Leaders in cybersecurity have shared their 2023 forecasts, highlighting the importance of future readiness and organizational resilience in managing risks and controlling exposure to threats. These insights and strategies provide valuable guidance for businesses to stay ahead of cyber threats and protect their data.

Trusted customer experiences and data use

Criss Bradbury, Data & Privacy Solution Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP, predicts that brand trust will build a data centric security

Data privacy, security, and compliance have become critical components of business operations. With the increasing number of data breaches and cyber threats, organizations must prioritize the protection of their customers’ data to maintain trust and brand reputation. Embracing data privacy, security, and compliance measures can help organizations mitigate risks and prevent data breaches. By doing so, they can also enhance customer experience and build trust, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and revenue. As such, it’s essential for organizations to prioritize data privacy, security, and compliance as mechanisms to bolster customer experience, trust, and brand perception.

Future Forward Readiness and Resilient Digital Operations

Kieran Norton, Transformation & Emerging Technology Market Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP, predicts that security will be a critical enabler in the adoption of emerging tech.

An effective cybersecurity strategy must be implemented concurrently with their adoption to ensure the long-term success of emerging technologies such as IoT, 5G, Blockchain, and Quantum Computing. This will help protect organizations from malicious attacks and other threats. And ensure more beneficial outcomes. The impact of cybersecurity on IoT adoption is significant, and organizations should be aware of the dangers before the adoption plan is shared with suppliers, partners, or other stakeholders. People unfamiliar with cyber threats should not be involved in this stage of integration and development, as it may lead to failure and loss. Organizations should start with planning a standard-based approach to address these cyber risks and use effective tools to mitigate them throughout their application’s lifecycle. Successful security strategy also requires changing people’s behaviour as they adopt new technologies such as IoT and 5G.

Organizations can build agility with future-ready cyber tech

Deborah Golden, US Cyber & Strategic Risk Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP, predicts that Organizations should create a strong defence against cyber threats and be prepared for long-term success by investing in future-oriented cyber technology. This added agility can help them stay ahead of the competition.

Revolutionary cyber technology, including AI, will lead to a more proactive risk management approach, improved innovation, differentiation in the market, and outstanding operational performance. Companies should construct a unified cyber strategy to stay ahead of the competition. Being agile enough to recognize and take advantage of potential opportunities before they arise is essential for success in the future. AI will underpin innovation in the cybersecurity industry and accelerate market development. AI is a key to human-machine interaction and has an unprecedented ability to self-learn and improve itself. It also has an unparalleled ability for scalable, high-performance computing, triggering breakthroughs in data analysis, storage, pattern recognition, and decision-making capabilities. These capabilities are expected to have a significant impact on innovative technological developments in the field of cyber security.

Dynamic Risk Programs, Enhanced Response and Recovery

Pete Renneker, Technical Resilience Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP, predicted that focus on organizational resilience will continue to grow.

Companies face several supply chains, geopolitical, environmental, and cyber disruptions that have significantly hampered their traditional risk programs. To respond to such risks effectively, organizations must employ integrated risk management strategies incorporating new techniques and technologies to better identify and address such threats. The changing nature of risk has led many organizations to explore new technologies that can help identify and mitigate some risks. Several organizations have adopted AI-driven decision support systems for performing everyday tasks such as decision-making, risk management, compliance, and fraud detection. Process automation is one such area where artificial intelligence has been applied successfully in areas from trading to financial services; logistics management to manufacturing; healthcare delivery to insurance claims processing.

Secure, Efficient Workforce Experience

Deborah Golden, US Cyber & Strategic Risk Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP, predicts that growing talent shortages and labour costs will lead to cyber talent consolidation and outsourcing.

Cyber threats and regulations have increased, so many companies strive to hire capable security professionals to prevent data breaches. In order to remain competitive, they should invest in niche talent and investigate outsourcing strategies for a more efficient and cost-effective solution. The Future of Outsourcing: As technological advances change how companies interact with clients, many organizations are re-evaluating their approach to IT outsourcing. They recognize that outsourcing can help them grow in various ways, including minimizing long-term costs associated with data breaches and employees’ time spent on administrative tasks. Consequently, more companies are turning to outsourced IT solutions to help effectively serve customers — no matter their location or industry.

Governance And Optimization

Asheem Chandna, Investor and Company Builder, Greylock Partners, says that geopolitics will make the attack surface more complicated.

Cybersecurity threats today are not only from single malicious entities but also whole nations. Managing protection against such complex attacks is already a difficult task & it’s becoming increasingly hard for organizations to do it on their own. Anticipating the evolving nature of cybersecurity threats, important changes should be made in order to increase resilience and improve outcomes.

Secure, Connected Devices and Intelligent Operations

Ramsey Hajj, Cyber OT Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP, says that threats to operational technologies will continue to evolve rapidly.

The OT environment, including ICS and SCADA systems, is increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, posing severe consequences. Monitoring tools have been introduced to better correlate security between OT and IT networks, identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities. However, increased visibility can also make these systems more vulnerable to attacks. A comprehensive security strategy is necessary, including regular vulnerability assessments, network segmentation, access controls, and incident response plans. Devices and networks connected to the OT environment must be properly secured and monitored, and employees trained on cybersecurity best practices. This approach can help protect critical infrastructure and prevent cyber threats and data breaches.

Conclusion

Experts predict that cybersecurity trends for 2023 and beyond will focus on future readiness, organizational resilience, and the adoption of emerging technologies. Prioritizing data privacy, security, and compliance, investing in future-oriented cyber technology, and building agile risk programs will be crucial for businesses to stay ahead of cyber threats.