Five cyber-security trends to watch out for in 2018

Initiatives such as cashless economy and Adhaar linkage to various government-run programmes have pushed India forward on the path of digital transformation.

However, the push for 'Digital India' has created a fair and firm ground for innovation and experimentation - a good thing but one with a rider as it calls for incorporating security right at the beginning.

A steep rise in cyber-attacks in 2017 is the proof of impending dangers and clearly indicates how the future is going to look like. The overall security landscape in 2018 will be an extension of what we witnessed in 2017 through ransomware attacks such as WannaCry and NotPetya.

In PwC's opinion, Sivarama Krishnan, Cyber Security Leader, PwC India lists five trends that will define the cyber security landscape in India in 2018:

Privacy and Personal Data Protection:

Privacy and personal data protection will be the focus in 2018. Growing number of organizations are now processing Aadhaar-related information and personally identifiable information of customers, sparking concerns about privacy and personal data protection. Data security of the information will thus take the centre-stage in 2018. First, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in EU will also have a considerable impact on multi-nationals. Secondly, the Supreme Court of India's ruling in favour of 'Right to Privacy' will also influence the security landscape. Due to this for the first time in many years, organizations will start showing significant interest in advanced encryption and key management technologies in order to secure customer data.

Machine Learning in Cybersecurity

Machine learning (ML) in cybersecurity will go through a trough of disillusionment and will inch closer to becoming mature. As organizations will be keen to adopt solutions and technologies that can help them predict and prevent cyber security instances in real time, the market will witness numerous cyber security products claiming ML capabilities. Stakeholders will rationalize their expectations and focus on tangible outcomes using ML.

Customized security solutions

As the threat landscape is becoming complex with hackers launching targeted attacks on different organizations and their users, organizations are gradually realizing the need to add security layers designed for them or by them in house. As a result, organizations will explore non-standard solutions including building in-house capabilities to meet cyber security requirements. Since the nature of every business is different, organizations will also invest more on localized solutions/products. It is probable that many organizations start building their own in-house solutions to fulfill unmet demands.

Indian security start-ups to garner spotlight

With growing need for customized solutions and disillusionment with a number of solutions, cyber security start-ups in India will find traction and may reach a tipping point in 2018. Many large banks, telecom companies, insurance firms, government organizations and ecommerce firms, among others will find their security needs underserved by the existing security products and solutions in the market, thereby forcing them to look up to start-ups to build and implement innovative security solutions.

Back to Basics

Organizations will refocus on basics including protection of crown jewels. While malware and ransomware attacks will continue to grow, organizations will refocus on protecting what is really important. The focus will move from protecting end points to securing organizational data - whether in physical data centres or in the cloud. Encryption, access control, cloud security, and secure DevOps will be some of the key initiatives in 2018.

In 2018, a lot will be on stake as the frequency of sophisticated and targeted cyber attacks will force organizations to beef up their cyber defense. Given the increasing pace and complexity of threats and the clear focus on realizing a more cashless economy, organizations are advised to adopt approaches to cyber security that help them to protect critical business information without constraining innovation and growth. It is high time that CIOs and CISOs keep their stakes high to deal with any security challenge that might cross their way in 2018.