Many people have weighed in about the new cyberthreats emerging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have useful insights, but it’s also valuable to take a forward-thinking approach and ponder what the cybersecurity industry will look like once this health crisis is finally over. Here are five likely outcomes.
1. Companies Will Increasingly See the Value of Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity
Businesses began using artificial intelligence (AI) for better cybersecurity before the pandemic hit. They appreciated how it could learn and improve through exposure to data, even alerting people to wholly unknown threats.
Brands that offer AI-based cybersecurity solutions will likely find their products more in demand during the post-COVID world. The virus shed light on the emerging ways cybercriminals orchestrate their attacks. AI can mitigate or identify some of those attempts. For example, 50-day, AI-powered analysis found that 20-35% of websites contain content that is not directly dangerous but includes illicit intent or misleading material.
2. Cybersecurity Training Solutions Will Get Prioritized More Often
Some companies only focus on cybersecurity training for employees after a catastrophe happens. The ideal approach is to address education proactively instead. Employers will make it an ongoing part of time at work rather than something that occurs annually or a few times a year at most.
Part of the training will include teaching workers what to do if they encounter new kinds of attempted cybercrimes. The pandemic showed people how quickly criminals adapt to new situations, especially as many perpetrators carried out attacks with documents supposedly related to COVID-19, but filled with malware. Keeping employees well trained and aware of what to do when new threats and methods crop up is crucial for a company’s cybersecurity success.
3. The Continued Acceptance of Remote Work Will Bring Additional Cybersecurity Needs
The COVID-19 pandemic made many companies face the choice of letting people work from home or closing their operations entirely. As they frequently realized that productivity was the same — or even better — when employees worked away from their offices, many businesses chose to let them do it for good. Some also encourage their workers to set up in spaces for rent. One company uses an algorithm to determine which teams should work remotely.
Remote work has vastly and quickly become accepted. As that trend continues, companies will need to investigate cybersecurity measures to prevent attacks as people working from home. Sticking to a schedule and investing in the right equipment are a few of the many things employees can do to boost their output. Many will also need to learn new cybersecurity precautions so cyberattacks don’t hinder their efforts.
4. The Zero-Trust Approach Will Gain Popularity
A recent study examined how the pandemic affected companies and impacted their future intentions. The zero-trust model — which views no one as automatically trustworthy — is something security experts became more interested in as the pandemic continued. Now, the majority of survey respondents in most industries plan to accelerate its deployment.
Another compelling finding from the research was that 94% of those polled were rolling out zero-trust approaches to some extent. That suggests that even if businesses are not utilizing that option faster than planned, they still see it as valid and worth exploring.
5. Security Will Remain Crucial as More Companies Move to the Cloud
One of the themes associated with COVID-19 and cybersecurity is that more people depended on cloud platforms to get work done anywhere, even as the pandemic’s severity worsened in many parts of the world. Thus, cloud security was always on the minds of security practitioners, but they will likely pay even more attention to it in the post-pandemic world.
Multiple studies indicated people view the cloud as relevant and worth pursuing. They got a taste of what’s possible as the pandemic caused drastic disruptions, but people continued to connect remotely via cloud services. Many companies find that the cloud is more secure than traditional solutions. However, that doesn’t mean it’s without risks. Cybersecurity teams must assess how to enhance cloud security and adjust their tactics as needed.
Experts Must Consider Current COVID-19 and Cybersecurity Impacts
The cybersecurity industry is like most others in that the pandemic has uprooted many policies and procedures that people may have previously assumed would remain consistent. For example, perhaps a company’s CEO vowed never to let its employees work from home, but now most of them are doing it.
No one knows when the public health crisis brought on by COVID-19 will ease. However, cybersecurity professionals can — and should — gauge the current situation to help them plan for what’s on the horizon.
Staying mindful of operational shifts and new online threats will help them respond effectively rather than getting caught off guard.
