TRENDS 2020
Security trends and other issues to consider in 2020 The new decade is still in its infancy and already we have heard news of potential malware attacks on major banks in the sub-Saharan Africa region.
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hese alleged attacks are thought to be the work of a Russian hacking group named ‘Silence’. While it seems that South African banks have been unaffected to date – according to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) – this news is certainly consistent with the significant trend towards the monetisation of cyberattacks. There is real money to be made in working to breach the cyber defences of businesses, both big and small. And thus, there is no surprise that throughout 2019, organisations across all industries globally were targeted by cyberattackers. This holds true whether we are talking about information being stolen for illegal gains, IT systems being hacked and shut down until a ransom demand is paid, or
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operational technology (OT) systems and critical infrastructure being damaged or shut down for geopolitical purposes. And so it is unlikely that attacks are going to slow down during 2020, says Stefan van de Giessen, general manager: cybersecurity at value-added distributor Networks Unlimited Africa. “No industry or organisation is immune from attack,” he clarifies, “with top targets during 2019 including governments, the financial services industry, manufacturers, retailers and consumer goods, and infrastructure providers. Based on this, we advise implementing a next-generation security solution that should include various, complementary products. It’s good practice to start securing the edge of the networks, thereafter moving to business critical services
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA JANUARY 2020
and solutions, and then covering other attack vectors such as internal segmentation. “We recommend adopting a phased approach in order to develop a layered security posture. This assists with controlling costs as well as the complexity of management involved. So once the baseline has been established, IT security can then look at how to protect against unknown threats, enable the encryption of your data, and deploy decoys in your network to lure away hackers.” According to Mr Van de Giessen, important security issues to consider for 2020 include end point security, network visibility, deception-based technology, the rise of the managed service provider, the convergence of the IT/OT space, the local IT skills shortage, and the issue of compliance with regulation.
securityfocusafrica.com
