With the United States as the world leader in IT-driven innovations, it comes as no surprise that it also suffers the most data breach incidents. Greater connectivity means having a larger surface area to protect against network infiltrators and exfiltrators (i.e., internal actors who commit the unauthorized retrieval, transfer, or copying of data from inside a network outwards), be they malicious or unintentionally harmful in nature.
When business leaders were asked how they feel about cybersecurity in 2019, most claimed that this year will be even more difficult to get through than the last. Here are the reasons why they believe 2019 means even more sleepless nights than ever before.
Increasing levels of network complexity
From hypervisors to the Internet of Things to machine learning, IT infrastructure has become so complex that it takes technicians with more and more esoteric specializations to protect it. In fact, it is projected that greater portions of IT budgets will be allocated to cybersecurity — with an increasing number of organizations opting for outsourced solutions instead of having in-house security specialists.
Lack of security specialists
With data breaches on the rise, the demand for IT security specialists increases as well. While this means more jobs available in the IT sector, the demand isn’t being met due to a combination of jobseekers’ disinterest in the field, the specialization that companies require but jobseekers lack, and gaps in STEM education, especially for girls.
Cybersecurity training must be part of company culture
Everyone — from the rank-and-file to the C-suite to third-party vendors — must be continually trained to recognize threats such as phishing emails, as well as be updated on the latest threats and how to deal with them. Organizations as a whole become less prone to breaches when data security becomes part of company culture.
Shadow IT and insider threats
The practice of letting employees use their own unvetted personal devices to access company networks and get work done — known as shadow IT — can be a boon for productivity, but a bane for data security. Disgruntled employees can steal data or wreak havoc upon your archives. Lost or stolen devices can be used by corporate spies and other bad actors to gain access to proprietary files. And third-party vendors with access to your network might get to see more than you intend them to.
Attacks that compromise data integrity
Trends reveal that saboteurs and data manipulators are growing in number alongside data thieves. This means that beyond selling data in black markets or using it to commit fraud, hackers can strain a company’s ability to serve its customers by contaminating the latter’s data. They can introduce false information that can damage a firm’s reputation, and alter sales figures to affect stock prices in their favor.
Data regulations compliance
With states, nations, and entire economic regions such as the EU introducing and enacting their own sets of data regulations, companies will find it increasingly difficult to comply with all of them. In fact, managed IT services providers (MSPs) have created an entirely new category called compliance-as-a-service (CaaS) so that companies can ensure that they are always on the right side of the law while still being able to focus on their main value proposition.
To help you address all of your network security concerns, turn to USWired. Drop us a line — we’ll be more than happy to provide you with a complimentary consultation.
