Cybersecurity 10 Years on – Industry Growth and Change
Published On:
June 7, 2021
No one has a crystal ball that can show exactly what the future holds, but with some things, it’s possible to make strong, educated guesses at what might be seen in a space of five or ten years. Cybersecurity is one of the industries where solid assumptions can be made about what the future will bring. Cybersecurity will always have things that can’t be predicted as well – like new hacking methods and brand-new tech devices.
Broadly speaking, cybersecurity will continue to grow as both a need for organizations and individuals as well as a career opportunity. This is much more than an educated guess. It’s simply the progression of how people and organizations use technology. As use increases and the integration of devices and systems grows more enmeshed, the need for cybersecurity courses will grow accordingly to attempt to keep data, individuals and assets secure.
Things to consider over the next decade:
- Cyber attacks from foreign countries will continue. This concept first hit many people’s awareness in the 2016 US presidential election with talk of interference by other governments, but the very nature of electronic connection is that attacks can come from anywhere around the world. No one is immune and international attacks will become more common – with more sanctioned by foreign governments.
- Cybersecurity careers and job demands will continue to increase. Currently, individuals who have training, like Security+ certification, Network+ training and CYSA+ certification, A+ certification are leading the way in understanding cybersecurity needs and practices. In time, as cyber attacks evolve, the forms of training will change as well in order to keep pace. For the time being, these types of certifications help an individual stand out and move ahead in the field so that they will be able to keep organizations abreast of cybersecurity changes.
- Cyber attacks will become more sophisticated. Long gone is the hacker who accidentally steps into an organization’s unseen loophole of access. Going forward, there will be continued advances in bots that target vulnerabilities as well as individuals and operations with technologically-advancing tools.
- As the attacks become more sophisticated, so too will the techniques for prevention and resolution. Governments, businesses, non-profits and others will be looking for creative, trained and certified professionals to help them avoid attacks and mitigate fallout when breaches occur. The role cyber professionals hold in IT departments will continue to grow in importance and in budget to create solutions that protect an organization. There will be more data being used by more people, greater access through cloud-based systems and software and more reliance on artificial intelligence to manage it all, so cyber experts will begin to develop new roles within the field.
- Managing all access points will increase in importance. An organization can beef up their servers, firewalls and gateway security, but when multiple devices are being used that remain unchecked and humans lack the knowledge to keep important aspects secure, work to shore up security becomes irrelevant. There will need to be a wholistic view of all areas of an organization.
- The Internet of Things must be considered for possible sources of exposure. As devices connect with each other more frequently, there is the potential for security breaches. Cars connected to networks, AI talking to factory robots, automated inventories, etc. all need assessment.
- Technology risk assessment will become part of company-wide considerations. Risk will touch IT beyond a data breach, network hack or ransomware. It may include things like considering legal implications of encrypted data stolen years previously – that data may have been secure then, but will it be in the future? What are the risks? Employee access, physical facilities and more will become an integrated part of the IT risk analysis.
Cybersecurity is changing the way organizations do business. There will continue to be a growing need for this type of security and for people who are able to look at IT differently. There will always be new threats that the crystal ball couldn’t have imagined, let alone predicted.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this post is considered true and accurate as of the publication date. However, the accuracy of this information may be impacted by changes in circumstances that occur after the time of publication. Ashton College assumes no liability for any error or omissions in the information contained in this post or any other post in our blo
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