Cybersecurity teams struggle with a lack of visibility into threats, endpoint devices, access privileges, and other essential security controls necessary for a robust cybersecurity posture. Without full visibility into their entire digital ecosystem, infosec teams cannot fully secure the assets on their networks or effectively prioritize the most serious threats. Below, I dive into how security professionals are still fighting the battle between effectively viewing serious threats and communicating cyber risk to company leadership.

A CEO will last 8.4 years in the position, while a CFO clocks in at 6.2 years in average length of tenure. But a look around the boardroom will tell you that longevity isn’t in the cards for overworked, overwhelmed CISOs, with most only spending an average of two years in the role before calling it quits. This trend is no coincidence - CISOs are at the top of the list for burnt out, especially this year, as organizations accelerated digital transformation nearly overnight and employees continue to work remotely. 

Cybercriminals are taking notice of the seemingly endless vulnerabilities schools face. Take the explosive ransomware attack on the University of Utah from earlier this summer, or the malware attack on the Rialto school district in California, for example. Even with a rapidly increasing attack surface, schools aren’t exactly able to drain their already-limited funding on transforming their IT infrastructure in the midst of a global pandemic. However, it is possible for schools to reduce risk by understanding where they are most vulnerable, taking the time to educate teachers, parents and students, and adopting certain tools and strategies to prevent targeted attacks on remote learning networks.

It’s the season of ghouls, ghosts and outrageous costumes. But for CISOs and cybersecurity professionals, a bump in the night on Halloween is more likely to be a notification warning them of data breach than a spooky ghostly visitation. In the COVID-19 era, spookiness-as-a-service providers who rent out costumes or sell party products are likely to have a difficult time as lockdowns and home-working play havoc with businesses focused on in-person interaction. Yet for hackers, the dawn of a socially-distanced new normal has opened up vast numbers of attack vectors and given them new opportunities to target businesses or individuals. So what should you be worried about this Halloween? To help you work out the answer to that question, here are some of the scariest cybersecurity stories and trends of 2020: