Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2020. Read them in this 12th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Tom DeSot, EVP and Chief Information Officer of Digital Defense, Inc.
Cybersecurity Trends for 2020
2020 promises to be an interesting year in cybersecurity for a number of reasons. Not only are there existing technologies such as firewalls that continue to mature, but there are new technologies, and threats, that cybersecurity professionals need to prepare themselves for as the new year approaches.
Quantum Computing Makes Its Play
2020 is likely to be the year that quantum computing makes an even bigger splash. With some organizations already touting that they have the most powerful quantum computer in existence, it’s a sure thing that someone else is going to try to top them. In the cybersecurity realm, quantum computing means an end to the traditional password as many of them will now be able to be cracked in seconds or minutes, regardless of their complexity due to the abilities of quantum computers.
The Cloud Bites Back
2020 will see an ever-increasing number of enterprises move away from locally hosted systems such as file shares, email, etc. to hosting these systems in the “cloud”. However, as the old saying goes, the “cloud” is just someone else’s computer. Because of this, enterprises are being forced to rely on the security controls of another organization to protect their sensitive information. For cybersecurity practitioners this is becoming more and more problematic as they cannot enforce stringent environmental and other types of controls on the vendors that they are using, potentially placing their data at risk, should the cloud vendor have a breach or have an employee that makes a mistake, potentially exposing records to the Internet at large.
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About the Author
Tom DeSot, EVP and Chief Information Officer of Digital Defense, Inc.
As CIO, Tom is charged with key industry and market regulator relationships, public speaking initiatives, key integration and service partnerships, and regulatory compliance matters. Additionally, Tom serves as the company’s internal auditor on security-related matters.
Prior to Digital Defense, Tom was Vice President of Information Systems for a mid-tier financial institution with responsibilities including information security initiatives, the Y2K program, implementation of home banking and bill pay products, the ATM/debit card program, and all ATM networking.
Tom holds a Master of Science degree in Information Technology with a concentration in Information Security from Southern New Hampshire University and a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Arts and Sciences from Texas State University (summa cumlaude). He also holds the National Security Agency’s INFOSEC Assessment Methodology Certification and is formally trained in the OCTAVE Risk Assessment Methodology.
Tom currently serves on the information security curriculum advisory panels for St. Mary’s University – San Antonio, Texas A&M University-San Antonio and Hallmark University – San Antonio. He is as active member of the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce IT Committee, and has delivered cyber-security and cyber-ethics presentations at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
