5 Predictions for Cybersecurity in 2018
2018 is sure to be a banner year for hackers and cybersecurity providers alike. Even as organizations find creative solutions to current obstacles there will always be new threats. So with that in mind, here are a cybersecurity few trends for the coming year:
1. More applications for blockchain technology: Often associated with the somewhat criminal-sounding term “cryptocurrency,” blockchain actually has the potential to revolutionize cybersecurity in everything from data encryption to network security to authentication. It’s even reviving hope for digital rights management (DRM), as the recent release of KODAKCoin demonstrates. In the coming year, look for more inventive use cases of this powerful technology.
2. IoT will present ongoing security challenges: The smart home is every consumer electronics geek’s dream. It’s also kind of a minefield for security. The more devices there are on a network, the harder it is to protect, and though improvements have been made, unprepared consumers and businesses who wade into this space can still expect a steep learning curve in 2018.
3. More institutions will be hacked: The sheer scale of the Equifax breach took the American public by surprise in 2017. Not cybersecurity professionals: Those in the community know how many banks and governments have been slow to catch on to the true scale of the cybersecurity threat. Unfortunately, we have yet to see the paradigmatic change required of these institutions, and citizens should be prepared for more major hacks in
4. Greater acceptance of multi-factor authentication: Perhaps the one good thing to come out of last year’s data breaches was increased awareness of multi-factor security. More and more businesses are now offering and even compelling multi-factor authentication. While multi-factor security by itself can’t completely prevent your data from being hacked, opting in when you can is pretty much a no-brainer in 2018.
5. The rise of 3D face recognition: With the debut of the iPhone X, Apple has already given us a preview of the future of mobile device security. However, notable issues have dragged down Apple’s face recognition solution, creating an opportunity for other manufacturers to make waves in this space. This is good news for consumers, who can expect to see competitive rivals to FaceID by the end of the year.
Major events could very well throw one or all of these predictions off, but only time will tell. To see how we did, check back in December when we review the year in cybersecurity!