The Top Cybersecurity Trends of 2019

Cybersecurity is an essential topic for large companies across all industries. Guarding data against a breach, strengthening computer systems, and safeguarding networks is increasingly becoming important owing to the rising cases of ransomware and other cyber-crime attacks.

Cybersecurity is an activity that keeps on evolving with time. Therefore, businesses need to stay updated about cybersecurity trends. Besides cybercriminals continually sophisticating their attacks and posing a lethal threat to a company, there is a need for companies to comply with today’s strictly legal, regulatory directives.

We have compiled several top cybersecurity trends in 2019 related to security systems management, cloud infrastructure, systems protection, and risk analysis.

Business organizations are steadily moving towards more stable privacy enforcement and accountability in 2019. The launch of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by the EU significantly changed the scene for data protection.

The GDPR primarily protects EU citizens from the exploitation of personal data by corporations and enforces their data privacy.

The EU stakeholders see the GDPR as a shot at mapping your data in a more organized, accountable, and transparent way.

The GDPR provides for the appointment of a devoted Data Protection Officer (DPO) whose job is to oversee compliance with the relevant aspects of the law, including the collection of data, processing, and information privacy and protection.

A July 2018 Study shows that many companies will come up with their observance procedures to avoid fines and other costly legal proceedings for non-compliance.

The California Consumer Privacy Act is the first state law to be inspired by the GDPR.

At any one point, it’s challenging to monitor and manage all the devices connected to an enterprise network perimeter owing to third-platform technologies such as cloud, mobile, and Social Media.

Loosely monitored devices on any system network can be used by hackers as a secure gateway to access even military-grade encryption keys because there is no security resistance.

It makes it easy for hackers to detect a poorly monitored endpoint device. They can access the network through it.

IoT devices are the most vulnerable because the majority operate on default credentials, and are listed on internet catalogs together with their default passcodes. It exposes them to malicious exploitation. Besides, the devices are always connected, and available online, and they lack built-in security.

The 2018 2018 Security Risk Report from Ponemon Institute reveals that endpoint device attacks have steadily grown, with about 64 percent of organizations falling victim to zero-day attacks via their endpoint devices.

Following this discovery, many companies will be required to reevaluate their device management strategies, starting by adopting modern and more powerful EDR (endpoint detection and response) functions and establish strict protocols for device management.

Many companies in 2019 may partner with security providers to update their IoT devices and endpoint devices with the latest security patches and live monitoring.

If your company workplace is a BYOD (bring your device) environment, then you are at increased risk for catastrophic cyber-attacks.

In as much as employees enjoy greater productive freedom and creativity with their own devices, security managers should not be lenient or neglectful at the expense of IT security.

Many user devices may still be running software applications and programs that haven’t been approved by the enterprise, and these are susceptible to malicious attacks.

A 2018 Ponemon Study shows that 97 percent of the security professionals that understood the risk of a connected but unprotected device, only 15 percent had an official inventory of connected devices, and fewer had security procedures to disconnect high-risk devices.

According to the NIST cybersecurity framework, the recommended practice for 2019 to keep a real-time inventory of all the devices connected to a system both physically and wirelessly (via WI-FI and Bluetooth).

In addition to a real-time inventory, business organizations need to establish a diverse security governance culture applicable across enterprises and a monitoring system for log-in rights and device permissions for potential abnormalities.

End-user education is one of the significant cybersecurity trends expected to witness in the RSA Conference 2019.

Many security professionals view the creation of awareness as an unprofitable move. However, it is the most straightforward way to prevent users from logging into unauthorized websites and unsecured public connections, sharing critical credentials on the network, downloading unapproved applications, and falling prey to phishing attacks.

Even for businesses that are increasingly automating processes, user awareness is relevant. Threat intelligence analysis and proactive responses are required in security infrastructure management.

Businesses will discover it is critical to keep an eye open in 2019 for the possible risks posed by their system users because their users are the only weak spots in the security plan.

This year is ideal for companies to launch training and education programs to raise awareness and enhance the users’ capacity to operate with a sense of integrity for corporate IT security.

Most users unsuspectingly fall prey to well-orchestrated phishing attacks. They take the form of crafty business email compromise (BEC) attacks, malicious links, and phishing emails. Phishing hooks, especially phishing emails, usually appear legitimate and from a trusted source.

A 2018 study establishes that phishing attacks increased by 297 percent over the last year. Phishing attacks are expected to increase in 2019 evidently because it is a highly profitable way for hackers to spread zero-day malware and ransomware almost undetected. Cybercriminals have now advanced their phishing attacks by localizing, personalizing, and targeting their victims geographically.

Businesses need to invest in a full IT security training plan. The plan may include adopting a phishing simulator, raising awareness on the emerging phishing trends and uncover the devious mode of operation used by phishing attackers.

The simulators will help users identify or recognize phishing emails and links and avoid them altogether.

2019 is an exciting year for innovative IT advancements such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing. It also means new security vulnerabilities for your organization or business.

Staying informed about these key cybersecurity trends and emerging challenges will help your organization operate securely and remain protected against malicious cyber-attacks.

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