Top 5 Cyber Security Challenges for 2022
Cyber security is a field of constant change and evolution. As such, pinning down specific challenges is like chasing shadows! However, thanks to our incredible Technology Leaders Club community, we have access to the insight of some of the industry’s best and what challenges they are concerned about for the start of 2022.
1. Ransomware
There is no escaping ransomware. The stats speak for themselves, ransomware attacks are hitting businesses harder, and more frequently, with the figures only increasing year on year. Last year’s emergence of the Log4j vulnerability is evidence enough that it’s no longer an option to simply keep up with cyber threats, businesses need to stay ahead. Handling this is no mean feat and is something concerning all security professionals today.
If the pandemic has proven anything, it’s that the future of business is no longer office based. Security and IT teams worked flat-out at the very beginning of lockdown to stand-up remote working capabilities for their organisations. Now almost 2 years on, businesses continue to wrangle with vulnerabilities and end-user security in the face of the ever-changing business landscape.
There is a perceived skills gap within the cyber security industry, and indeed the technology industry in general. However, our community experts are aware that this challenge is more one of culture than anything else. Plenty of people are turning to careers in cyber security only to be met by an impenetrable wall of required experience and certifications. Our community have stressed repeatedly the importance of getting new blood into the field. They know this challenge can be resolved by hiring enthusiastic and technically minded people, regardless of experience, and training and investing in them, but shifting the hiring culture is proving difficult.
Security debt is the accumulation of the patches missed, the risks accepted, and the configurations misapplied. Security debt is an issue that all businesses will need to wrangle with, and the challenge now is ensuring that processes and governance are put in place to prevent the problem from growing, while tackling the already amassed debt. With the speed of business development and the ever-present threat of cyber-attack, security teams are stretched thin trying to keep up while also handling their security debt.
5. Identity Access Management and Zero Trust
With digital identity now being a central part of how we live and work, traditional password security is increasingly becoming a serious security risk. Cyber security teams are doing what they can to implement better Identity Access Management and Zero Trust principles but how best to create a frictionless experience that will minimise user pushback is a matter of great debate in our community.
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