cyber trends the methods of access to data and that means focusing on identity and access management and revisiting who qualifies for privileged access .
Many cloud threats are the same as those encountered on in-house networks . In 2021 , cloud hacks are expected to continue to be executed through :
1 . Stolen credentials , typically via phishing
2 . Exploitation of cloud misconfigurations 3 . Vulnerable cloud application hacking
Prevention and detection strategies will be crucial for all organisations to guard against such threats . Whether large or small , no organisation is immune to cloud risk . Full and accurate tracking of cloud assets should be a priority .
Security validation to keep defences and budgets in check
As the economy continues to be strained in 2021 , cybersecurity spend will be increasingly scrutinised . We expect many organisations to invest in security validation to understand if their technology is deployed optimally , if threats are being detected and blocked , if security settings are configured correctly , and if they are getting a good return on investment .
Security validation provides quantifiable data to the business on the effectiveness of their cybersecurity controls , and will help organisations answer questions such as :
• Is my VPN working like it should ?
• What vulnerabilities or gaps do I have in my remote infrastructure ?
Targeted attacks against medical facilities during the pandemic crossed a line that had never before been approached .
• Do people who have higherlevel privileges still need them now that they ’ re working from home rather than onpremises where their access could more easily be monitored ?
Security automation and training are also expected to be areas of significant growth in 2021 . Companies will continue to automate routine tasks so they can free up expertise for more high-value activities . Security validation will help identify areas ripe for automation as well as those that should be prioritised for more expert attention . The increased risk from remote work , especially for those organisations without established processes and policies for data access , will warrant significant additional security awareness training . Again , security validation can help by identifying some of the focus areas for that training .
Positive security results with effective planning and implementation
Organisations had much to overcome in 2020 and a rapidly changing security environment was just one of the challenges . The chance of these challenges continuing through 2021 are high and the adversity will be from more than just cyberthreat actors .
Today , it ’ s all about ransomware . This once opportunistic threat that used to cost organisations thousands of dollars is now being deployed in sophisticated operations with ransom demands upwards of a million dollars . Ransomware is only going to get worse in 2021 and organisations are going to need to be prepared with incident response plans and data backups .
2020 was one of the most challenging years in recent history and forced many organisations to stop what they were doing and reprioritise . As we navigate through a new year , we must learn from the threats we faced in 2020 and build capabilities and strategies that will protect us in the days to come . u www . intelligentciso . com
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