Sometimes, I wish I didn’t have to write about cybersecurity quite as much as I do. If it wasn’t such a dangerous and pervasive menace, I wouldn’t have to spend so much time researching it and writing about it. But as you can imagine, cyber threats are only getting more common, more widespread and more destructive. And for business owners and managers, the risk to your bottom line can be paralyzing. To that end, we’ve compiled a list of our top 6 predictions for cybersecurity in 2022 for business decision makers: more complex compliance requirements, increased barriers to entry for cyber insurance, cyber security staff shortages, deepfakes as the new vanguard of corporate fraud, 5G will increase endpoint security risks, and threat intelligence will become routine business practice.

More complex compliance requirements

One of the biggest things we’re seeing across the board is the proliferation of cybersecurity and/or breach laws across the country (whether at the federal, state or local level). The more compliance requirements out there, the more difficult it becomes to manage that aspect of your business independently… especially when the cost of a breach is now not only in lost resources, but in potential fines and legal restitution as well.

Increased barriers to entry for cyber insurance

Used to be, a number of insurance carriers offered cyber insurance, and the barrier to entry wasn’t all that high to qualify. Breaches are becoming so common and so expensive that fewer and fewer insurers are offering cyber insurance; premiums are skyrocketing; and the hurdles to actually qualifying for that insurance are getting higher too. Most of our clients need active support from us just to qualify!

Cyber security staff shortages

As the field of cybersecurity grows, so too do the staffing needs. But the supply of qualified cybersecurity experts isn’t growing fast enough to fill this void. With that, good help becomes a rare and highly valuable commodity. If you have an internal staff, or an external vendor you really trust… HOLD ON TO THEM! Turnover in this field is high, and as with all things, good help is hard to find.

Deepfakes are the new vanguard of corporate fraud

If you haven’t seen a really good deepfake yet… boy are you in for a shock. The technology required to pull this off is becoming easier and easier to access and deploy. And as deepfakes become easier to create more convincingly, our enterprise risk goes up significantly. Scammers could clone your bosses’ voice and send you a voice message asking for… anything. If it sounds convincing enough… you just might fall for it.

This won’t be limited to only corporate fraud, but it will certainly get worse for our enterprise clients as well.

5G will increase endpoint security risks

5G is one of the most exciting advances in connectivity we’ve ever seen. It will enable far more high-quality remote work than anything this side of WiFi. The increase in speed and decrease in lag and processing times means high throughput applications can still be accessed and deployed on the go. But, with this boost in ultra-fast connectivity also comes more endpoint threats. The more high-power devices you have connected to your network, the more dangerous access points there are for your company to contend with. So while we cheer 5G’s arrival and growth, we also know businesses need to take proper precautions.

Threat intelligence will become routine business practice

Cybersecurity practices will soon expand beyond simply mitigation and response states. Any corporate cybersecurity defense posture will prominently feature threat intelligence and security analytics throughout their technology stack. What that means is real-time threat monitoring and incidence logging paired with parallel predictive and concurrent analytics (if that doesn’t mean anything to you, please feel free to reach out… we’d love to show you what we can do for you on this one). It’s not enough to just be defensive when it comes to cybersecurity — companies have to be actively monitoring and reacting to that intel in real time.

If all of this sounds like… a lot (and trust us, we know that it can be), it might be worth giving us a call. We’re experts in helping our clients focus on doing their jobs and running their businesses, while we handle all of… well, stuff like this.