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Beachhead Solutions 2022 Predictions: Why Businesses Will Be Retooling Their Data Security Strategies in 2022

vmblog predictions 2022 

Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022.  Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Why Businesses Will Be Retooling Their Data Security Strategies in 2022

By Cam Roberson, VP, Beachhead Solutions

2022 will be the year businesses come to terms with the realities of a forever-changed data security landscape. Now two years out from the start of the pandemic, most companies see work-from-home policies as nothing new. And, at this point, it's not. However, many are only now beginning to accept distributed workplaces as the new normal from a security standpoint. Businesses will address their changed tooling needs around securing distributed workplaces, and do so by ignoring terms or acronyms and instead focusing on the broader evolving threat and vulnerability landscape. Expect businesses in 2022 to also expand their strategic security perspectives beyond the current obsession with ransomware. Instead, they'll adopt holistic strategies that address less visceral - but equally dangerous - threats to their data security.

Here are three predictions on how businesses will evolve their data security practices in 2022.

1) Expect: a welcome focus on security threat vectors, not acronyms.

When a business today looks at much of the data security market, they see a tangle of acronyms that border on impenetrable and lead to misconceived interpretations. From EDR to XDR to SOAR to SIEM, those studying solution offerings and thinking they're gaining a grasp of security technologies are often just wading through mushy marketing lingo.

In truth, those acronym terms are loosely defined, overlapping, and subject to change. One vendors' definition of the protections offered by a claimed acronym can differ greatly from another. It is, therefore, dangerous to buy the security delivered by an acronym. Instead, businesses will begin by addressing the threat vector. (EDR, by means of an example, has all kinds of interpretations - but based on the vendors to claim the capability, it is mostly protection/mitigation of ransomware.) The murkiness of this acronym's meaning is just one example of many. Without a thoughtful and holistic security strategy, businesses will face an unending game of whack-a-mole trying to add solutions to address new threats, while increasing their own likelihood of getting hammered with a data breach.

In 2022, businesses will get savvy to acronym distractions. They'll be smarter about asking what actual threats a particular solution protects against. Vetting tools in this manner, businesses will move away from selecting piecemeal solutions based on marketing, and toward true comprehensive security with no weak links to speak of.

2) Expect: long-term security support for distributed workforces.

Businesses that implemented work-from-home policies and related security measures on the fly in early 2020 are now realizing that those policies aren't exactly going anywhere. In general, employees aren't retreating back to the firewall-enclosed fortress of the central office, at least not in the same numbers. Instead, businesses must adopt new capabilities to defend employees' home offices with the same strong protections.

In 2022, expect more businesses to adopt cloud-based security strategies that can encrypt and control data access from employee devices regardless of location. For example, geofencing-powered protections and policies backed by full automation will defend distributed workforces - first sending warnings and then revoking data access from devices that stray beyond an allowed distance from an employee's home office. Persistent VPNs, and modern next-generation firewalls able to protect individual employees anywhere will also earn increased attention. Businesses will also adopt solutions that enable and simplify regulatory compliance across distributed workforces in 2022, and invest in security with the mindset that this is the workforce of the future.

3) Expect: the brakes get pumped on "ransomware panic."

Ransomware is the company-scale equivalent of getting mugged. It's a scary, dangerous interaction with criminals, and no one wants to be a target. However, put in perspective, ransomware is just one of many threats to data security. A business is as likely to suffer a data breach incident due to device loss or theft, network security issues, insider threats, or simple employee carelessness.

In 2022, cooler heads will begin to prevail when it comes to business' security strategies, which will continue to protect against ransomware while shifting to a much more balanced approach. The robust employee training regimens, data encryption and access controls, compliance reporting, automated policy-based protections and other tools necessary for comprehensive data protection will join ransomware security as equal priorities capable of protecting against nefarious insider threats, compliance violations, lost and stolen devices, and poor security hygiene.

Also worth noting: 2022 will also see the rise of "ransomware 2.0," in which attackers frustrated by businesses with strong backup protections get revenge by selling and exposing stolen data on the dark web. This new practice may very well shift encryption to the forefront of ransomware protection, especially if layered encryption proves fully capable of thwarting data exposure during these attacks.

Given these forecasted changes, 2022 is shaping up to be a critical year for businesses to mature their data security to match the needs of their modern workforces for many years to come.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cam Roberson 

Cam Roberson is Vice President at San Jose-based Beachhead Solutions, which provides a PC and device security platform for businesses (and MSPs) across industries to encrypt data and automate threat responses.

Published Friday, January 07, 2022 7:34 AM by David Marshall
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