Even as the country recovers from a pandemic response posture, we’re seeing some changes to the business world crystalize and cut a more permanent groove into the IT landscape:
- Institutionalized remote working.
- Greater use of online collaboration and communication tools.
- Accelerated migration to the cloud in both infrastructure and applications.
- A sharp rise in e-commerce.
- Expanded cyber-attack surfaces due to decentralizing of data and services.
- More attention to business continuity and resilience.
In response to these aspects of “the new normal”, IT leaders are giving more attention to cybersecurity — and getting well overdue support from their non-IT counterparts.
This willingness to address a clear and present danger to the organization is welcome among cybersecurity professionals. According to the Gartner 2020 Board of Directors Survey, cybersecurity-related risk is rated as the second-highest source of risk for the enterprise, following regulatory compliance risk, and certainly deserves attention.
Gartner also predicts that, by 2025, 40% of boards of directors will have a dedicated cybersecurity committee overseen by a qualified board member, up from less than 10% today. (Most IT professionals will tell you that this level of concern was warranted well before COVID, and that the pandemic simply brought the true nature of cyber risk into the light.)
As you can see, much has changed, but there is a silver lining to this cloud. While cybercriminals have enjoyed a field day during COVID, these events have also led to more widespread realization of the importance of cybersecurity. Even though the figures from 2020 are dire, we’ve never been in a better position to fight back against cybercrime.