December 3, 2020 | By stephen

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5 Cybersecurity Predictions For 2021 That You Need To Be Aware Of

• Cybersecurity

How different will the cybersecurity landscape be for your Chicagoland organization in 2021? Here are our top five predictions to help you prepare for the future:

1. Ransomware Will Increase In Both Scope And Severity

Ransomware has rapidly grown to be one of the most prevalent cyber-attack vectors in the last few years. This trend will continue in 2021 and beyond.

According to Cybercrime Magazine, ransomware attacks will occur every 11 seconds in 2021, an increment from every 14 seconds recorded in 2019.¹ Even if businesses invest more in protecting their computers from ransomware, there’s no guarantee that bad cyber actors will move to other vectors. That’s mainly because ransomware has proved to be quite an effective form of attack.

To be on the safe side, you must implement ransomware protection and more cybersecurity protocols around spam filtering and web filtering.

2. Cybercriminals Will Focus More On Remote Workers Throughout 2021

COVID-19 forced many businesses to allow their employees to operate remotely. The result is more workers using several gadgets across many less-protected home-office environments. For cybercriminals, this is a “hacker’s paradise.”

Statistics from Malwarebytes show that up to 25% of organizations have grappled with malware attacks and other data breaches due to the mobile workforce’s vulnerabilities.² If businesses do not reimagine their cybersecurity approaches, we can only expect a surge in incidences where cyber attackers exploit mobile workers as entry points to corporate networks.

3. The Healthcare Sector Should Brace For Deadly Attacks

According to Dizzion, up to 89% of healthcare organizations have experienced an attempted or actual data breach just within the last two years.³ As the healthcare sector was rushing to combat the spread of COVID-19, bad cyber actors were also giving chase. They saw an overwhelmed industry that’s too focused on dealing with the virus, hence providing an easy target. The fact that there weren’t any confirmed cases from such hacks in 2020 is a miracle, which may not be the case in 2021.

4. Accelerated Digital Transformation And Increased Internet Access Will Spur More Data Breaches

It’s almost impossible to look back into 2021 and identify any positive highlights. Well, unless we look at it from an information technology perspective. The stay-at-home orders inspired many businesses to increase their digital transformation efforts. With several people staying indoors, the number of active internet users has risen to almost 4.6 billion (Statista).⁴

According to Bitglass, this number will continue to soar, and 84% of organizations will continue to support the mobile workforce even post COVID-19.⁵ What this means is an expanded playground for cyber attackers. Since the beginning of COVID-19, the FBI’s IC3 has recorded a threefold increase in online crime reports.⁶ Moving forward, we can expect a substantial increment in hacks, both for individuals and corporate networks.

This doesn’t mean you should shy from implementing new technologies or supporting remote work. However, your IT support team must re-evaluate your website design and security strategies before deploying any new software or changes to your servers.

5. Consumption Of IoT Managed Security Services Will Increase Fivefold

Demand for managed security services has been on the rise for several reasons. First, the cyber threat landscape has increasingly evolved in complexity. Besides, most in-house IT experts were accustomed to offering on-premise support, which is not viable under the current circumstances.

It’s not any different in the IoT security space; there’s an influx in BYOD and company devices being used away from the safe in-office environments. And the truth is, most internal IT teams are ill-equipped to offer remote support. That’s why, according to Gartner, the demand for IoT managed security services will increase by 500% in 2021.⁷

Let Experts Handle Cybersecurity For Your Chicagoland Business

2020 was not one of the best years in cybersecurity, and 2021 may be worse. But it doesn’t have to be – the trick is to work with a seasoned IT company with a deep bench of professionals.

About LeadingIT

LeadingIT offers 24/7, all-inclusive, fast, and friendly technology and cybersecurity support for nonprofits, manufacturers, schools, accounting firms, religious organizations, government, and law offices with 10-200 employees across the Chicagoland area.

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Sources:

¹https://cybersecurityventures.com/top-5-cybersecurity-facts-figures-predictions-and-statistics-for-2019-to-2021/

²https://resources.malwarebytes.com/files/2020/08/Malwarebytes_EnduringFromHome_Report_FINAL.pdf

³https://phoenixnap.com/blog/what-is-data-breach-how-to-prevent

⁴https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/

⁵https://pages.bitglass.com/CD-FY20Q2-RemoteWorkforceReport_LP.html?&utm_source=pr

⁶https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2020/PSA200401

⁷https://www.i-scoop.eu/internet-of-things-guide/growth-iot-managed-security-services-market/