THREE MAJOR CYBERSECURITY TRENDS 2018

What are the major cybersecurity trends for 2018 that you need to be aware of? From the WannaCry and NotPetya ransomware attacks that affected millions of computers, to major hacks that affected large companies like Verizon (14 million customers) and Equifax (143 million customers), it’s clear that 2017 was a year that was dominated by cybersecurity attacks. It’s no wonder, therefore, that Gartner predicts worldwide security spending will reach $96 billionin 2018. Here are three major cybersecurity trends that will be a factor in 2018, and the tools we recommend for you to help keep your organization secure. One of the major cybersecurity trends that we’ll see in 2018 is a shift to real-time threat detection. Rather than reacting when a breach occurs, there’s been a major increase in demand for products and technology that can monitor an organization’s environment in real-time. Microsoft Azure Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)is one such product – it gives organizations the ability to monitor their environment in real-time. Using machine learning to uncover abnormal behaviours or questionable activities, Azure ATP can detect unknown threats, password sharing, modification of sensitive groups, anomalous logins, or lateral movements within your organization. It can also determine malicious attacks, and security issues and risks, too. A second cybersecurity trend that we’ll see in 2018 is an increase in ransomware attacks. As the recentransomware attack on two Ontario Children’s Aid societies shows, it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in.Any organization – large or small – could be a target for those cybercriminals intent on doing harm. Ransomware is one of the fastest growing types of security breaches out there. It’s a type of malware that infects your computer and either locks you out completely, encrypts your files so you can’t get access to them, or threatens to publish your confidential information if you don’t pay a ransom. Unfortunately, ransomware is very profitable for hackers – in early 2017, it wasreported to be a billion dollar industry. So, it’s unlikely to go away any time soon. One highly effective way to protect yourself from ransomware threats is to have a backup of all your files that is kept separate from your main system. A backup solution, like Microsoft Azure Site Recovery, provides peace of mind by ensuring that you have a complete set of files available, should a hacker encrypt your files, or threaten to delete them unless you pay a ransom. With minimal downtime and just a few clicks of the mouse, Azure Site Recovery could fail over to your backup environment. The reason we recommend Azure Site Recovery over other products out there is because Azure Site Recovery protects both physical and virtual servers and backs up your system on a constant basis.