Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2020. Read them in this 12th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By WatchGuard Threat Lab Team
Why 2020 Will Be the Year of Simplified Security
In this
year's Cyber Security Predictions, the WatchGuard Threat Lab has imagined the
top cyber attacks we'll see in 2020 and has also provided tips for simplifying
your approach to stopping them. Even though the threats coming at you won't be
any less intense, complicated, or difficult to manage, 2020 will be the year of
simplified security.
Ransomware Targets the Cloud
Ransomware
is now a billion-dollar industry for hackers, and over the last decade we've
seen extremely virulent strains of this malware wreak havoc across all types of
businesses. As with any big-money industry, ransomware will continue to evolve
in order to maximize profits. In 2020, we believe ransomware will focus on the
cloud.
Recently,
untargeted "shotgun blast" ransomware has plateaued with attackers now showing
preference for targeted attacks against industries whose businesses cannot
function with any downtime. These include healthcare, state and local
governments, and industrial control systems.
Despite
it's far reaching damages and soaring revenues, ransomware has largely left the
cloud untouched. As businesses of every size move both their servers and data
to the cloud, it has become a one-stop shop for all of our most important
information. In 2020, we expect to see this safe haven crumble as ransomware
begins targeting cloud-based assets including file stores, S3 buckets, and
virtual environments.
Security Tips: Do you have cloud security? Virtual or cloud UTM? Asking these
questions is where to start. Use advanced malware protection to detect evasive
malware. More importantly, consider new security paradigms that allow you to
implement security controls, like advanced malware protection, in cloud use
cases. Finally, the cloud can be secured, but it requires work. Make sure
you've hardened your cloud workloads. For instance, investigate resources for
properly securing S3 buckets.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Becomes Standard for Midsized Companies
We predict
that multi-factor authentication (MFA) will become a standard security control for
midmarket companies in 2020. Whether it's due to billions of emails and
passwords having leaked onto the dark web, or the many database and password
compromises online businesses suffer each year, or the fact that users still
use silly and insecure passwords, the industry has finally realized that we are
terrible at validating online identities.
Previously,
MFA solutions were too cumbersome for midmarket organizations, but recently
three things have paved the way for pervasive MFA, both SMS one-time password
(OTP) and app-based models, even among SMBs. First, MFA solutions have become
much simpler with cloud-only options. Second, mobile phones have removed the
expensive requirement of hardware tokens, which were
cost-prohibitive for midmarket companies. And finally, the deluge of
password problems has proven the absolute requirement for a better
authentication solution. While SMS OTP is now falling
out of favor for legitimate security concerns, app-based MFA is here to stay.
The
ease of use both for the end user and the IT administrator managing these MFA
tools will finally enable organizations of all sizes to recognize the security
benefits of additional authentication factors. That's why we believe enterprise-wide MFA will become
a de facto standard among all midsized companies next year.
Security Tips: This tip is simple - implement MFA throughout your organization.
Everything from logging in to your laptop each day to accessing corporate cloud
resources should have some sort of multi-factor authentication tied to it.
Products like AuthPoint can do this for your
company.
During 2020, 25% of All Breaches
Will Happen Outside the Perimeter
Mobile
device usage and remote employees have been on the rise for several years now.
A recent survey by WatchGuard and CITE Research found 90% of midmarket
businesses have employees working half their week outside the office. While
remote working can increase productivity and reduce burnout, it comes with its
own set of security risks. Mobile employees often work without any network
perimeter security, missing out on an important part of a layered security
defense. Additionally, mobile devices can often mask telltale signs of phishing
attacks and other security threats. We predict that in 2020, one quarter of all
data breaches will involve telecommuters, mobile devices, and off-premises
assets.
Security Tips: Make sure you're as diligent implementing off-network protection
for your employees as you are perimeter protection. Any laptop or device that
leaves the office needs a full suite of security services, including a local
firewall, advanced malware protection, DNS filtering, disk encryption, and
multi-factor authentication, among other protections.
The Cyber Security Skills Gap
Widens
Cyber
security, or the lack of it, has gone mainstream. A day doesn't seem to go by
where the general public doesn't hear of some new data breach, ransomware
attack, company network compromise, or state-sponsored cyber attack. Meanwhile,
consumers have also become intimately aware of how their own personal data
privacy contributes to their own security (thanks Facebook). As a result, it's
no surprise that the demand for cyber security expertise is at an all-time
high.
The
problem is, we don't have the skilled professionals to fill this demand.
According to the latest studies, almost three million cyber security jobs
remained unfilled during 2018. Universities and cyber security trade
organizations are not graduating qualified candidates fast enough to fill the
demand for new information security employees. Three-fourths of companies claim
this shortage in cyber security skills has affected them and lessened their
security.
Unfortunately,
we don't see this cyber security skills gap lessening in 2020. Demand for
skilled cyber security professionals keeps growing, yet we haven't seen any recruiting
and educational changes that will increase the supply. Whether it be from a
lack of proper formal education courses on cyber security or an aversion to the
often-thankless job of working on the front lines, we predict the cyber
security skills gap to increase an additional 15% next year. Let's hope this
scarcity of expertise doesn't result in an increase in successful attacks.
Security Tips: While the available cyber security workforce won't appear
immediately, you do have options to help create and manage a strong cyber
defense. Taking a long-term view, you can work with your local educational
institutes to identify future cyber security professionals so that you might
fill your open roles first. In the short term, focus on solutions that provide
layered security in one solution, or work with a managed services provider
(MSP) or managed security services provider (MSSP) to whom you can outsource
your security needs.
Attackers Will Find New
Vulnerabilities in the 5G/Wi-Fi Handover to Access the Voice and/or Data of 5G
Mobile Phones
The
newest cellular standard, 5G, is rolling out across the world and promises big
improvements in speed and reliability. Unknown to most people, in large public
areas like hotels, shopping centers, and airports, your voice and data
information of your cellular-enabled device is communicated to both cell towers
and to Wi-Fi access points located throughout these public areas. Large
mobile carriers do this to save network bandwidth in high-density areas. Your
devices have intelligence built into them to automatically and silently switch
between cellular and Wi-Fi. Security researches have exposed some flaws in
this cellular to Wi-Fi handover process and it's very likely that we will see a
large 5G to Wi-Fi security vulnerability be exposed in 2020 that could allow
attackers to access the voice and/or data of 5G mobile phones.
Security Tips: Most
mobile devices don't allow the users to disable cellular to Wi-Fi handover
(also known as Hotspot 2.0). Windows 10 currently does, however. If unsure,
individuals should utilize a VPN on their cellular devices so that attackers
who are eavesdropping on cellular to Wi-Fi connections won't be able to access
your data. For businesses looking to enable Hotspot 2.0, make sure your Wi-Fi
access points (APs) have been tested independently to stop the six known Wi-Fi
threat categories detailed at http://trustedwirelessenvironment.com.
If the APs block these threats, attackers cannot eavesdrop on the cellular to
Wi-Fi handoff.
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