Cybersecurity is an issue that has massive impacts on both the corporate world and the federal government. Today all organizations, whether corporate or government must stay on top of the latest trends in cybersecurity to protect their current environments and plan for the future. So, what are the good, bad and the ugly of cybersecurity trends now?

The Good

The adoption of more sophisticated security technologies

After years of significant investment in the cybersecurity industry, many new technologies are finally hitting the market to help businesses protect their valuable assets. Improvements in user behavior analytics, artificial intelligence, endpoint detection, and responses are giving companies better insight into what is going on in their networks. These advances allow organizations the ability to identify attacks quicker and more accurately than ever before.

Executive Order 13800 and Other Regulations

With cyber breaches appearing on the front page of every news publication regularly and their impacts felt by hundreds of millions of Americans, it’s no surprise that regulations around cybersecurity are making their way to the forefront of the legislative agenda. While many industries have taken security seriously for years, others who have been more relaxed will now be made to act due to upcoming regulations, and that can only be good for businesses AND consumers.

The Bad

Sandbox Evading Malware

Malware and cyberattacks are getting much more sophisticated to evade today’s latest detection technologies. With the improvement in evasion capabilities, it’s getting harder to discern the good from the bad.

AI-Powered Attacks

The advent of AI in cybersecurity is a double-edged sword. While AI as an enabler in defensive security measures has been invaluable to providing higher fidelity alerting, we can soon expect to see the same level of AI utilization in an offensive capacity. AI can have wide use in offensive areas such as target reconnaissance, asset identification and lateral movement. Additionally, AI-enabled attacks may be able to one day be used to ‘learn’ what normal network activity looks like and blend in with their surroundings, thereby limiting the capability for detection.

The Ugly

Ransomware and IoT

Ransomware has caused major disruption to enterprises worldwide over the last couple of years. One only has to look at the disruption to the city of Atlanta that was caused by last month’s ransomware attack to see the far-reaching effects that ransomware can have. Unfortunately, as the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more ubiquitous to daily life, expect to see more and more attacks against IoT devices since they are frequently unsecured and unpatched.

GDPR Goes Into Effect on May 25

The new EU privacy regulation is only a few weeks away from being enforced, and by their own admissions, most companies are not ready to be fully compliant. Expect to see much contention on privacy-related matters between the Data Protection Board and global businesses. Moreover, we may see the EU making an example of at least one large organization to show they are taking the new regulation seriously.

Be Prepared for What is Next

Cybersecurity is a significant concern for both corporations and the government. For organizations, it’s best to stay ahead of the game and know current cybersecurity trends. Though if an organization has some concerns regarding cyber trends, its best to consult an expert in cybersecurity. At Sentient Digital, Inc., we have experienced cyber professionals who provide our clients with a wide array of cybersecurity support services. Contact us today to learn more!