Five trends likely to shape cyber security in 2018

The Internet of Things (IoT), data protection, Artificial Intelligence (AI), encryption, and security awareness will be some of the biggest trends set to affect cyber security in 2018.

The IT security firm Logicalis has compiled a short guide to help organisations and individuals in the Channel Islands understand where cybercrime is heading, and what they can do to protect themselves.

Research by Europol shows cyber crime has grown and evolved, on an “unprecedented scale” over the past year. Europol’s 2017 Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) highlights ransomware as the most prominent threat – it saw a 750% increase during 2016.

Ricky Magalhaes, Head of Offshore Security, Logicalis, said: “Every year, security gets more challenging as cyber criminals find new ways of getting around defences. The optimal security solutions involve a blend of traditional methods, such as good maintenance, monitoring, and management, coupled with cutting edge detection.

“Cyber security is one of the fastest moving areas of IT and nothing is foolproof. It’s always worth asking yourself what the worst case scenario could be and working back from that, closing loop holes and ensuring everything that could be removed from your system is backed up safely elsewhere.”

Phishing attacks rose by 65% from 2015 to 2016 according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, and with 60% of hacks relying on compromised credentials and social engineering, according to the same report, security awareness becomes even more important to help stop attacks.

Over two billion records belonging to EU citizens were breached over the past year, mainly due to poor digital hygiene and practices. Figures from Accenture LLP show cybercrime cost large global companies on average $11.7 million this year, a 23% rise on the past 12 months.

Mr Magalhaes said: “The new EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into effect in May 2018 mean organisations have to take data security much more seriously, auditing the data they store, defining how they process it, and tightening up all areas of IT security to prevent data being breached, damaged, or leaked.

“Out of all the issues affecting cyber security next year, data protection has the biggest impact as it has implications for everyone, across virtually all areas of an organization.”

Logicalis’ Guide to 2018 Cyber Security Trends, is available online.