Networking and security are 2 areas of information technology that are continuously evolving. As working environments change, companies face more connectivity challenges. Cybercriminals are always developing new attack vectors to evade information security.
To stay competitive, productive, and secure, your business needs to stay ahead of the curve by anticipating and preparing for networking and security trends.
To help you with that, here’s an overview of 4 networking and security trends for 2023 that your company should know about.
1) Enabling Remote Work
Remote work is here to stay. When the pandemic seemed to be winding down, many companies started developing hybrid workplaces to transition back to the office. However, employees are still working remotely from home or other locations outside the office. Career experts at Zippia discovered that in the U.S.:
- 26% of employees are remote workers
- 2 million workers will be remote by 2025
- 16% of companies are completely remote
Relying on remote workers means organizations need to adapt their networks to create reliable and secure connectivity that supports technologies for communication and collaboration. Remote work causes endpoints to proliferate because remote employees use their own devices. These endpoints give cybercriminals more chances to infiltrate the network.
Secure access service edge (SASE) allows companies to protect workers and deliver great employee experiences through a network architecture that combines the features of virtual private network (VPN) and SD-WAN with zero trust network access (ZTNA) and secure web gateway for a comprehensive approach to network protection.
2) Securing Digital Acceleration
Today’s companies are going through the process of digital acceleration by automating processes and leveraging advanced analytics, such as artificial intelligence (AI). Digital acceleration brings business value by increasing productivity and producing deeper insights. However, these new technologies also create risk.
Cybercriminals are always looking to exploit the vulnerabilities in emerging technologies. Adopting innovative technologies, such as IoT devices, hybrid cloud, and edge computing, expands the attack surface, giving hackers more opportunities to strike.
To stay secure, businesses need to stay one step ahead by anticipating risk and strengthening their approach to security accordingly. Companies should develop comprehensive and layered security strategies that protect the network to the edge and back.
3) Taking a Preventative Approach to Cyberattacks
Taking a reactive approach to cybercrime is a thing of the past. Companies can no longer afford to sweep up the mess after they have fallen victim to a breach.
Instead, organizations are embracing a proactive and preventative approach to cybersecurity. Being proactive means developing a security strategy that follows a cybersecurity framework, such as Zero Trust, that emphasizes identity and access management.
ZTNA follows the principles of “never trust; always verify.” Every user, whether internal or external, who tries to access the network, data, or applications must have their identity authenticated according to least-privilege access policies, keeping bad actors from infiltrating the system.
4) Cybersecurity Skills Shortage
The Cyber Workforce Study 2022 found a gap of 3.4 million cybersecurity workers globally. Researchers discovered that while the security workforce is growing, the demand is outpacing the supply. An alarming 70% of organizations surveyed feel that they don’t have enough security experts on staff to be effective.
Without security expertise, companies can fall behind on patching and fail to identify key vulnerabilities. Security know-how is also needed to develop security strategies and build secure IT architectures that take advantage of threat intelligence, SASE, and ZTNA.
Future-Proof Your Network and Security
Companies should take the time to regularly assess their approaches to networking and security. This assessment should happen at least once a year to ensure your business is prepared for the future. Participating in a consultation with a trusted technology company gives your business the fresh perspective needed to uncover gaps, as well as outdated tools and processes.
ProActive Solutions can help your company adapt to networking and security trends, starting with a consultation. We work closely with all our clients to understand their challenges and we have expertise in networking, security, and compliance. Our security specializations include identity and access management, as well as threat prevention.
Stay ahead of technology and cybersecurity trends. Request a consultation from ProActive Solutions.
