By cybersecurity industry experts from RSA

Preparing for the Future of Digital Risk

If the past decade has taught us anything, it's that change is a constant. Fueled by technology innovation and digital transformation, our world is evolving and changing at a rapid pace. But with digital transformation comes unprecedented and inherited digital risk. Businesses today face a catch-22, as the very technologies they need to compete - AI, cloud, IoT, mobile devices, etc. - create vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. With cyberattacks now costing the global economy upwards of $600 billion annually, averaging $13 million per breach, businesses need to understand and manage digital risk, striking a balance between innovation and security.

So what can cybersecurity industry professionals expect in 2020? Here are predictions from the experts at RSA for the upcoming year:

Rohit Ghai, President, RSA

Rohit Ghai is President of RSA, a Dell Technologies business focused on helping customers manage digital risk through Business-Driven Security solutions. He is responsible for all aspects of the business and accelerating growth by setting strategic direction and driving operational execution. He advises global customers on their digital and security transformation initiatives and is often cited in broadcast and print media on topics like data privacy, content management, information governance, digital risk and cybersecurity.

Expect to see a cyber incident at the Edge in 2020.

The continued proliferation of IoT-devices will make edge computing an essential component of the enterprises' IT infrastructure in 2020. To power these systems, 5G will become a bedrock for organizations looking to speed up their IT operations. With this innovation and speed will come digital risk. A security incident in the New Year will serve as the wake-up call for organizations leaning into edge computing and will remind them that threat visibility is essential as their attack surface grows and the number of endpoints in their network multiplies. Expect the enterprise to invest more in tools that enable visibility across IoT devices and allows for a monitored and controlled edge gateway for devices.

Security shifts left.

In 2020, increasing demand for cloud native apps and widespread adoption of DevOps practices to drive digital transformation will also accelerate vulnerability risk. Security will adapt to enable AppSec teams to embed security into the DevOps processes. This will make the "shift left" mentality - something discussed by the security industry for years - a reality. It will enable pentesting and code analysis earlier in the development lifecycle, cyber-resilience to be designed into the fabric of the infrastructure which will result in reduction of the attack surface. However, this shift left for security will come with tension. Security teams will need to learn how to communicate with developers in a language they understand. Instead of talking about vulnerabilities, they'll need to talk in terms of delays and unplanned work.

Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan, CTO, RSA

As CTO, Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan leads the development of RSA's technology strategy and is responsible for bringing to market innovations that protect customers from advanced cyber threats. He joined RSA in 2015 from Elastica, where he was CTO. Previously, he was Sourcefire's chief scientist, and before that, technical director of Symantec's Security Technology Response division. Zulfikar holds more than 50 patents and a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT. His doctoral advisor was Professor Ronald L. Rivest, co-founder of RSA Data Security.

A.I. becomes less of a black box

In 2020, capabilities focused on making A.I. less of a black box will emerge so decisions can be more readily understood - even by those who are not technical.

Jim Ducharme, VP of Identity and Fraud & Risk Intelligence Products, RSA

Jim Ducharme is Vice President of Identity and Fraud & Risk Intelligence Products at RSA. He is responsible for product strategy and leads the associated product management and engineering teams. He has nearly two decades of experience leading product organizations in the Identity marketspace, and has held executive leadership roles at Netegrity, CA, and Aveksa.

The shifting attack surface.

As cybercriminals become more savvy, they are shifting their focus and attack surface from stolen credentials to infiltrating password recovery mechanisms to harvest and reset user credentials. This will lead to a new norm: User identities being reestablished with new usernames and passwords.

Angel Grant, Director, Digital Risk Solutions, RSA

Angel Grant is the Director of RSA's Digital Risk Solutions. In this role, she leads the go-to market team that helps organizations break down the silos between security and risk to manage their digital risk. Prior to this role, Angel led RSA's Identity and Fraud & Risk Intelligence go-to-market solutions. Angel has over 20 years of experience in the security, eCommerce and financial services industries and is a visionary leader with a passion for developing security solutions to protect against cybercrime and make our digital world a safer place.

Ransomware evolves in 2020

The popular attack vector will take on a new angle: It won't just be focused on holding data hostage, but rather, withholding the ability to connect to critical infrastructure.

Spoofing will go mainstream

A mobile-based application will emerge in 2020 that will offer on-demand animated spoofing for consumers. Its popularity will trigger discussions about deep fakes, the integrity of media and how to regulate/police false content.

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