Enterprises have a lot on their plate, and it’s expected to emphasize certain things. Yet, if there is one thing that one shouldn’t put on hold, it’s enterprise security.
2024 is just around the corner. The ever-changing digital landscape continues to produce many problems for organizations.
Poor security practices cause mayhem. The standout issues are:
- Data loss
- Sensitive information exposure
- Negative public image
- Financial losses
- Legal woes
A study published by Astra predicts that cybercrime will cost more than $8 trillion in 2023. Moreover, the number of attacks per day exceeds 2000.
A study by Statista also backs this up, as per the visual below:
Criminals aren’t picky. As soon as they identify a lapse in security, they get to work. Even if your organization has no prior incidents, that doesn’t mean it’s safe from cybersecurity threats. You could have vulnerabilities. And if you’re not careful, these vulnerabilities could cause significant problems.
One of the best ways to fend off cybercriminals is to be proactive. Knowing the enterprise security trends for the upcoming years gives you an advantage. Hackers who plan their next move will struggle to breach security systems.
Let’s take a look at cybersecurity trends enterprises should focus on to avoid potential threats.
1. Privacy-enhancing computation
Organizations need to exchange information between employees, clients, and various third parties.
Data is one of the most important digital assets. It’s imperative to ensure that data exchange between connected devices is confidential. A single slip-up by one party is enough to expose sensitive details.
If collaborations need exchanging information, it makes sense to go the extra mile to mitigate potential risks.
Privacy-enhancing computation (PEC) is one of the most recent enterprise security trends. It based its premise on mathematical techniques. These techniques enable collaborations without sharing data explicitly. Organizations can approach it in different ways:
- Secure multi-party computation. uses cryptographic protocols and algorithms to hide shared information. The system uses calculations to keep details shared by individuals hidden. All parties have access to the results rather than what comes before them.
- Homomorphic encryption. Computations occur on encrypted data without involving decryption. The data stays encrypted. Privacy remains secure.
- Differential privacy. The trick behind this approach is adding an insignificant amount of data. The data changes the original information just enough to protect it.
While PEC offers security and privacy, it comes with complexities. It demands expertise to avoid mistakes, challenges in scaling for larger organizations, the need for regular cybersecurity audits, and other considerations.
2. Customer identity and access management
Security teams should have defined roles. Someone manages the internal threat landscape. Another team or individual handles customer data.
Security risks that affect customers vary. They range from insider threats to sophisticated attacks by organized hacker groups.
Customer identity and access management (CIAM) encompasses many aspects, like:
- Identity control
- Authentication
- Digital asset access
The solution simplifies how registration works. It’s common to use social logins. The appliance means that users have to share fewer details. They can instead submit information that an organization already has.
CIAM also introduces multi-factor authentication options. It’s a layer of security that enterprises have to encourage. Apply 2FA via:
- Text messages
- Emails
- Phone calls
Security systems react to someone trying to log in and failing 2FA. A system then flags the attempt as suspicious activity and blocks authentication.
After establishing a customer’s identity, CIAM uses adaptive authentication. The authentication identifies user behavior, location, devices, etc. If the usual patterns change, the solution will react accordingly. It’ll also ask users to confirm their identity.
Finally, CIAM solutions let users take advantage of self-service. Password resets, profile updates, or direct help requests are part of the personalization experience.
3. Employee training
Raising cybersecurity awareness is another example of enterprise security trends. Virtually everyone plays a role.
It’s hardly smart to leave every little thing in the hands of a single department. Or, in the case of smaller organizations, a single person.
The growing concern about cyber threats calls for action. There’s a noticeable transition towards cybersecurity awareness integration across all departments. The change is gradual, but it’s still great to see a shift in security culture.
Virtually everyone who uses both work and personal devices risks themselves. They connect to
- Work-related software
- Databases
- Third-party sources
A company’s security culture should start at the top. Regardless of who you are, participating in training programs should be universal. An initiative from the leadership sets a great example.
Familiarizing employees with security strategies is one way to create a solid foundation. They should know where to look for help.
A dedicated team that reviews current security solutions goes a long way, too.
Such a team adds to the risk management effectiveness and strategies. It’s not easy finding the right personnel. Nevertheless, they have an important task. Therefore, neglecting to recruit and maintain such a team would be a mistake.
4. State-sponsored cyber-warfare
At 24%, government sectors are targeted by cybercriminals twice as much as any other sector.
Additionally, state-sponsored cyber-warfare is one of the hardest things to deal with. Especially when these attackers target relatively small enterprises.
State-sponsored attacks are nothing new. The first one dates to 2007. That was the year when Estonia faced attacks targeting commercial and government institutions.
A year later, the US Department of Defense dealt with malicious software infecting military computers via a USB flash drive. It was a foreign intelligence agency that infected the drive. And there are plenty of other examples.
These days, geopolitical tensions, from a certain point of view, are at an all-time high. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Or Israel and Palestine. And who knows what the future has in store for us?
States want to gain an advantage, and they target various enterprises to get hold of intelligence or disrupt people’s lives.
Recently, the Baltic States suffered from thousands of threatening emails about school bombings. The emails were in Russian, and the affected countries are some of the most vocal critics of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. They certainly took advantage of the current geopolitical situation.
Of course, while some threats are just a distraction, there are real dangers enterprises shouldn’t ignore. State-sponsored attacks aren’t random. They also often involve top hackers.
5. Insider threats
As far as enterprise security trends go, insider threats present one of the most significant challenges. It’s people within an organization who do the dirty work.
Current employees, former employees, business partners, contractors, employees’ friends and family members — you name it. Anyone with insider information could have information about the enterprise’s security.
Exposing a security hole is much easier when someone works for you from the inside. A disgruntled former employee might want to get revenge on the organization. A current employee might receive a significant money offer to share security details.
There are many scenarios. An enterprise’s approach to security might overlook insider threats.
Cybersecurity measures can only do so much. If the people managing them decide to take advantage of their position, current measures might not cut it.
Enterprises can’t guarantee that everyone working for them is trustworthy. However, they can still encourage effective insider threat prevention practices by:
- Restricting physical and digital access to critical infrastructure
- Setting up powerful authentication methods
- Preventing data exfiltration
- Getting rid of idle accounts
- Monitoring third-party access
- Carrying out regular audits
6. Hybrid work model security
The recent pandemic played a significant part in the digital transformation in the job environment. Remote workers grew in numbers. According to Forbes, about 13% of full-time employees work from home. Meanwhile, 28% choose a hybrid model — spending some days in an office and some at home.
What implications does the hybrid work model have for security challenges, and what are the risks of remote employees? Well, for one, employee-owned devices they use to work from home are a potential risk. Less tech-savvy people ignore security measures.
Mobile devices or computers used in-house are usually part of one secure network. Secure and established networks treat outside connections via personal devices as a risk.
Having antivirus software on your device at home might not be enough to stop a hacker attack. Criminals understand that remote workers are more vulnerable. Hence, they pick them as targets. If they succeed, they continue to target remote workers.
Remote and hybrid workers should receive extra attention on security training. Enterprises ought to encourage them to look for signs that show a potential breach.
Anything unusual, like an error connecting to Apple server or a significant drop in total available disk space, has its usual reasons. Still, it could be a first telltale sign that a third party is trying to breach your smartphone or computer.
Enterprises should also ensure that remote employees can take advantage of extra security solutions.
A VPN, for instance, does wonders for Wi-Fi security.
7. Social engineering attacks
Social engineering attacks aren’t new, but they’re still taking new directions and evolving. Remote workers are more vulnerable to breaches. Hackers try to focus on attacking remote employees.
Attackers are no strangers to the latest technology advancements. Artificial intelligence has its uses to fend off criminals, but it also presents a potential risk.
Take voice-changing techniques, for instance. It’s much easier to fool someone by using a voice changer when calling them.
Asking a colleague for credentials late at night is effective. You call them late at night and use a fake voice. The odds are they’ll fall for it.
Communication apps create risks, too. Slack, WhatsApp, and Viber receive their fair share of social engineering attacks.
Once the relationship reaches a certain point, the attacker sends a harmful file. Or they share a URL that downloads malware and infects the recipient’s network. From here, hackers are free to run rampant and take advantage of the situation that an unsuspecting user presented.
8. Internet of Things
The evolution of IoT (Internet of Things) is an interesting one in the context of enterprise security trends. As organizations expand, they bring more devices to keep up with the demands dictated by the industry.
IoT devices go beyond computers, phones, and servers. Smart refrigerators, printers, and smartwatches are other examples that make the ecosystem known as IoT. A great example of unique IoT devices is IoT for water utilities which allows you to automate your irrigation system. Imagine the opportunity to control how much water your garden will get by tapping on your phone. Amazing, right?
Since some devices are relatively new, they come with potential security holes. The software might not be up to date, which is why a particular device could be a perfect target for an organized cyber attack.
Some IoT devices also lack processing power. It’s harder to deploy security mechanisms like firewalls or dedicated antivirus software. And even if such measures become available, they might still struggle to fend off modern hacker attacks.
It’s easy to understand the appeal and novelty of IoT. Having all the available devices in one monolith network makes it easier to manage everything.
Nonetheless, enterprises should still treat the IoT landscape with caution and be mindful of the risks it presents.
9. AI detection systems
Machine learning and AI are progressing in various industries, such as:
- Healthcare
- Traveling
- Manufacturing
- Education
- Agriculture
- Hospitality
Cybersecurity is no exception. If anything, it’d be a waste not to use AI to fight against modern security risks.
Criminals are already using artificial intelligence to their advantage. Enterprises that fail to identify the benefits of AI and install available solutions stand to lose a lot.
For starters, AI can use smart algorithms and predict potential threats before they manifest. Incident management solutions like Pagerduty use AIOps for detecting and responding to threats in real time.
Battling bots, which make a significant amount of internet traffic, is also easier when you have AI. IT teams don’t have to waste resources. Manually sorting vast amounts of internet traffic is hardly efficient.
That said, it’s wise not to become overly reliant on AI. It has limitations you can’t ignore. Use it as a tool to improve efficiency, but always back it up with a skilled human.
Wrapping up
To sum it all up, technological advancements benefit not just enterprises. Cybercriminals also have their hands full of the latest means to pick a target and bombard it with malicious software and other means.
Cybersecurity shouldn’t be just an IT concern. Businesses, regardless of size, need to focus on the necessary measures to fend off criminals. A secure and safe environment puts employees’ minds at ease and shows customers they can trust the enterprise.