Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2020. Read them in this 12th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
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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