Cyber Security Predictions for 2016


It’s fun to predict what may happen over a year in security.  The industry moves so fast and while some things do stay the course, it only takes one small catalyst to spark a new direction that nobody could have predicted.

There are many predictions already for 2016.  Radware has our own, which will be released soon as part of our annual Global Application & Network Security Report.  In the meantime, I wanted to share some other predictions made by other industry colleagues that piqued my personal interest.

So, in no particular order:

1. “Risk of Serious Attacks to Critical Infrastructure Will Increase” – Symantec

Almost everyone included something about IoT in their predictions, and justifiably so.  IoT is a wide frontier and these connected devices make our lives easier.  The team at Symantec has reminded us that the industrial IoT (sensors, controls, meters, etc.) that we use to gain better visibility and control of our critical infrastructure may also present a greater risk to that infrastructure.  What I liked about this point is that the devices themselves are perhaps only part of the risk.  Many of those devices integrate management and reporting systems for monitoring and control.  Maybe they’re also linked to another event correlation platform, or they leverage APIs to give even more functionality or data.  Is the risk simply the connected devices, or is the risk the other systems that ultimately may leak control of the devices?  It’s interesting to think about.

[You might also like: 5 Cyber Attack Developments Worth Your Attention]

2. “Data breaches will be used by hacktivists to systematically destroy their targets” – Trend Micro

This is exactly what happened in the Ashley Madison breach, and it was a good example of how a data breach can destroy a business.  While DDoS is a common technique for directly attacking someone, DDoS can be contained and mitigated.  Data breaches, however, are irreversible and their impact can be too.  Trend Micro suggests that the potentially devastating effect of data breaches might be an attractive technique now that we have seen their impact.

3. “Cyber insurance continues to boom” – Jon Oltsik, Enterprise Strategy Group and Network World

The success of the cyber insurance industry is extremely interesting because it reinforces the importance of preparedness.  This extends beyond preparing for an attack in your network/infrastructure.  It means that companies see cyber threats as so dangerous to their business, that they are purchasing insurance policies for financial protection if they are impacted.  Jon wrote another more in depth article about the topic, which you can find here.

4. Cybersecurity spending on both workforce and software solutions will increase – Andrew Borene, IBM i2 Safer Planet

I share Andrew Borene’s opinion that spending on cybersecurity workforce and solutions will increase.  We know that cyber security is an active industry but the demand for knowledgeable people continues to increase.  Workforce spending will likely be both in the salary of hiring new employees with in-demand skills as well as training existing staff on security and security hardware.

Finally, Dan Lohrmann wrote a nice blog for Govtech.com that compiled the predictions of many companies (including these) which you can find here.  2016 will most certainly be an interesting year in cybersecurity.  Be on the lookout for Radware’s 2016 predictions in our upcoming Global Application & Network Security Report!

Learn more about cyber-attack detection and trends in the 2016 Global Application and Network Security Report.

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Ron Winward

As a Security Evangelist at Radware, Mr. Winward is responsible for developing, managing, and increasing the company’s security business in North America. Ron’s entire career has been deeply rooted in internet and cybersecurity. For over 20 years, Ron has helped design complex solutions for carriers, enterprises, and cybersecurity providers around the world. Ron is an industry-recognized expert in the Mirai IoT botnet and its modern variants. Ron conducted the industry’s first complete analysis of the Mirai attack vectors, producing forensic examples for public distribution of each attack and the specific impact each attack had on networks. His work on IoT attack analysis has been presented at conferences worldwide and has been referenced by NIST. Prior to joining Radware, Ron was Director of Network Engineering for a global datacenter provider and ISP. In this role, Ron oversaw the growth and development of a global network infrastructure that delivered services to other ISPs, hosting providers, and enterprises around the world. During this time, Ron assisted some of the world’s top businesses in mitigating cyberattacks on their infrastructure, cultivating an extensive knowledge in DDoS attack methodologies. Ron holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and has earned many technical certifications throughout his engineering-focused career. Ron acutely understands the impact of technology and security on business and is enthusiastic about their interrelation.

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