The Future of Cyber Security: Evolutions, Predictions, and Priorities

With the volume and repercussions of cyber threats continuing to grow, it has never been more important for companies to address emerging threats and trends to mitigate potential disruptions.

Experts forecast future cyber security patterns based on the trends and evolutions we see in present times. With a great certainty of the cyber attacks to come, the need to take a more proactive, forward-looking stance is critical; starting from the present.

Organisations of all sizes and industries must remain proactive and stay vigilant regarding future cyber security threats, by monitoring industry cyber threat predictions. Fortunately, cyber training and upskilling can be an actionable pillar of your strategy; decreasing the risk of cyber attacks through human error (the most common cause) and arming staff to take effective action against attacks.

To ensure a safe cyber future, education is critical. As the fastest-growing cyber security training platform, TryHackMe empowers and upskills over one million users with guided, gamified training that’s enjoyable, easy to understand and applicable to the trends that impact the future of cyber security. Through TryHackMe, we help upskill your team ahead of these emerging threats and trends.

How Cyber Analysts Predict Cyber Attacks

Advanced Ransomware Threats

Ransomware is estimated to be a factor in 10% of all breaches. However, we have seen this rate double over the last 12 months. In 2022, around 37% of global organisations say they were the victim of some form of ransomware attack.

The future of ransomware isn’t so bright, with cyber criminals expanding to new markets and employing advanced techniques to maximise profits.

With financial gain being a core goal for hackers, analysts predict ransomware becoming the most dominant cyber threat to businesses. As a result, ensuring preventative measures in your organisation is essential.

TryHackMe has training content dedicated to ransomware, helping you learn what to look out for and how to defend against ransom attacks.

Automated Attacks

Lone hackers are expected to intensify attacks through mass automated cyber attacks, with thousands of attacks estimated daily casting a wide net across businesses of all sizes. These automated cyber attacks will be geared towards ransomware attacks.

Detecting mass cyber attacks will require a more advanced understanding of how cyber criminals operate and how mass cyber-attacks are executed.

Targeting Mobile Devices

You may or may not have heard the dangerous perception of iOS immunity to cyber threats with a widely perceived ‘tamper-proof’ system. While the chances of getting a virus are less prominent, it does remain possible, and so an important focus.

Cyber analysts predict that APTs (advanced persistent threats) will continue to target mobile devices with a growing risk of inflicting malware on iOS devices.

For all mobile device users, some valuable tips include:

• Install software updates as soon as they become available
• Only install trusted applications, and only allow the application to have necessary permissions
• Review apps on your device, removing any that you no longer use
• Keep your device locked when not in use
• Use fingerprint or facial recognition if your device supports them; otherwise, secure with a passcode
• Adjust settings to automatically erase device contents after a certain number of incorrect password attempts
• Only connect to trusted Wi-Fi networks, and disable automatic connection to nearby Wi-Fi networks
• When using public Wi-Fi, use a VPN
• Do not visit suspicious websites
• Turn off cookies in your browsing application
• Be cautious of unknown ads, e-mails, links, and messages
• Never ‘jailbreak’ your mobile device
• Install malware protection for iPhones and other mobile devices

Human Error

While the internet will continue to become more secure, cyber attacks caused by human error will always be a prevalent risk. This risk continues to evolve with the rise of phishing attacks, unsecured devices, unencrypted file sharing, repetitive passwords and failure to set up two-factor authentication.

Remote work is here to stay, but this also exposes both employees and companies to various cyber security risks and vulnerabilities. Managing and preventing human error remotely can seem complex with remote working cyber security risks only becoming more common and disruptive.

With remote teams out of touch and working on personal devices, businesses have become more susceptible to phishing attacks and, as such, need to become more aware of the increased cyber security risks of remote working.

In a recent study, 80% of security professionals surveyed said they had encountered increased security threats since the shift to remote work began. Of these, 62% said phishing campaigns had increased more than any other type of threat.

With phishing training, TryHackMe teaches you how to analyse and defend against phishing emails with real-world examples of attacks seen in the cyber industry - arming your team with the knowledge of how phishing works and how to avoid breach.

What Is The Future Of Cyber Security?

Increased Budgets for Cyber Security

As cyber threats continue to become sophisticated, so too will cyber security spending. With breaches becoming increasingly disruptive, businesses are already honing a focus on cyber security investment.

To conform to ever-changing legislation and prevent breaches, ransomware attacks and inevitable sophisticated threats, all industries may have no option but to invest heavily in their cyber security divisions.

For fintechs, this is likely to result in increased operational budgets for cyber security.

Cyber Training

Human error in cyber security and lack of cyber awareness are two of the most detrimental risks, with many breaches easily preventable. Providing employee cyber security training is key in mitigating the role of human error at every level. Therefore, we are likely to see organisations heavily investing in cyber security training that practitioners can action directly into job roles.

Business cyber security training is arguably key to the future of cyber security. Not only do cyber security courses allow professionals to upskill and keep up with ongoing cyber threats, but also enable aspiring professionals looking to start a career in cyber security to learn cyber security online.

Career Growth

While demand for cyber security professionals remains at an all-time high, a third of businesses (33%) report an advanced technical skills gap, in areas such as penetration testing, forensic analysis, security architecture or engineering, threat intelligence, interpreting malicious code and user monitoring.

These roles are likely to soar in demand, while the cyber security job market will see significant salary increases.

Advanced Automation

Automation in cyber security is vital in reducing the volume of threats and enabling faster prevention. To mitigate risks before they are presented to cyber security professionals, there is a growing need to use machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cyber security automation tools.

These tools should intend to provide a greater focus on vital prevention and preparation while expanding protection for remote workers.

Increased Reliance on AI

The future of artificial intelligence (AI) will change how businesses work with a focus on revealing weak points so they can be patched. AI in cyber security is invaluable in analysing vast volumes of data much more quickly and detecting unauthorised or suspicious activity.

The use of artificial intelligence in cyber security is becoming increasingly vital in addressing vulnerabilities, detecting security issues and repelling cyber attacks. As a result, we may also expect to see AI embedded into user interfaces to warn users of potential risks.

For fintech professionals, AI can strengthen the security of fintech transactions and existing systems.

Make Cyber Security a Priority

TryHackMe was launched to allow users to train and upskill in cyber security - from the beginner with no prior experience to the seasoned hacker looking to stay on top of attack trends and evolutions. Businesses partner with us to create branded learning paths that align with skill requirements, giving teams relevant, engaging, personalised training.

We host a management dashboard that allows progress monitoring across your platform users to understand how effectively teams are learning. Essentially, we help upskill your team to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks for a positive future in cyber security.