Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023.  Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Cloud Security & Beyond

By Members of the Netskope executive team

It is prediction time once again, and we've polled some of our esteemed experts here at Netskope to see what they have on their radar for 2023. We have broken these predictions out into "Long Shots," predictions we think could potentially happen in the next year, and "Trending Topics," predictions around topics you may have seen discussed a bit this year but digging into how we expect them to evolve. Here's what our experts see for 2023:

Long Shots

Omnidirectional risk analysis for supply chain visibility

Inventories of publicly exposed assets or services used to define attack surface can be measured and evaluated to collect a variety of data points that can help paint a picture of risk, highlight patterns of hygiene, or even provide corollary information that a new market, product, or business geography may be introducing new risks that aren't in plain sight. Marrying deeply contextual business data (workforce/financial/geographic/etc) to other data that is reflective of cyber & digital risks in existing operating environments and that of their business supply chain (3rd/4th/5th party risks) will provide an opportunity for innovation in risk management, with new risks emerging as a result of this analysis. -Nate Smolenski, CISO, Head of Cyber Intelligence Strategy

Attitudes toward the "industrial metaverse" will begin to shift

Our collective attitudes towards the "industrial metaverse" will begin to shift in 2023. Instead of being seen as something esoteric, we will see wider recognition that its key components-the digital shop floor (used interchangeably as a "digital twin" by some) in combination with supply chain automation and optimization through AI/ML models-are real and relevant, bringing new cybersecurity challenges with it. And with this new attitude toward the industrial metaverse comes the opportunity to drive a deep technological shift as a business change initiative. -Ilona Simpson, Chief Information Officer, EMEA

Trending Topics

Economic uncertainty will lead a shift to an "as-a-service" model

In 2023, I think we will see more companies performing internal rationalization of applications and processes with the idea of creating new operating models. A lot of that focus will be around evaluating buying the outcome as opposed to the traditional build model, leading more companies who have been slow to evolve to begin embracing the cloud operating model. Instead of another tech refresh, they will look for ways to move infrastructure and services into "as-a-service", moving them further away from Capex on to an Opex consumption model. This will allow companies to conserve as much cash as possible which they will need through any potential business downturns. -Gerry Plaza, Field CTO

Social media shake-ups will lead to increase in phishing and scams

With rumors of TikTok being banned and the privatization and layoffs at Twitter, attackers are likely to seize on the uncertainty with phishing and scams. These will occur both on those social media platforms, (especially if those platforms reduce the attention given to moderation) and on other fledgling platforms seeking to rise in popularity that are lacking the moderation and response maturity of established social media platforms. -Ray Canzanese, Director, Netskope Threat Labs

New rules around disclosing cybersecurity incidents will drive increased security presence in the boardroom

New SEC rules around reporting and disclosing cybersecurity incidents will drive more organizations to hire security expertise to serve on their boards. These new rules will result in more questions around security from the board with a much greater level of precision. To meet this need, security teams will need to improve their metrics and communication techniques to effectively work with the board. -James Christiansen, VP and CSO, Cloud Strategy

While we're all very excited to see how things pan out for 2023, keep an eye out for a new episode of Netskope's Security Visionaries podcast in early January, with host Mike Anderson, Netskope's Chief Digital and Information Officer, and additional Netskope guests Ilona Simpson, CIO EMEA, and David Fairman, CSO APAC, who will have more discussions around predictions and resolutions for 2023.

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