Do you know what Oracle, SnapChat, the U.S. Department of Justice, and FACC all have in common? All of them faced data breaches this year. They weren’t the only victims of cyber attacks, either; several other big names across the globe had a difficult year on the cyber security front. As much as the integration of the physical world with the digital world has made things simpler, the fact remains that organizations, companies, and individuals are exposed to a number of unknown security threats. Providers of cyber security services are determinedly looking for better cyber security solutions, which is why procurement specialists at Technavio predict the global cyber security market to grow at a CAGR of 11% by 2021.
Category managers believe that 2017 will see organizations and companies better prepared for cyber threats. Some of the major cyber security trends for 2017 include the following:
- War goes digital
War is no longer limited to the geographical battlefield. Cyberspace has in fact emerged as the new battleground, wherein countries with their digital expertise can either wage war or become a victim of one. Cyber attacks can be either sponsored by states or used by independent operatives like terrorist groups. As these attacks are digital in nature, it becomes even more challenging to zero-in on the enemy. Such a scenario has pushed many countries to establish military cyber divisions solely dedicated to safeguarding against cyber attacks. NATO has already established the “Enhanced NATO Policy on Cyber Defense,” in which they have equated cyberspace with other defense domains.
According to procurement managers, the global annual cost of recovering from cyber crimes is approximately USD 6 trillion. The expense is inclusive of the forensic investigations carried out to identify the cyber criminals responsible for these attacks. To avoid such costs and associated losses, 2017 will see several organizations investing heavily in upgrading the security of their networks and online systems.
- Threat from Internet of Things (IoT)
By bringing internet-enabled devices together, IoT has made everyday life much easier and hassle-free. At the same time, IoT exposes users to security threats and hackers. As IoT devices are easily available to the internet and come protected with default passwords, they are highly vulnerable to security breaches. Primarily in the case of corporate entities, this is a critical situation, as hackers can easily integrate malware into networks through IoT devices.
Suppliers of cyber security services are continuously investing in R&D activities to develop innovative technologies that can deal with ever-evolving cyber threats.
- Greater need for data protection and increased automation
The need for data protection has gained more importance than ever. For instance, the recent data breach at Cisco’s “Professional Careers” website (mobile version) exposed personal information of job-seekers. Such security breaches bring focus to the need for enhanced cyber security solutions.
Organizations such as the European Union are enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a legal requirement for all nations operating under the Union. The idea behind this regulation is to reduce the number of data breaches by updating data protection controls to ensure the protection of personally identifiable information (PII).
Along with greater data protection, 2017 will also see increased cases of automation of security enforcement for prevention, detection, and prompt response to cyber attack. The automation technology will result in better enforcement of software updates, compliance to regulations, apart from instant detection of breaches and automatic responses.
- Insider threat
Insider threat is not limited to banking and financial institutes alone. Employees from different sectors try to leverage their access to PII to meet their personal performance goals, such as sales quotas. To avoid such a scenario, suppliers are providing cloud-based security solutions. Ease of adoption, cost-effectiveness and better compliance with regulations will make cloud-based security solutions one of the major cyber security trends in 2017 and beyond.
- Consolidation of suppliers
Cyber security services is a highly fragmented market at the global level, with several big and small players competing for greater market share. Increased concerns about cyber security are sure to boost the number of mergers and acquisitions at the regional as well as global level. Consolidation of suppliers will also make it easier to broaden the cyber security net and reduce the volume of security breaches.
Some of the major suppliers of cyber security services include IBM, Intel, and Symantec.
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