BLOGS

Cybersecurity 2020, What You Need to Consider

April 8, 2020

If we were to have written this article several weeks ago the context would have been considerably different, but as the world continues to come to terms with the new reality created by COVID-19, it’s pertinent to acknowledge these unique circumstances and the cybersecurity challenges we will face for the foreseeable future.

Although some of the challenges are situationally unique, the manner in which we should tackle them is no different than it would be in a world free of coronavirus. So, let’s quickly delve into cybersecurity 2020, and the things that Australian organisations and the IT community need to consider.

The threat landscape is an increasingly prevalent opponent for Australian organisations, highlighted in our reality of data breaches blog; a snapshot into the organisations who’ve already suffered breaches this calendar year. The numbers in a short space of time speak volumes and align with findings in the most recent Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) Report.

We mentioned that due to the nature of the coronavirus situation, there would be a number of new and prevalent threats emerge, with hackers and online entities taking advantage of the community’s need for information coupled alongside a dispersed and remote workforce.

Unfortunately, we’re seeing that come to fruition, with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) coming out with a threat update pertaining specifically to COVID-19. Outlined in the update, the ACSC explains how malicious cyber actors are exploiting the public’s concerns about the virus by directing them towards websites that will either install malware or illegally obtain personal information, and they’re doing it through phishing emails and text messages posing as legitimate and reputable organisations like Australia Post and international health organisations.^[1]

These threats are no different in orientation or makeup than cyber threats were pre-coronavirus, which means the approach for mitigating them remains the same, it’s just the context of them which is causing headaches. At the turn of the year Forbes outlined the five biggest cybersecurity trends that everyone should know about in 2020^[2], two of those particular trends remain incredibly relevant today.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will play an increasing role in both cyber-attack and defence.^[3] AI is one of the biggest tools we have for fighting cybercrime. It learns to identify patterns of behaviour and unlikely coincidences that help us thwart potential attacks in real-time. But in the same way it learns and grows to mitigate risks, hackers and phishers can use it to disguise such behaviours and slip past defences.

To stay on top of the ever-evolving beast organisations need a robust and proactive approach with highly skilled security resources, which isn’t the most freely available skillset. As Forbes outlined, the cybersecurity skills gap continues to grow.^[4] This is a fact, most organisations don’t have people with the sufficient skillset to proactively thwart all of these threats, which is why the IT community and HP channel partners have such an important role to play in protecting Australian organisations in the coming years.

Luckily though (and those that just tuned into our HP Proactive Security Webinar will know this), there is a solution available that leverages AI and gives organisations access to the necessary skillsets. HP DaaS Proactive Security, a solution that provides real-time malware protection for computing endpoints, security and threat analytics, and specialised expertise to help organisations in the fight against cybercrime.^[5]

As an added component to HP Device as a Service (DaaS) – which delivers full end to end device lifecycle management and support – channel partners can deliver services to your customers that helps them protect against, understand, and respond to threats proactively as opposed to reactively.

If you’re interested in learning more about Proactive Security and the benefits it can deliver for your customers, click here, or alternatively, reach out and give me a call, it’s during times like these that we all need to work together.

^[1] Threat update: COVID-19 malicious cyber activity, Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC); https://www.cyber.gov.au/threats/threat-update-covid-19-malicious-cyber-activity

^[2] The 5 Biggest Cybersecurity Trends In 2020 Everyone Should Know About, Forbes, January 10, 2020; https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/01/10/the-5-biggest-cybersecurity-trends-in-2020-everyone-should-know-about/#b64cc807eccc

^[3] The 5 Biggest Cybersecurity Trends In 2020 Everyone Should Know About, Forbes, January 10, 2020; https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/01/10/the-5-biggest-cybersecurity-trends-in-2020-everyone-should-know-about/#b64cc807eccc

^[4] The 5 Biggest Cybersecurity Trends In 2020 Everyone Should Know About, Forbes, January 10, 2020; https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/01/10/the-5-biggest-cybersecurity-trends-in-2020-everyone-should-know-about/#b64cc807eccc