The Future Of Security
With humans often marked as the weakest link in security, 2018 was exasperated by challenges due to the growth of mobility, BYOD, remote working and the gig economy. Looking at the next twelve months, AI is being touted as the pathway to protection; but as with many powerful tools, it can be used for both good and evil, as AI platforms become growingly favoured by cyber criminals too. We expect to see much more focus on machine learning to address security vulnerabilities, as well as more of a focus on end-to-end security solutions versus a patchwork collection of discrete tools.
There are four spaces where companies and end users need to focus to protect themselves – data, identity, online and devices. The trend from two-factor to multi-factor authentication on personal devices, for example, will continue to grow as security industry bodies like the FIDO Alliance integrate with Windows Hello to enable safer authentication. The rise of smart devices in the home and office that are all interconnected will also introduce security vulnerabilities that will need to be addressed. A crucial aspect will be to learn from users through heuristics and new learning models addressing not just changes in technology, but also changes in human behaviours. Companies will need to understand their multi-generational workforce, to better manage and protect devices, as well as develop strong security protocols and practices.
Offering a number of lifecycle and other benefits, DaaS (Device-as-a-Service) is a smart way to address security issues, particularly as they become increasingly complex and frequent due to the expanding mobile workforce. In response, companies will need to seek agile, customisable solutions and greater control of the device ecosystem as well as the security implemented with it. This is a growing trend; almost 30% of CIOs who responded to a Gartner study in 2018 are considering DaaS as part of their device strategy in the next five years, and a recent IDC study shows total market value tripling between now and 2020. In the interim, there are inherent challenges that will need to be solved. These include keeping up to date, customisation issues and concerns over safely managing the influx of BYOD.
