Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023. Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
A Look Ahead to 2023: The Takedown of a Fortune 500 and Prioritizing Risk Mitigation
By Andrew Kahl, CEO at BackBox
2022 was a unique year for cybersecurity. Old and new threat actors continued to attack businesses around the globe, from the Lapsus$ Group targeting big companies like Nvidia and Samsung, to cyber activity linked to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This past year continued to be plagued by cyberattacks, with threat actors becoming more creative than other in their tactics and approaches.
Global internet users experienced 15 million data breaches in the third quarter of 2022, a 167 percent increase from the previous quarter. The cost of cybercrime is also at an all-time high and is predicted to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025. Given these alarming statistics, network security automation is more essential now than it ever has been. Organizations have a huge target on their backs and are now on the hunt for a more proactive approach to securing the network that goes beyond threat detection and response.
The solution? Network security automation, which is a subset of network automation that continuously improves network security posture. Network security automation creates a setting where the network is continuously growing more secure. When faced with shifting circumstances, network security automation enables the entire IT ecosystem to become more robust, dependable, and adaptable. The IT ecosystem is conditioned to become stronger and more resilient when firms construct an automation system that is continuously enhancing the security posture through threat intelligence data.
It’s time to think back on what we have learned and what lies ahead for the security landscape in 2023 as this historic year draws to a close. I’ve gathered a couple of my own predictions for the upcoming year below:
Threat actors will take down the corporate network of a Fortune 500 company.
In 2023, destabilization is going to be the biggest threat to all organizations. Cybercriminals are looking to create chaos, and to do so, they will target corporate networks of major organizations across the globe. The network is the backbone of any company, and data is the lifeblood. If a threat actor takes down a network, data can’t travel and therefore a company can’t function.
Cybercrime costs include damage and destruction of data, stolen money, lost productivity, theft of intellectual property, theft of personal and financial data, embezzlement, fraud, post-attack disruption to the normal course of business, forensic investigation, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, and reputational harm. Between 2020 and 2021, the average number of cybersecurity attacks per year rose 31%, to 270 attacks, according to the Accenture report.
Risk mitigation becomes the new focus for organizations.
If there’s one area of security that organizations need to focus on for 2023, it’s preemptive risk mitigation. As threats continue to rise, organizations will push more budget to understand how they are protecting their enterprise, employees, and customers. This means completing a comprehensive review of everything including the health and wellness of corporate networks, multi-factor authentication, controlling resource access, and IP storage.
This will be especially critical for compliance-driven industries like federal agencies, financial services and healthcare companies that have to comply with security protocols. These are industries that need to have robust risk mitigation plans in place or they’re going to be in trouble. It is important to do these reviews on a continuous basis-at least once a quarter-rather than the current standard of once a year.
While what lies ahead for cybersecurity in the new year can be intimidating, it is important to remember the plethora of resources available to organizations ready to prioritize their cybersecurity posture. A new year means new beginnings, and it’s never too late to get serious about network security and overall preventative measures to protect yourself in the fight against cybercrime.
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew has a strong track record of growing and leading early and mid-stage companies into stable organizations. He co-founded CREDANT Technologies in 2001, which was acquired by Dell in December 2012. He is also the former Chairman of the Graduate School Alumni Board at the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business. Andrew excels at building and leading global customer focused organizations and creating strategies to drive truly meaningful customer relationships and operationally solid teams; transforming underperforming teams; thinking strategically; and building and motivating great teams by communicating in an honest and direct way by thinking of creative ways to get things done and then executing on them.
