Your images are being stolen, monetized and used in AI systems to track and monitor your every movement including over 2,200 companies such as the FBI, NBA, Macy’s and Walmart.

All by a little unknown company called Clearview AI.

Until recently when Apple, Google, Facebook, and other companies pulled the plug on their API data access.

As I wrote earlier this month, your Identity and data are at risk, and it seems that no amount of Federal fines and penalties are going to change company behaviors.

In a world where every day is a Data Leak day, the network engineer career has seen one of the fastest-growing revivals in Corporate history. From SOC analysts to network engineers, risk analysts, and cybersecurity analysts, everyone is hiring developers, researchers, and strategists on data privacy and data security.

This is not a trend — it is a new reality of tech.

Cyber NYC¹ has launched in NYC in late 2019 where companies such as Palantir, Goldman Sachs, and Facebook even hire graduates of cybersecurity bootcamps² before they graduate their programs.

Rendering of the new Global Cyber Center in NYC. (Credit: Jerusalem Venture Partners)

With an estimated 4 billion data files breached in 2019³, all businesses must invest in data security strategy.

Each breach costs on average $4M⁴.

The cybersecurity industry will grow 2.5X by 2024 to over $300 billion annually⁵.

At this rate, we can safely assume that corporate organizations realize that data security is critical to their operations by helping them become competitive.

What are the potential risks not to invest in cybersecurity for IoT and AI-enabled devices?

How can security tools be developed to effectively protect companies from cyber-attacks?

What I know for sure is that 2020 is turning to be a big year for cybersecurity.⁶

Cloud Security

Cloud security promises to safeguard enterprises from ransom and malware attacks. Large cloud-based operators such as Salesforce and Dropbox have facilitated security with new data standards including multi-factor authentication to minimize data leakage.

A cloud strategy can reduce operational costs, boost overall performance and detect malware threats faster while facilitating economies of scale. As companies evolve, the industry will keep growing in the 2020s.

Data Encryption Tools and Upgrades

Enterprises understand the importance of data encryption in their information systems.

To ignore data encryption is similar to inviting hackers into your sandcastle and watching them destroy it in front of your eyes.

Unicorn start-up Canva experienced one such data leakage that compromised over 140 million user accounts.⁷

Data threats exist everywhere.

And without a team of engineers, companies essentially are left open to the outside world.

AI can help — as malware can be predicted with attributes from cybersecurity texts⁸.

However, enabling encryption is the most powerful action that both consumers and Enterprises can do today.

Authentication without Password

Passwords are a liability in 2020 as hackers use sophisticated tools to crack passwords and sell them on the black market.

Fortunately, biometric tools and hardware tokens are becoming commonplace everywhere from airports to office buildings.

Even master password apps such as LastPass, 1Password and DashLane help users authenticate accounts securely.

Over 90% of Enterprises are expected to adopt universal authentication procedures with no passwords by 2022.⁹

Passwords represent the largest attack point during malware invasion. It is essential to adopt authentication methods to protect our personally identifiable information.

Predictive Analytics and IoT Risk Management

Businesses use analytics to sift through data and discover insights from data patterns.

With advanced analytics, a business can detect a hacking incident within the shortest time possible by connecting patterns within a data set followed by perceiving and understanding changes within information systems.

Cybersecurity + Machine Learning could identify hotspot areas for cyber attacks before hacks takedown systems.

The Minority Report is now real.

Powered by Big Data, statistical models enhance data security by predicting and identifying malware threats.

5G technology will herald a new chapter in tech advancements, and 5G will create more problems because of massive data that could be attacked.

Organizations will need to adopt new technologies to counter cyber threats.

New risk policies can help address and mitigate tomorrow’s problems in real-time.

Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape and Expertise

There is an urgent need for skilled individuals in cybersecurity as demand increases because of hacking incidents.

Massive losses of data have cost companies billions, and new policies such as cybersecurity training and improved encryption controls will better secure systems.

With over 30% growth in demand for cybersecurity jobs by 2030¹¹, cyber professionals will be pivotal to manage and to predict cybersecurity threats.

Hiring skilled professionals in cybersecurity and #DataScience is the first step towards getting hacking and malware attacks under control — leading to real Digital Transformation and business results.

Works Cited

¹Fullstack Cyber Bootcamp, ²Cyber NYC, ³Norton 2019 Data Breaches, ⁴Cybersecurity Survey, ⁵Cyber Industry Growth, ⁶2020 Cyber Trends, ⁷Canva Data Hack, ⁸Predict Malware, ⁹IHS Markit — Cyber Trends,¹⁰5G Opportunities, ¹¹ Cybersecurity Job Growth

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