The Green Sheet Online Edition

January 12, 2015 • Issue 15:01:01

Cybersecurity predictions for 2015

As 2014 drew to a close, high-profile data breach incidents continued to undermine consumer confidence in data protection. "It's time for companies to start looking at the next generation of threats and to step up their game to better protect consumer data," said Rick Dakin, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Security Strategist at CoalFire Systems Inc. He added that the threat landscape is continuously evolving.

CoalFire, an independent information technology risk, governance and compliance firm, predicts the cost of cybersecurity and risk management will double in 2015. This is based on trends identified in the more than 1,000 system audits and assessments it conducted last year.

CoalFire released its annual predictions for cybersecurity, along with an infographic titled Top Ten Cybersecurity Predictions for 2015. Here is a brief summary:

Top 10 cybersecurity trends:

1. Motivated threat actors will expand: Geopolitical and economic incentives will fuel international criminal organizations (often state-sponsored) to develop offensive cyber capabilities that lead to exponential increases in the number and sophistication of cyber threats.
2. Redefinition of defense will be necessary: Cyber risk management and security compliance will weigh equally with function, capacity and performance as information technology design criteria. Financial return on investment will factor in risk exposure as well.
3. Three heads will be better than one: In larger organizations there will be a balancing of responsibility among the chief information officer, chief information security officer and chief technology officer based on knowledge acquired in each of these roles.
4. Security investments will increase: Pernicious new cyber threats will spur greater demand for security protection in business and government infrastructures. Investment in cyber security is expected to double over the next three years.
5. Attacks from new fronts will arise: Expansion of mobility, cloud-computing, bring your own device policies and the Internet of Things will create new and unforeseen opportunities for cyber criminal exploitation of emerging formats.
6. Universal monitoring will become mainstream: Expect some form of threat, scanning, identity and/or credit monitoring service to be deployed by every organization and individual.
7. The business sector will advance policy standards: The impetus to develop and mature policy standards across private and government sectors will come from direct involvement and participation by business executives and board members.
8. New threat detection/response technologies will emerge: Increased usage of crowdsourcing, machine intelligence and cognitive/advanced analytics will detect and stay ahead of cyber threats in the coming year.
9. Improved security applications will surface: New and improved applications of authentication, encryption, tokenization and Europay/MasterCard/Visa chip-embedded technology will emerge to enhance payment and data security.
10. The offensive team will return: This year will usher in a shift from cyber-defense to cyber-offense as a strategy for building impenetrable systems that identify attackers and provide the means to prosecute, deter or delay malicious activities.

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