Cybersecurity has become one of those industrial ‘technical’ terms (e.g. like VPN, AI or IoT) that is familiar even to laypersons who have very little knowledge or interest about information technology and the cyberspace landscape. Why is this? This is because, in the 2020s now, topics like online safety and privacy are widespread and awareness about them is not just with people at specialist IT back-offices, but available to regular citizens all over the world. Also, more than half of the entire population of the globe is now connected on the internet superhighway where the spread of information is (still) democratic. People have been educating themselves about this on a large scale.
Cybersecurity in general has as a result become a commercialized sector and countless cybersecurity solutions and internet safety organizations are out there. The reason for the popularity of cybersecurity was brought about by global concerns about cybersecurity and internet safety. Why the concern? Well, the increasing cybercrime threat landscape has been growing at a rapid pace, coming down on the world like an enormous avalanche, with no clear end in sight, literally threatening the safety and stability of the internet itself. Today, cybercrime attacks and their sophistication are at an all-time high, constantly picking up momentum and spreading. So, to counter this the cybersecurity industry is scrambling to respond to the persistent waves of cybercrime on a daily basis.
The cybersecurity industry is currently researching and looking at strategic solutions, innovative approaches and the delivery of revolutionary technologies that will hopefully be an arsenal worthy enough to match the dangerous ransomwares, Advanced-Persistent-Threats, phishing scams, botnet attacks and countless other threats out there perpetrated by what are called ‘threat actors’ (individual hackers or hacking groups). Is it a fair fight, though, with such malicious threat actors and hacking campaigns out there? Can the cybersecurity good guys keep up with ‘black hat’ nation-state hackers, government breaches and socially engineered attacks constantly aimed at innocent people on social media? We’ll look into the cybersecurity technologies and trends aimed at mitigating such problems, as well as what is in store for the future of cybersecurity.
A Quick Glance at Cybersecurity History
Cybersecurity can be defined simply as digital solutions that mitigate online attacks, online data protection and also the education regarding general awareness around internet safety. Online safety tools have been around since the first computer ‘worms’ and ‘hacks’ decades ago, but as the internet’s complexity and size grew, so did the need for more diverse and sophisticated cybersecurity solutions. Historically, cybersecurity has been around since the 70s, around the time when ‘viruses’ appeared in their primitive form. The first U.S. Patent for Cybersecurity was applied in 1983 for MITs ‘cryptographic communications system and method’ -essentially the first public encryption key system. In 1993, the first DEF CON (defensive readiness) cybersecurity conference was held with the attendance of a handful of global professionals (a conference which now hosts tens of thousands of participants). Then the year 1995 brought us the SSL protocol, which is the basis of most online transactions today (secure HTTPS). So, the 90s were not exactly a hall of fame decade for cybersecurity, as problems were not that great -more a year of innovations. It wasn’t until the 2000s that cybersecurity awareness really went global. Cybercrime including mass credit card theft and famous viruses such as Mydoom would plague the world. The early 2000s also saw the birth of the famous ‘Anonymous’ hacking group (or hacktivism), the mysterious justice hunters still present today. The 2010s, up till today, is the period where cybercrime became a true global threat. In return, cybersecurity awareness and consequent solutions have become critical for everyone on this planet.
Cybercrime Threat Landscape in The 2020s
Today, the number one concerns in the cybersecurity world are ransomware and APTs (Advanced Persistent Threats) -forms of severe attacks by nation-states that have caused tens of billions of dollars of damage to computer systems worldwide. There really is no blue pill for cyber attacks, until a revolutionary security technology relying on quantum technology is released, perhaps in the next decade (but more on that later). So, the issue for the cybersecurity industry is not just the attacks, but what will be done with our data privacy now that we know it isn’t private at all? Well, the EU and the U.S. have even had to come up with cybersecurity privacy regulations to protect the privacy of citizens, such as the GDPR and CCPA laws respectively. The social media landscape is also littered with scams, identity fraud and too many users to keep up with in general. So, the security strategy for this decade is still in its infancy, where solutions for attacks as well as public internet safety have not been resolved with a holistic solution yet (although several countries are working on this).
Current And Upcoming Cybersecurity Trends
Financially motivated cybercriminals and cybercriminal groups will not stop trying to get their ROI (Return on Investment), unfortunately. They will go to great lengths, even hacking into government databases and using national intelligence agencies’ tools for inspiration. There is hope for a safe, fair and transparent cyberspace though as technological revolutions in IT aim to change the way we compute. Some of these revolutionary technologies are;
- Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
- Quantum computing
- 5G technology
For cybersecurity, nothing is more important than making use of technological advancements in the field. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, aimed in the proper direction, promise to improve our online safety to unseen levels. Coupled with the mobility, speed and low latency that 5G provides, we should see a very efficient, improved world in the near future. Of course, this is given that these technologies do not fall so much into the wrong hands that the technology is used against governments and citizens of the world. For businesses to scale securely and implement new technologies into their infrastructure, cybersecurity focus is essential. Let’s list some directions where the most focus and attention need to be implemented in this decade and beyond;
- Cloud security with MDR (Managed Detection and Response)
- Securing 5G applications and AI networks from cybercrime
- Applying ‘zero trust’ models to the industry
- Advancing the multi-factor-authentication (MFA) encryption protocols
- Improving endpoint detection and security
- Emphasis on cybersecurity awareness and training
- Tempered Networks (strictly isolated networks)
- Microsegmentation and isolation
In today’s threat landscape, it is critical that organizations (which can mean small businesses or governments) build cybersecurity models with zero-tolerance and with security in mind from the ground up. Emerging technologies such as ML, AI, 5G and Quantum computing have to be secured as well, before being allowed to augment cybersecurity solutions. Our biggest technological discovery yet could be quantum computing, which will make current computer systems completely redundant. It is critical that this technology remains in the right hands, and organizations need to be securing every step of quantum research and testing right now, not later when the technology is stable and programmable.