Advancements in technologies, the adoption of remote working culture and surges in digitization changed the network security infrastructure drastically.

Organizations need protection and resiliency against the significant increase in the volume of attacks on their networks. Government and private organizations are gaining insights about vulnerabilities in their network infrastructure and taking necessary measures to ensure security. This changing security scenario will bring about three trends throughout this year.

The adoption of remote working in organizations will raise the focus on security measures. Moreover, an increase in the sophistication of cyberattacks will force organizations to implement artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies to ward off the attacks. Organizations will allocate money in their budgets to cybersecurity in a smarter manner. Over the next few years, the network security scenario will change drastically, and the importance of implementing strict measures will never fade.

Remote work cybersecurity

The COVID-19 pandemic enforced organizations to opt for work from home culture, and many organizations adopted their business models accordingly. The remote working model ensures flexibility, convenience and cost savings for organizations in many instances. While adapting to the new normal of remote work, there were many vulnerabilities in enterprise cybersecurity infrastructure were left behind due to insufficient knowledge, improper implementation of security policies, and lack of infrastructure availability. These vulnerabilities include single-layered protection, lack of firewall implementation, lack of protection to broadband connections and others. Cybercriminals exploited these vulnerabilities and carried out cybercrimes such as hacking and ransomware attacks leading to data breaches in 2021 and throughout the start of 2022.

Organizations focused more on setting up their network security policies and infrastructure to ensure data safety, seamless operations and rapid response to cyber incidents when their organizations transitioned to remote work. As the pandemic continues, cybersecurity remains a top priority for remote employees.

From hiring the right security professionals to implementing strict policies and firewall configuration, many organizations strengthened their cybersecurity by securing the devices, data and information through different security measures. Throughout the rest of 2022, organizations will try to implement technologies and solutions that will eliminate the vulnerabilities and strengthen remote working infrastructure.

Implementation of responsible and ethical AI

Not only private organizations, but also government organizations are vulnerable to attacks from cybercriminals. In reality, government organizations need strengthened security for their network infrastructure as it contains data, information and secrets that may pose threats to national security. Cyberattackers are creating innovative ways to exploit vulnerabilities and attack critical infrastructure. This makes the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) advantageous for government and private organizations. Throughout the rest of 2022, more and more organizations will aim to implement responsible and ethical AI to detect, prevent and counter cyberattacks. Innovative AI technologies and solutions will be a part of their rapid response strategies. Moreover, local, national and international government authorities and organizations need to develop legislation, policies and regulations regarding the use of AI in cybersecurity. These initiatives will ensure the implementation of responsible AI and protect the data, information and networks of government and private organizations.

Smart budgeting in securing network infrastructure

Allocations of budgets will become smarter in 2022 as compared to the previous years. Business and government organizations will try to identify exploitable cyber vulnerabilities and allocate budgets towards vulnerability management and network security instead of possessing advanced technologies and products. By determining the vulnerabilities firsthand, organizations can cut down their investments and spend money in the right areas.

Enterprise leaders are willing to heavily invest in cybersecurity to avoid getting in the news for a breach, hack or ransomware attack, but they are not willing to spend a penny more on something that will not bring value to them. To ensure continued security funding, security leaders should impress upon senior leadership that the overall operations are smooth and carried out in a secure environment and their security teams are improving the security infrastructure of the organization.