Top Five Cybersecurity Trends of the Past Five Years, by GreyCastle Security

New York-based GreyCastle Security released a study it conducted of the top five trends over the past five years. The research is based on the company’s five years in the internet security business and the trends it notices when dealing with clients.

“Cybersecurity is changing all the time, but we’ve definitely seen some obvious trends over time,” GreyCastle CEO and co-founder Reg Harnish said in a statement. “Keeping pace with cyber criminals and adversaries is now a full-time job for most businesses; unfortunately, our adversaries are advancing faster than we are.”

The five trends include:

1. The word is out that technology does not solve security problems on its own.
Houses don’t get built with hammers alone; it takes carpenters, architects and blueprints. Effective cybersecurity needs a similar approach: If you’re not addressing your people and process risks, you’ll never solve your cybersecurity problems.

2. Businesses continue to spend more on cybersecurity, but they’re spending it on the wrong things.
Businesses are seeing the importance of cybersecurity and finally budgeting for it. However, they’re spending their money on the wrong things. If they don’t know and pinpoint their risks, they’re going to waste time and money on things that don’t matter.

3. Federal regulations continue to be little more than a distraction.
Right now, government agencies are going out of their way to penalize companies that are not compliant with cybersecurity regulations, rather than rewarding companies that are following the rules. Rewarding compliant organizations would motivate others to be proactive in their security compliance versus waiting until they are caught in non-compliance. Remember, compliance does not equal security. A company can be compliant and still be at risk.

4. Cybersecurity is now about resilience, not prevention.
Proactive cybersecurity practices that include a combination of education, training and technology has led to the industry’s resilience. Cybersecurity professionals who approach security as a constant process are better prepared to minimize negative consequences from the next attack, because they realize there will be a next attack. Companies who adapt this mindset are less likely to be caught off-guard.

5. Cyberwarfare is asymmetric – offense is easier than defense.
The bad guys only need to be right once; we need to be right every time. As hackers continue to get more savvy with their tactics, the odds are against us, forcing us to rethink the way we approach cybersecurity.

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