Cyber Security 2019 Trends

2018 has been a defining and eventful year for cyber security. The field of Information Technology (IT) has been increasingly demanding, eventually paving way for cyber security to develop upgrades and discoveries.

However, it was also the year when cyber security has become a hot topic with breach after breach occurring on almost weekly basis. Some notable incidents are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into force, the rapid rise of crypto mining, and various state-sponsored breaches and attackers targeting critical infrastructures.

Due to the growing cyber threats, cyber security anxiety has increased within businesses and organisations. The stakes of protection and defenses have never been higher. Given all of these events and developments, what can we expect in 2019?

Increasing Demand for Cyber Security Skills in the Workplace

Based on a recent report from the Information System Security Certification Consortium, there has been a significant increase in demand for cyber security job openings with a 2.93 million shortfall in cyber security positions compared to last year’s 1.8 million (you can download the full report here).

As more businesses go through a digital transformation to stay ahead of the game, the demand for cybersecurity expertise will also rise to prevent incidents of hacking. Along with this, we can expect cybersecurity training to mature and skills growth to accelerate, with more universities offering degrees in cyber security related subjects.

Stricter Implementation of Cyber Security Laws

EU’s GDPR will introduce new data regulations that will have a significant impact in 2019. While it will help improve data security, organisations of all sizes will have to adapt and adjust to the ever-changing international data privacy and regulations.

We can also expect to see governments from all over the world make an effort to establish strong rules in cyber warfare. Loose laws and regulations in the cyber world are expected to be tightened through stern implications that aim to outsmart hackers who are always on the lookout for loopholes in the present system.

Attackers Will Be Smarter and Harder to Beat

In 2019, we can expect cybercriminals to become bolder and less traceable. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), hackers can develop and launch sophisticated attacks that will be more challenging for defenders to counter.

AI-powered attacks will be innovative enough to mimic specific behaviors from their victims that can fool even the most skilled security personnel.

The smaller portion of the deep web called the dark web will be a popular spot for attackers to exploit and hide successfully whilst communicating with other criminals. We can also expect hackers to look more commercialised and organised to stay away from the police’s jurisdiction.

Attackers will also increase their capability in writing malicious codes by developing more harmful ransomware variants.

AI Technology Will Be More Popular

We may be able to see more AI-powered attacks from cybercriminals to surface this 2019, however, security personnel can also make use of the emergence of AI technology in countering these attacks.

Businesses can use artificial intelligence not only to improve the operations of their businesses but to also enhance the security of their organisation. Through AI, companies will be able to detect unusual activities and risks before they happen.

The use of algorithms and computer software programs allows AI-based security system to identify threats and speed up incident response time.

Increase in Multi-factor Authentication

Unfortunately, password-based breaches will continue to persist as a regular occurrence in 2019. In 2018, millions of Facebook and Uber users had their data exposed by hackers making it a notable year for data breaches.

Although the single-factor password is the easiest tool for hackers to access their victim’s data, it remains to be the go-to security protection of most businesses. Despite the increasing number and value of consumer data stored online by businesses, tools to increase the security of information are still either inadequate or outdated.

Due to this, advanced authentication tools like biometrics and multi-factor authentication are expected to surface this 2019. These tools may require users to accomplish more steps for access but it ensures better security of their data.