Trends in the [Fill in relevant term(s) here] Industry
Part 1 (due at the end of Week 2) consists of the title page, introductory paragraph, Level 1 and Level 2 headings, discussion of three trends, and your references page. Within your introductory paragraph, introduce your industry and clearly identify the top three trends your research has uncovered. Remember to use in-text citations. Your final sentence should be a transition that leads into the discussion of your first trend in the body of your paper.
Discussion of Three Trends
[Name of Trend #1]
In this section, introduce and discuss Trend #1 in 1-2 paragraphs. Explain how this trend is new to the industry and what it portends for the industry. The final sentence of this paragraph should lead into the first sentence of the next paragraph. You will have an opportunity to revise this section in Part 2 after you receive feedback from your professor on the Part 1 draft.
[Name of Trend #2]
In this section, introduce and discuss Trend #2 in 1-2 paragraphs. Explain how this trend is new to the industry and what it portends for the industry. The final sentence of this paragraph should lead into the first sentence of the next paragraph. You will have an opportunity to revise this section in Part 2 after you receive feedback from your professor on the Part 1 draft.
[Name of Trend #3]
In this section, introduce and discuss Trend #3 in 1-2 paragraphs. Explain how this trend is new to the industry and what it portends for the industry. The final sentence of this paragraph should lead into the first sentence of the next paragraph. You will have an opportunity to revise this section in Part 2 after you receive feedback from your professor on the Part 1 draft.
An Important Emerging Issue
This section begins with an introductory paragraph that identifies an emerging issue or problem and makes a claim about its significance in your industry.
[Theme]
For the rest of the paper, you will develop an argument that supports this claim (clearly stated in your introduction). The body paragraphs need to describe and justify your proposed approach to the issue and explain how it relates to how other organizations or experts have addressed the same issue based on research. While presenting your argument, you should also anticipate and refute counterarguments or alternative approaches. By showing that you understand other approaches and being very clear about how your approach is preferable, you will be more likely to convince readers to take your advice.
Use information from your sources to support your ideas while ensuring that your own voice and ideas control the paper. Again, be sure to include in-text citations.
[Theme]
Continue to describe and justify your proposed approach to the issue and explain how it relates to how other organizations or experts have addressed the same issue based on research.
[Theme]
Continue to describe and justify your proposed approach to the issue and explain how it relates to how other organizations or experts have addressed the same issue based on research.
You may not have a third theme or may need an additional Level 2 headings for more themes – adjust the template as needed.
Conclusion
Based on the above discussion of three trends (Part 1) and a deeper discussion of an important issue (Part 2), this section will consist of 1-3 paragraphs that provide conclusions about the trends, emerging issue, and the impact on the industry. You may discuss areas of uncertainty that require further research, but do not introduce anything new here except make focused conclusions about the trends and issue based on your synthesis of the ideas from your resources and your own thoughts.
Cyber Security Trends
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Trends in the Cybersecurity Industry
Introduction
As digital migration and computerization continue to get more and more intergraded into human life and the work environment, cybersecurity becomes more and more pertinent and necessary (Threatpost, 2021). The use of gadgets such as phones and computers and the Internet is rapidly accumulating personal and confidential information online in the reach of hackers and other cyber-criminals (Griffin, 2020). Personal information, sensitive data, governmental and industry information, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), among other protected data are very lucrative in the black market and criminals are out to get them (Shrobe, Shrier, & Pentland, 2017). Ironically, people increasing require the digital form of this targeted information to use on the internet for their businesses, government services, and commercial services.
Threatpost (2021) reports that insider threats of cybersecurity were 25% in 2020 and were predicted to increase to 33% by 2021. By 2020, the US FBI reported that cybercrimes increased by 300% just within the short period COVID-19 ravaged the world (Milkovich, 2020). This was attributed to the increase in remote work that was necessitated by the calls to work from home. Given that the trend is bound to continues as people continue to shift to the use of smart gadgets, cybercrimes will concurrently increase. For instance, Milkovich (2020) predicts the IoT market will reach 75 billion connected devices by 2025. This calls for urgent moves to ensure cybersecurity in all sectors. The problem is further compounded by the fact that, as IT professionals make serious strides to address cybercrimes, cybercriminals also continue to grow their skills and get more and more sophisticated. The continuous advancements in the cybersecurity industry and the struggle ensure cyber security have led to the advent of trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G network, and a growing sensitization on the importance of cybersecurity.
Discussion of Three Trends
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the newfound technologies used in addressing cybersecurity threats. IA can be used together with machine learning (ML) to enable faster analyses of “millions of events and identify many different types of threats – from malware exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities to identifying risky behavior that might lead to a phishing attack or download of malicious code” (Balbix, 2021). It comes in handy for security operations analysts hoping to survive amidst the overwhelming limitation of resources. Through IA, cybersecurity professionals learn how cyber attackers work, their partners, types of attack, and behaviors by identifying any irregularities and abnormalities in the network (Griffin, 2020). After some time of consistent training, it becomes easier to detect and identify new threats in order to address them in time before they escalate. The information gathered also enables easy identification of points of weakness in the systems to stage a timely address. This is a faster and more convenient alternative for manual detection which is tedious and time-consuming, hence cannot keep up with the rate at which cyber threats are increasing.
- Implementation of 5G Technologies
There are also ongoing moves towards the full implementation of 5G technologies. 5G bears the promise of faster communication between connections (near-real-time communications), the high speed required by growing technologies, and support to tens of billions of connected devices. Homeland Security (2020) reports that 5G goes a long way to increase the bandwidth of the telecommunication infrastructure already in place, thereby improving its capabilities and speed to reduce delays in the network. 5G ensures the well-being of users and woks by gathering more information about them. This criterion can be both advantageous and disadvantageous because it accumulates sensitive data which is a very detrimental move should it reach the hands of cybercriminals. For example, with these smart gadgets like smartphones 5G can access sensitive information such as present location, where they stay and work, and movement history. With such monitoring, sensitive information that is important to cybercriminals is collected, demanding superior and more sophisticated cybersecurity techniques to protect.
- Sensitization on the Importance of Cybersecurity
With the prevailing trends and the increasing cases of cybercrimes, primary actors like institutions, companies, small businesses, and organizations are increasingly becoming aware of the need and the importance of cybersecurity. Cybercriminals get this sensitive data by hacking gadgets such as computers, phones, tablets, and so on, where people key in, store, and share confidential data about them and their business. Unfortunately, the same users of these gadgets are increasing in number and are rapidly getting more and more dependent on these gadgets. Hence, if they cannot free themselves from using these gadgets, then the alternative is to protect themselves from their dangers. Cybersecurity is one of such ways of protection against data theft, breaches, and damage by malicious people (Griffin, 2020). As such, instead of teaching people to stop the over-reliance on smart technology, people are sensitized on cybersecurity to protect themselves against cybercriminals.
The possibility of cyberattacks occurring and reoccurring, as well as their associated consequences, is growing worldwide raising concerns to all organizations, institutions, and individuals. Such ominous possibilities are pushing companies to embrace cybersecurity as a necessity, not a luxury, considering the fact that they accumulate sensitive data on a daily basis. Currently, all the stages of the security development cycle incorporate SecDevOps (the process of integrating secure development best practices and methodologies into development and deployment processes) to ensure all-around cybersecurity (Griffin, 2020). Both IT and non-IT experts continue to learn more and more about the importance of antivirus, scanning, firewall, and other related terms as they become more aware of cybersecurity. Such trends speak volumes about the increasing awareness of cybersecurity.
An Important Emerging Issue
Not only cybersecurity threats have shown a growing trend but also its associated budget, technological innovations, and the use of the internet. Considerable growth of this trend was observed in 2021 following the strike of COVID-19. Apparently, COVID-19 caused the trend as occasioned by some mitigation measures such as work from home and social distancing that are implemented to keep the disease from spreading. According to a survey conducted by Skybox, most of the participating companies (nearly 70 companies) reported that a third of their workforce was to venture into remote for the next 18 months as demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic (Threatpost, 2021). This demanded a rapid shift and development of remote work.
Technological Advancement Increases Cybersecurity Risks
Apart from the shift and changes in operations of cybersecurity, new innovations and digital capabilities are also being implemented. For instance, the above three trends, a domineering entry of virtual reality, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G network, amidst growing sensitization on the importance of cybersecurity are the result of technological advancement. New and advanced technologies are being developed. Currently, people interact and communicate using new technologies like skype, zoom, slack, and so on. The use of other technologies such as cloud services is also growing at an alarming rate. These technologies demand the accumulation of personals and sensitive data hence increasing cybersecurity risks. However, the cybersecurity industry develops these new technologies to stay ahead of the cybersecurity threats that also seem to be increasing alongside technological advancement. For instance, the new technologies Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are currently being used to enhance cybersecurity.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are also gaining a worldwide interest in cybersecurity. Ensuring cybersecurity requires an adequate understanding of the possible threats and how to address them (Contributor CSM, 2020). Since cybersecurity professionals and students may not have real-time experience with a hacker to learn how to address cyberattacks, a simulation may be necessary to prepare them for actual cases. VR and AR are therefore being adopted to offer learning and training avenues for cybersecurity professionals (Contributor CSM, 2020). VR and AR are being used to give cybersecurity professionals the possibility of visualizing and analyzing cyber threats in a profoundly different way, thereby enabling them to handle them adequately. Contributor CSM (2020) reports that Learners who use VR retain 75% of what they are taught compared to the 10% of traditional methods. Additionally, with VR, emotion engagement increases by 27% higher than that of TV. This is why companies are increasingly investing in VR to enhance the chances of addressing cyber-attacks adequately.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is the new normal for all organizations as well as individuals. As long as there is a growing reliance on computer technology and the internet along with the accumulation of personal and sensitive data, there will always be a need to protect the data. Adequate cybersecurity is the only way to ensure data security. Therefore, there is a growing need to enhance and better cybersecurity techniques given that it is a new field. People must realize that as new techniques are being developed to address cybersecurity, cybercriminals are also getting smarter and use the same technologies against us. Therefore, people should not flex but always remain vigilant and develop new technologies that can help ensure cybersecurity.
References
Balbix. (2021). Using Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity. https://www.balbix.com/insights/artificial-intelligence-in-cybersecurity/
Contributor CSM. (2020). Virtual Reality can improve cybersecurity. City Security Magazine. https://citysecuritymagazine.com/cyber-security/virtual-reality-can-improve-cybersecurity-in-2020/
Homeland Security. (2020). Feature Article: 5G Introduces New Benefits, Cybersecurity Risks. https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/news/2020/10/15/feature-article-5g-introduces-new-benefits-cybersecurity-risks
Griffin, T. (2020). Cybersecurity Trends in 2020 & the Threats Facing the Industry. EC-Council. https://blog.eccouncil.org/cybersecurity-trends-in-2020-the-threats-facing-the-industry/
Milkovich, D. (2020). 15 Alarming Cyber Security Facts and Stats. Cybint. https://www.cybintsolutions.com/cyber-security-facts-stats/
Shrobe, H., Shrier, D. L., & Pentland, A. (Eds.). (2017). New Solutions for Cybersecurity. MIT Press.
Threatpost. (2021). 2021 Cyberecuriy Trends: Bigger Budgets, Endpoint Emphasis and Cloud. https://threatpost.com/2021-cybersecurity-trends/162629/