Well 2016 has arrived and aAs we look ahead to the coming year, many wonder are asking what will be the biggest challenge we face when it comes to in the cyber domain. It is fair to say that cCyberattacks are sure to continue, growing in frequency, intensity and complexity. It is also a sure bet that dData breaches will result from many of these attacks, and leaders in business, government and industry will expect more from cybersecurity professionals. While those will be significant challenges, they are not the biggest challenge in 2016.
The biggest challenge is cloud-based, Internet of Things-based shadow IT systems. For anyone not familiar with the term shadow IT, it refers to the implementation and use of information technology devices and systems that are used inside an organization without the knowledge, oversight and approval of the organization’s technology oversight resources. When companies like Intel INTEL foremost strong growth for the plethora of IoT technology and systems, you can certainly see how that might happen. Multiple analytical sources have looked at IoT and projected double-digit percentage compound annual growth for the next several years. Some analysts have gone further and called 2016 the year IoT comes of age.
You can’t protect what you don’t know about. In addition, it is not possible to ensure these systems are compliant when you don’t know about them and provide oversight. While many are quick to point to those rogue individuals and departments that go around the IT organization for this growing issue, it is not that simple. Generally, individuals who circumvent their IT department do so because they claim it takes too long to get things done within the confines of their IT organization. Multiple discussions have unearthed a common theme for individuals and department taking this action. They claim it takes too long to get things done within the confines of their IT organization. With all the technology changes that are being talked about, coupled with the continuous updates and application of security patches and modification, one can certainly see how the operational components of the organizations could become frustrated with implementation delays.
To top all of this off, with the questionable global economic outlook, cybersecurity budgets will come under increased pressure in the private sector. Not a rosy outlook for 2016.
