Cyber security was a big topic in 2016 and here at Black Line Consulting, we believe it will be an even bigger topic in 2017. That is why we came up with a list of our top 5 cyber security predictions for 2017.
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Internet security will become a priority for small businesses:
There are constant internet threats out there targeting all types of businesses. Whether they are multi-billion dollar businesses or a mom-and-pop shop that has one computer and a website, someone, somewhere is trying to do damage. Now that it is becoming more known that all types of businesses are vulnerable, small businesses need to do more to protect themselves. At the very least small businesses need to do the basics of having a firewall in place, virus protection, regular updates, and backing up everything.
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Internet of Things (IOT) attacks will become more popular.
The internet of things is everyday objects that have network connectivity allowing them to send and receive data. The most prevalent example of this in 2016 was the Mirai Virus. This virus hacked into everyday IOT objects such as webcams and DVRs to send an overload of messages to DNS service providers, which in turn temporarily took down sites such as Twitter, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, Tumbler and more. We predict that attacks like this will become more prevalent as the popularity of smart devices becomes more mainstream. That means that hackers could potentially turn your smart refrigerator, thermostat, or toaster into a botnet that could do some serious damage.
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Priority on securing IOT devices:
With our prediction of IOT attacks becoming more popular, we also think that 2017 is going to be when a focus on securing these items will become a priority. A lot of these smart devices come with default user names and passwords that are hard-coded and users have virtually no way of changing them, making them an easy target for hackers. In 2016 Chinese electronic firm Hangzhou XiongMai had to do a massive recall of webcams after the Marai attack mentioned above. We believe that with the popularity of IOT attacks, companies are going to start to safeguard themselves from these attacks preventing lawsuits, recalls, and profits loss.
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More automation of security enforcement:
Many of the big hacks or data breaches we hear about in the news get found out after its already too late. It’s going to be important that businesses of all sizes implement more automation of security enforcement. We also believe that more sophisticated forms of security enforcement automation will be developed in the upcoming years. Security automation that will become more popular than ever will be 24/7 monitoring, automatic updates, and an automatic action plan if technology is breached. Even the smallest of businesses will need to have some sort of automation in place, because one of the worst things to happen is to have a customer notify you that your email or website has been hacked.
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Popularity of Cyber Insurance:
Cyber insurance is used to protect businesses from internet based losses from data destruction, extortion, theft, hacking, and more. With the countless data breaches and hackings that have been reported in 2016, we believe that more companies are going to start to utilize cyber insurance. One attack on a company can cost upwards of millions of dollars, so cyber insurance is a small price to pay knowing the popularity of open source viruses and ransomware as a service out there.
If you need help with your cyber security for the upcoming year, Black Line IT can help. Contact us today to learn more about our custom IT plans we have available.