From AI to bio-metrics, the tech that should be on your radar in 2019
Cybersecurity is a field that’s focused on the future. With hackers constantly developing novel ways to penetrate network and device defenses, it’s essential to be aware of new advancements – and threats – looming on the horizon.
You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that 2019 will see the emergence of cyber threats that are more sophisticated, harder to detect, and do more damage in a faster amount of time. By 2020, a Gartner report predicts that 60 percent of digital businesses will suffer major service failures as their IT security teams fail to manage the digital risk posed by new technologies and use cases.
But the cybersecurity technology and talent that fights off attacks are evolving as well, plugging once-gaping security holes in the cloud as well as new endpoints like mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest technology trends hitting the cybersecurity industry in 2019.
- Artificial intelligence (AI). Cybersecurity will become more intelligence-driven this year. More-advanced hackers are incorporating AI into their attacks – enabling them to wreak malicious havoc faster than ever before within networks. Artificial intelligence is the new cybersecurity arms race – and adopting AI techniques like machine learning are key to the ability to respond quickly and proactively to threats.
Not only does machine learning play a critical role in threat detection, it also enables machines to make decisions and execute changes to stop threats without wasting precious time waiting for human input. An alarming shortage of cybersecurity talent nationwide makes automating threat detection and response even more essential. Sixteen percent of companies have already adopted AI-powered security solutions, and an additional 19 percent plan to add them in the next year or two, according to a survey by Spiceworks.
- Technology transforms Zero Trust into Digital Trust. 2018 was the year of the Zero Trust security model. A surge of insider attacks had destroyed the idea that internal players are trustworthy, prompting cybersecurity providers to take painstaking steps to continuously evaluate user behavior and actions. But many companies are finding that Zero Trust erects a barrier to employee productivity by making it difficult to access the systems and applications people need.
In 2019, Digital Trust is expected to emerge as the next security model. Zero Trust enabled IT to build comprehensive digital fingerprints of employees that include such information as the devices they use and physical locations.
Digital Trust can use these profiles to improve user experience and reduce the number of authentication barriers necessary to access systems and applications. Instead of prohibitive lock-downs, it defends companies with cybersecurity tools like deception technologies, context-aware behavioral analytics, and robo-hunters that can detect and shut down fraudulent identities or behavior that aren’t consistent with an employee’s digital profile.
- Biometric security. Mention biometrics, and retina scans straight out of science fiction movies come to mind. And historically, people tend to worry about the idea of connecting their physical selves to digital records or online accounts.
But biometrics become less intimidating if you realize many of us already use them every day through technology like Face ID or fingerprint scans for iPhone access. In 2019, more companies are expected to embrace biometrics tools as a faster, more secure alternative to password managers for proving that people are whom they claim to be.
At the forefront of this charge is behavioral biometrics – measuring data such as how users type, handle their devices, or apply pressure to their screens to detect fraud and prevent account hijacking. After all, malicious bots aren’t likely to type the same as authorized users. ResearchandMarkets.com predicts that the behavioral biometrics market will reach $2.5 billion by 2023, with specific applications for access and multifactor authentication splashing onto the scene.
- Coordinated endpoint security. Any computer hardware device that connects to a company network and the Internet is a potential entry point for threats. And it’s safe to say that the number of Internet-connected devices outnumbers the people in almost any modern company.
Hackers are aware of how much easier it is to get unsuspecting employees to click on a malware link on their laptop than to try and break through a secure firewall. A whopping 70 percent of malware infections go undetected by antivirus software – shining a light on the need for next-generation endpoint protections.
This year, more companies will attempt to coordinate control of the devices on their networks to keep out malware and bad actors. A complete endpoint security and response solution like CyberGuard360’s new CyberGlass product is a game-changer, using advances in AI to create a solution that not only powerfully spots issues, but also fixes them.
- Cloud-based security platforms. As a majority of companies move critical workloads to the cloud, 2018 saw multiple high-profile breaches involving public cloud environments. The rapid adoption of cloud computing has security professionals learning on their feet about gaping cybersecurity holes and cloud-specific risks. Misconfigured cloud accounts and the failure to adopt updated cloud storage security elements made some cloud data easy prey for hackers last year.
CSO Online forecasts 2019 as the year of cloud-based cybersecurity analytics and operations. On-premises techniques will begin to transition to the cloud, including virtualized security hardware, virtualized firewalls, and virtualized intrusion detection and prevention systems. And like all cloud-based services, these security systems will be platform-delivered, flexible, and scalable.
Cloud security systems are being built with open APIs, meaning that cybersecurity teams can add technologies to the platform with relative ease and switch them on and off as needed. At the end of the day, the flexibility and scalability of these solutions will give companies new visibility across their environments.
2018 may have been the year of the data breach, but advances in cybersecurity technology have 2019 poised to become a year in which companies take big leaps toward preventing breaches. And one of the key advances is CyberGuard360’s new CyberGlass platform.
It stands out in the market as the first and only platform to combine all the elements of a complete cybersecurity program into a single actionable interface. For the first time, MSPs, MSSPs, and enterprise IT teams can view an organization’s comprehensive cybersecurity profile in real-time through a single pane of glass – and take immediate steps to address any problems.