Across the last few years, IT professionals have faced a rising tide of cybersecurity challenges. High-profile attacks like the SolarWinds cyber attack made it essential for businesses to appraise their existing security measures. Despite these efforts, by the end of 2020, ransomware attacks had increased by a whopping 600 percent.
In 2022, many IT experts are predicting similar challenges. Here are five cybersecurity challenges every business needs to be aware of in 2022.
1. Ensuring compliance with modern privacy laws
According to research by Gartner, 65 percent of the world’s population will have its personal data covered under modern privacy regulations by 2023.
These regulations – like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and China’s Personal Information Protection Law – mean that businesses operating in these markets have to adhere to strict data compliance standards.
For security teams, it’s important to find ways to efficiently manage these ‘multi-market’ compliance standards. If you fail to do so, you could face large fines, and in more severe cases, blacklisting.
2. Mitigating geo-targeted and personalised phishing threats
More than 75 percent of cyber attacks start with an employee opening a malicious email. Phishing scams will continue to evolve in 2022, making them harder to detect and making organisations more susceptible to attack. As reported by IT Governance, 35 percent of all data breaches involved scams trying to steal people’s sensitive information or login credentials.
3. Securing a decentralised network infrastructure
Remote and hybrid working is the new normal, and employees are now working from personal devices on unsecure home or public Wi-Fi networks. In 2022, IT security professionals face the continuing challenge of securing an ever-widening network of decentralised touch points, all of which pose an immediate risk.
To counter this, cybersecurity teams must limit touchpoint vulnerability, increase centralised access control, and educate employees so they can quickly recognise and stop possible data breaches.
4. Reducing the risk of ransomware attacks
According to the UK National Cybersecurity Centre, there were three times as many ransomware attacks in the first quarter of 2021 as there were in the whole of 2019. What’s more, 61 percent of UK organisations expect to see a rise in reportable ransomware activity as we go into 2022.
Mitigating ransomware attacks will continue to take centre stage moving forward, and cybersecurity experts need to keep teams secure and rapidly respond to imminent threats.
5. Strengthening third-party IT security relationships
According to a recent PwC survey, 86 percent of respondents said that complexity in their organisation was creating concerning levels of risk for cybersecurity breaches, with third-party cyber risks posing the biggest threat.
In 2022, it’s important to understand and manage your organisation’s web of third-party relationships. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2025, 60 percent of organisations will use cybersecurity risk as a ‘primary determinant’ when choosing who to conduct business with.
Getting proactive with your cybersecurity in 2022
Two-thirds of UK organisations plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets within the next year, and nearly a quarter intend to increase their cybersecurity spend by 10 percent or more.
In 2022, cybersecurity teams need to invest in building a security framework that empowers productivity, enables remote working, keeps teams secure, and ultimately, contributes to bottom-line growth.
To find out how you can reduce your risk of a cybersecurity attack, contact one of our experts today.
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