Growing cyber-attacks, uncertainty, and pressure on MSPs. These are some cybersecurity trends we will see in the back half of 2021. We all will have to keep a close eye on these eleven cybersecurity trends and predictions to stay safe and protected this year.
Last year, we saw how cybercriminals took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to launch their hooks. Still, in 2021 we will continue to see how these cyber threats are becoming more targeted, sophisticated, and widespread. Some experts point out that we will see how people’s actions impact cybersecurity since many behaviors involve many risks. This will ensure that many companies bet on implementing proactive security practices and tools that work with humans and not against their actions.
Amazingly, we still have so many security issues, especially since most businesses have MSPs’ support, knowledge, and experience to choose the most appropriate security solutions and scale to meet their needs. We can only assume that this may be happening because of the increased demand for cybersecurity solutions coupled with the limited ability to meet face-to-face. Vendors rely on VARs to leverage existing relationships, which is not always the best solution. These and more will lead to the perfect storm and what cybersecurity trends were in store for us in 2021.
After all that has transpired over the past year, for many, it is difficult to predict precisely what cybersecurity trends we will see in 2021. While we will continue to face challenges that remain to be addressed, many things cannot be anticipated, so we must be well prepared.
Table of Contents
1. Cybercriminals Will Play it Safe
Although they will continue to become more sophisticated in their attacks, cybercriminals will carry out their cybersecurity threats by always taking the path that offers the least resistance, the easiest option. This is why having proper cybersecurity solutions and a solid disaster recovery plan is vital to the safety of your business.
2. Pressure on MSPs
Customers will continue to pressure MSPs to refine their security practices. Traditionally, MSPs have relied on their internal IT knowledge to support their IT staff, but this is no longer sufficient. They will need to raise the level of security by relying on partner groups and establishing it as a top priority. We have started using SolarWinds RMM to help alleviate some of the pressure and help educate our customers.
SolarWinds checks each of your emails; if something is suspicious or doesn’t look right, they will let you know. They also have a “report phishing” button that enables you to report an email, which they scan and let you know whether or not it is safe in minutes.
3. Moving Away From Silos
Increasingly we will see MSPs and enterprise IT teams coming together to manage security rather than operating in silos jointly. Faced with a lack of security talent, organizations will continue to rely on outsourcing to obtain services in critical areas while still leveraging the expertise of their internal IT teams. Having a second set of eyes to look over things is never a bad idea.
4. Strengthening Security in the Healthcare Sector
With the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic into our lives, the healthcare industry has become one of the top targets for cybercriminals. This will continue into 2021. Ransomware will be the primary attack method because the consequences are more significant for healthcare organizations that cannot risk downtime due to the critical services they provide to patients.
Therefore, it will be critical for hospitals and other healthcare organizations to evaluate their IT and security budgets to ensure they can implement advanced security and data management tools to effectively back up and protect networks while enabling business continuity efforts.
5. Insider Threats
Some malicious individuals deliberately exploit systems within an organization for monetary compensation. And some insiders are potentially coerced or paid to share information or perform illegal acts. Experts note that in 2021 we will see an increase in insider threats, specifically insider information theft.
6. Cybersecurity Trends to Secure Remote Working
Despite the notable increase in remote working, many companies gave up on protecting the perimeter and relied on basic network and cloud services. In 2021, the consequences of these actions will come to light, and we will see how much intellectual property has been stolen by both cybercriminals and insiders.
7. Disappearance of Passwords
Some experts envision the end of passwords by 2025. But as early as 2021, we will see people start to move from relying on passwords for authentication to eliminating that extra friction that passwords create for the enterprise.
8. Cybersecurity Trends in Mobile Voting
The pandemic has highlighted the need to accelerate the availability of mobile voting systems. To this end, work must begin this year to verify users and their devices, validate them, and ensure compliance with security policies. Rolling out mobile voting and ensuring that each vote is legit will be a game-changer and a time saver for millions.
9. Cybersecurity Trends for the Distributed Workforce
One of the big priorities for organizations this year will be to efficiently manage the distributed workforce’s security, especially in finance, healthcare, and the sciences. This opens many doors for MSSPs, especially when it comes to managing data security remotely.
10. The Increased Importance of Digital Privacy
Digital privacy for employees and customers is becoming more critical every year. Many anticipate that large organizations will invest in hiring a dedicated privacy officer if they have not already done so in the next 12 to 24 months to define, monitor, and enforce privacy protections for both their employees and customers.
11. User Behavior Analysis
We will further consolidate SOAR (Security Orchestration Automation and Response) platforms and user and entity behavioral analytics. The CASB (Cloud App Security Broker) and GIS solutions will also be consolidated this year. This will result in tighter restrictions on VPNs and DLP in the cloud.
Cybersecurity Trends Wrap Up
There you have it! Our cybersecurity trends and predictions for the second half of 2021. If you found this article interesting or would like to implement some new cybersecurity solutions, please leave a comment or send us a message. And as always, stay safe out there and be careful what you click on!
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