Thinkers360 2022 Predictions are member-sourced from our opt-in B2B thought leader and influencer community with 100M+ followers on social media combined. The 2022 Predictions are part of a series to provide actionable insights for business and technology executives.
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We asked a selection of our Thinkers360 global thought leaders and influencers about their predictions for Cybersecurity in 2022. Here’s what they told us…
What are your predictions for Cybersecurity in 2022?
Cybersecurity will continue to rapidly gain in relevance and importance in 2022 as the world continues to rely upon digital technologies and embrace the accompanying risks of innovation. 2022 will see the rise of Nation-State cyber-offensive activities and the growth of cybercriminals. These threat actors will focus attacks against technology supply-chains and all manner of national critical infrastructures, such as banking, healthcare, government services, logistics, communications, and transportation. Most visibly, ransomware attacks will capture the bulk of media headlines, but more sophisticated attacks will occur in stealth. The cybersecurity industry will struggle with resources and agility in responding to new attacks, but consumers will begin to demand that products and services are trustworthy, fueling greater support by executives for cybersecurity programs that manage security, privacy, and safety.
– Matthew Rosenquist, Chief Information Security Officer at Eclipz
Expect 2022 to be a challenging year for cybersecurity. Sophisticated emerging tech tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning will be used (and shared on the Dark Web) by hackers to discover and exploit victims. Small and medium businesses will remain top targets, especially for ransomware attacks because of their lack of resources and expertise for protecting company devices and data. Cyber attacks fueled by phishing and automation will likely surpass the record number of breaches experienced in 2021.
– Chuck Brooks, President at Brooks Consulting International
In 2022, public and private sector organizations and their CIOs and CISOs will face a far more challenging cybersecurity environment as cyber-attacks are increasingly more sophisticated and destructive, even using artificial intelligence. This alarming evolution that affects almost everyone coupled with the rapid digital transformation of nearly every organization globally has dramatically increased the attack surfaces and number of threat vectors for organizations big and small. According to a recent report by Shred-it, 67% of small businesses in the U.S. do not have an incident response plan. This lack of preparedness is likely even worse globally. The truth is most organizations have spent money, time, and resources on prevent and detect and very little on respond leaving them vulnerable and at high risk. Therefore, many leading organizations, their boardrooms and leadership are thinking about cybersecurity differently and assuming they will be hit at some point and investing to be better prepared if they do. They are increasingly looking to other technologies and cyber frameworks like the cloud, Zero Trust, machine learning, NIST, Identity and Access Management, threat intelligence and others. This trend will continue throughout 2022 and beyond as the stark reality that these nefarious activities are not decreasing but increasing as the bad actors continue to profit from it.
– Mark Lynd, Head of Digital Business at Netsync
Although cybercriminals will continue attack the big fishes like we have seen in the past years, there is an additional branch of business opening – small and medium sized companies! This is driven by a combination of two elements. Large enterprises might be big fish, but it also takes longer to cash in and the chances of getting caught are significantly bigger. A vast number of SMEs still show a lack of proper cybersecurity measures and even lack a sense of urgency. This makes SMEs smaller but easier targets, quick cash for the cybercriminals.
– Johannes Drooghaag, Founder & CEO at Spearhead Management
I predict organizations embracing a “Cloud First” or “SaaS First” will start to develop a cloud reference architecture and a secure mobility workplace architecture. Cloud Landing Zone framework is a key milestone to improve governance and lower the cost. These all will reshape the on-premise organization network & infrastructure investment portfolio.
– Carol Lee, Program Director at ISACA China Hong Kong Chapter
In 2022 and beyond we will start to see a trend where Cybersecurity leverages artificial intelligence to continuously monitor and analyze data points from every device across the entire network, which will provide a comprehensive and aggressive defensive posture. For example, attempts to log into a restricted server with admin credentials at 2am from the center of Russia, when the account owner’s last known location as of 3 hours ago, as reported by his mobile phone, is Dallas, TX, will trigger a major red flag for immediate investigation.
– Avrohom Gottheil, Founder at #AskTheCEO Media
It is well known that cyberattacks, especially phishing, increase exorbitantly around Black Friday. Experts estimate that this year the flood of attacks on online retailers will surge by around 30 percent. If you fall victim to a ransomware attack, you will have lost your Christmas boom. In 2022, every day is Black Friday. Because cybercriminals and even more cybergangs will promote and, above all, market their successes as Ransomware-as-a-Service – with extensive support, so that thousands and thousands of criminal freeloaders will jump on board to participate in the lucrative business from cyberspace nirvana. While large corporations may still be able to protect themselves and their supply chains, things look red hot for SMBs: Red alert. This has not only already been proclaimed by the German BSI, the Federal Office for Security, but is unfortunately also a constant topic of conversation at the virtual regulars’ tables of consultant and fellow influencer Dr. ir. Johannes Drooghaag, which Netzpalaver regularly hosts with him and whose findings are also included in Netzpalaver’s 101 videocast series. In short 2022 will be a scary year for SMBs – technology vendors, managed security providers and last but not least politicians are challenged – not only to put a stop to the nation-state actors, but above all to protect the basis of their economy – the SMBs.
– Ralf Ladner, Editor in Chief, Managing Director at CES, Netzpalaver
In terms of cybersecurity, information continues to be increasingly important for businesses. Be sure to monitor these trends: update your website cookie policies and limit who can collect your online data to specific companies. I suggest individuals keep sensitive data on personal devices, verify sources and unnecessary downloads, and regularly install the latest updates on their devices. Ensure your information is ready for the future of cybersecurity.
– Vladimer Botsvadze, CEO at Botsvadze Marketing Solutions
Ransomware Market Changes in 2022
Ransomware threat actors will continue to find new and innovative ways of generating revenue for their criminal operations throughout 2022. If organizations deploy adequate governance and technical controls in 2022 alongside an effective multinational policy response, we can anticipate a gradual ransomware slowdown in the fourth quarter as those threat actors not in prison re-skill as part of a workforce transition to other profitable criminal enterprises. Those countries giving license to ransomware threat actors inside their borders have a unique opportunity to provide a path to legitimate careers for those criminals who choose to voluntarily leave the market, and while this should not necessarily relieve them of any legal actions pending, it may be a useful incentive when considering sentencing.
– Kayne McGladrey, Practice Leader of Strategy & GRC at Ascent Solutions
We’re slowly seeing a realisation with-in business that we have to do security differently and this will accelerate in 2022. People who say they have completed Zero Trust are wrong, it is not a product, you can’t get it off the shelf, and no single vendor can provide everything that’s needed. Businesses require a cybersecurity eco system based on zero trust encompassing multi-cloud services and an understanding that this will always be an ongoing journey rather than a destination.
– Rob May, Managing Director at ramsac
Cyber is no longer an I.T. issue. It is finally being treated as a business risk, transforming into a board issue. Cyber is unique in that it is the only risk that can affect the others. In 2022, we will see the weaving of cyber into GRC programs accelerate. With the accelerated growth of the Cloud, staffing challenges, and the like, we will see a growing interest in Third Party Risk Management (TPRM), Operational Resilience (OR), and Critical Infrastructure Protection. I also predict we will not see a national Privacy Law in the U.S. – too many hurdles. My stretch prediction is that we will see the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) grow outside of the Defense Department to other parts of the U.S. Government and its Allies.
– Alex Sharpe, Principal at Sharpe Management Consulting LLC
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