have profound benefits for years to come, no question about it.
Businesses can spend all the money they want on industry leading security tools and solutions, but without a “security first” mindset, one’s information security and cyber resilience programs are dead on arrival. I’ve heard countless stories of organizations investing heavily in high-priced network security tools, only to find these products sitting on standby gear as they’ve failed to be implemented at all. And with a tight labor market where well-qualified, highly-experienced security and compliance professionals are hard to come by, challenges will continue to mount for organizations.
Regardless, buying security products and doing nothing with them, well, that’s not security, that’s nothing but a waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Changing the corporate culture is the very first – and most important element – when it comes to protecting organizational assets from growing cyber-attacks. Train your employees on emerging security issues, threats, trends, and best practices. Make security a priority with every new-hire in terms of training. Bring in experts from the outside for helping educate your employees.
Growing cyber-attacks are just one of the nineteen things that CEO’s need to know about cybersecurity in 2019.
Download my free resource guide today to learn more today’s growing cybersecurity threats for CEO’s. Here’s what you’ll learn with my free guide:
- Why today’s cybersecurity landscape is more complex and challenging than ever before.
- How CEO’s are facing immense cybersecurity hurdles, from hiring personnel to budgeting, and more.
- Learn about emerging cybersecurity issues, threats, concerns – and best practices.
- Learn how to be proactive in preparing your business for the coming cybersecurity challenges.
- Learn how cybersecurity can be your competitive advantage in the marketplace.
