Cyber Readiness: Are You Prepared for 2019's Challenges?

By Susan Hoffman
Contributor, InCyberDefense

Many experts and journalists have made predictions about the cybersecurity challenges we will face in 2019. For example, SecurityIntelligence quotes a seminar where participants made the following security predictions:

• A major Internet of Things (IoT) cyberattack would make the news.
• Security automation could create unintended and negative consequences.
• Continuous risk management will help companies to better understand risks.
• New laws will provide more protection from lawsuits relating to data breaches for organizations that comply with regulatory obligations.

Similarly, Dr. Hugh Thompson and Steve Trilling of Symantec also offered their own 2019 cybersecurity predictions:

• Attackers will exploit weak artificial intelligence and use AI techniques to assist their assaults on target organizations.
• Cyber defenders will have an increased reliance on AI to pinpoint vulnerabilities and to counter attacks.
• The increased use of 5G network infrastructures will expand the opportunity for attacks.
• There will be a growing number of IoT attacks, which could affect critical infrastructures such as power grids and communication networks.
• More attackers will target data in transit through home routers and other IoT devices.
• Supply chain attacks will grow in frequency.
• There will be more legislation and regulation regarding growing cybersecurity and privacy concerns.

But reading the 2019 predictions is only a small part of improving your cyber readiness.

Improve Your 2019 Cyber Readiness

There are multiple ways to improve your cyber readiness at home. Using basic cybersecurity practices can protect your data and offer you greater peace of mind:

1. Review your passwords and change them if they use easily guessable characteristics. Passwords that are hard to guess can lessen your vulnerability to attack.
2. Don’t wait to install patches and updates. Although installation is time-consuming, it is worth the effort to save your data.
3. Conduct a physical security evaluation. Determine your physical household and workplace vulnerabilities and correct any problems right away.
4. Decide which documents qualify for the 3-2-1 backup rule. For this rule, you should keep three copies of important files in two different forms of storage (such as a server in the cloud or a thumb drive), with at least one copy stored somewhere other than in your home or office.

This year will certainly offer many security challenges for both homeowners and cybersecurity professionals alike. But improving your cyber readiness is a wise step in combating attacks.