6 Cyber Security Trends to Watch in 2020

Not only does this year bring more threats that need protecting against, but it also – luckily – comes with its own cutting-edge technology that hopefully will help us all stay safe.

Vulnerabilities are the new black

Phishing and passwords on the loose is something most companies know to keep an eye on. But what about unsafe software? According to IBM:s latest report on threat intelligence, hackers taking advantage of known vulnerabilities were the second most common type of cyber attack in 2019. That’s right, known vulnerabilities. Publicly disclosed, open for the world to see, vulnerabilities. The percentage of total attacks spiked from 8% in 2018, to a staggering 30% in 2019. This information gives organizations a good reason to look more into security tools such as our own, to hopefully have this number drop in the coming years. 

DevSecOps

Speaking of software security, we need to talk about how it is becoming more and more important to make sure that the whole organization is aware. If the developers in your company aren’t making sure that security is a top priority, you’re basically building software with flaws in it; flaws that soon enough will be exploited. DevSecOps is the idea that security is being taken into account from day one and continuously monitored throughout the whole project. At Debricked, we like are very passionate about implementing cybersecurity throughout the organization. If you want to know how your company can become more aware, don’t hesitate to reach out.

A whole new world of cloud

2020 seems to be the year for rapid expansions in cloud computing. Already, everyone – businesses and individuals – are moving their data to the cloud. Not only are we creating and using more data than ever, but we’re also moving it more than before. To put that in cybersecurity’s perspective, we’re making it easier to steal and intercept.

We may see traditional methods of cyberattacks come back from the dead. It’s not that they were ever not there; it’s more that the damage they do now will be much more considerable. And, of course, we might see new ingenious methods and tools being created (hey, AI is a double-edged weapon) specifically for the crazy volumes of data that cloud computing moves around on the regular.

The 2020 US Elections

This one might be less of a trend, but it can certainly compete for as many headlines. In 2016, news surfaced that there was a multitude of misinformation campaigns spread and advertised on the biggest social media platforms. With the 2020 US elections closing in, and with how little help Facebook is willing to offer (after they refused to update their political advertising terms) it does not seem like this year’s election will be any different.

Even more worrying is that the actual act of voting is at risk. During the last elections, it was reported that hackers with ties to Russia were able to access voting databases. Thankfully though, they did not alter any information – that we know of. There is no telling what can happen this time around, as this weakness can tempt others not just to access the databases but to use them maliciously, too.

Ransomware is on the rise

Ransomware is a type of malware that threatens to publish or block the victim’s data until a ransom is paid. During 2019, there were many that were taking advantage of smaller institutions. Now, security experts are harboring concerns that ransomware creators will turn their heads to the bigger, more profitable organisations soon. Ransomware is a disastrous threat that might just be this year’s second worst viral infection.

Automation is in the future of cybersecurity

There is a silver lining to all this scary progress we’re making; we’re making progress in protecting ourselves and our data. For some years now, there have been a few automation solutions floating around on the web and there has been a positive trend of businesses finally adopting such solutions.

In the year where everyone is using AI to automate everything, we’re bound to see automated cybersecurity. Self-driving cars, AI personal assistants, chatbots for customer support, and automated cybercrime – there is no reason why we can’t have automated cybersecurity as well.

Cybersecurity is big and getting bigger in 2020. There is a lot that’s happened last year and there will be a lot more this year as well. Always remember:

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Theodore Hook