Potential Trends and Threats in Cybersecurity For 2020

Introduction

 Most  of the elements listed here are continuations and evolutions of previous threats and patterns of attack that the cybersecurity industry faced previously. For 2020 there are the "Known" the trends and threats. The Known-Unknown things that are expected in 2020 but have will unknown effects and repercussions. Finally, the Unknown-Unknown things which we cannot talk about or prepare for because they will come about out of the blue. Though we can speculate that some new type of malware  or DDOS attack may come about or even an attack using quantum computing may appear. The trends and threats are listed in particular order.

Trends and Threats
  1. 5G & the IoT - 5G will make the IoT a reality. This interconnected network of internet-enabled devices already exists. However, its potential is limited by the slow speeds of 4G wireless. The ultra-fast 5G network will allow these devices to transfer exponentially more information with download speeds of up to 10Gbps. The upcoming 5G rollout is one reason why experts predict that more than 36 billion devices will be connected to the internet by the end of 2020. Unfortunately, all of them will be exposed to security threats. This makes the expanded IoT a nightmare for cybersecurity experts, who must figure out how to protect cell phones, security systems, vehicles, smart homes, and more devices from being breached. Software developers must respond to this threat by integrating security patches into devices and waiting to release electronics until security has been fully tested and assured. Some of the most common types of attacks to prepare for are botnets, distributed denial of service, RFID spoofing, Trojan viruses, malware, and malicious scripts.
  2. The Spread of AI Usage - AI is the most important or controversial invention of the past decade. It is not only the perfect system to implement for preventing and predicting cyber attacks. Also, it might appear as a loophole for hackers to use the same strategies to go for the target of their interest. AI is used by antivirus developers for scanning and exposing unusual patterns not prescribed by the algorithm, and every instance of abnormal behavior is considered as a potential threat. AI also enables to construct the future scenarios that would hinder the code from evolving. Without a doubt, AI becomes the future way to identify any vulnerability and prevent actual attacks. The developers use the technology as a quick and efficient solution since AI decision-making process takes less time than a human response. On the other hand, AI can easily be used by hackers. It is perfect for creating phishing and social engineering attacks without being noticed. If applying AI, hackers can easily target millions of users and launch disinformation campaigns.
  3. California Consumer Privacy Act - Some of the most well-known technology companies are headquartered in California, a state that on June 28, 2018, passed the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA). The CCPA went into effect on January 1, 2020, but it's expected to affect businesses throughout California, the United States and, in fact, the whole world. The CCPA will impact the way that businesses can handle customer data, and it's considered by many to be the strictest data protection law in US history. The intentions of the Act are to provide California residents with the right too: Know what personal data is being collected about them; Know whether their personal data is sold or disclosed and to whom; Say no to the sale of personal data; Access their personal data; Request a business to delete any personal information about a consumer collected from that consumer; Not be discriminated against for exercising their privacy rights.
  4. Windows 7 - On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will sunset support for Windows 7. For most consumers and businesses that do not have extended-support in place, that means Microsoft will stop patching and regularly updating the OS even when a security vulnerability is found. “History will repeat itself in 2020, with at least one major attack leveraging the vulnerability to affect companies around the world, similar to what we saw with the end of life of Windows XP,” wrote Forescout.
Conclusion

These are a few of the trends and threats we may see in 2020 that will affect the cybersecurity industry. If we are lucky there will be no major issues stemming from these potential trends and threats. But realistically, something will go wrong and we will have to react to it in order to fix the problem regardless of what it may be.

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