As we changed the way we work, cybercriminals followed because the modern criminal is constantly evolving in line with shifts in online behavior and trends. As we prepare to welcome 2021, what trends can we expect from the cyber world?

Computer fraud, or cyber-scamming, is a multi-billion-dollar industry that affects people and organizations around the world. Since the pandemic started, cybersecurity experts have tracked a 400% rise in online scams. The world is evolving at a rapid pace and with everything getting connected and automated scammers are bound to adapt, thrive and succeed. Let’s understand the top five reasons:

Matching staff levels to demand has always been one of the toughest gigs, and in an industry sector like security where staffing needs to be set at an adequate level, it becomes even tougher. Right now, the security industry is seeing unprecedented levels of blow-outs - because of illness, lockdown, self-isolation and home schooling. Security businesses have to meet contractual demands with set staffing levels and as a result the sector is under further pressure to ensure they can fill any blow-out shifts. Thanks to COVID-related complications, staff sickness and absence rates could reach as much as 15% this winter.

Relying on outdated fraud prevention and identification measures will no longer cut it, and businesses that don’t adapt will lag. As people continue to work, collaborate and socialize via their mobile devices, businesses must equip themselves with technology and tools that will prioritize fraud prevention. If not, companies risk losing their customers to those who have invested in more robust solutions.    

As organizations bring their employees back to the workplace, many are looking to leverage location technology as a means to increase safety. Return-to-work solutions ranging from digital contact tracing and social distancing monitoring to sanitation alerts and occupancy analytics are being explored and embraced in varying degrees around the world. However, it’s imperative that any technology deployed works a double shift to also provide value in the post-pandemic times. The same location technology infrastructure used to address infection prevention and mitigation can be used to complement and enhance traditional security efforts. 

As companies think about how to navigate this new landscape of privacy laws and cybersecurity threats, here are a few major trends and predictions to consider:

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a new round of digital transformation. But in many cases, the rapid pace of digital acceleration has enlarged the digital footprint of both businesses and consumers beyond the capacity of our cybersecurity infrastructure to keep up. The scary reality is that the business impact of COVID-19 may be creating the perfect storm for a cybercrime pandemic; digital citizens will have to act aggressively to secure their data before it’s too late.

Mobile devices are part and parcel of today’s increasingly distributed workforce. Laptops, smartphones, and tablets are provisioned by enterprises to increase employee productivity, while providing flexibility to work remotely. But when the pandemic struck, security teams across industries were challenged by the unprecedented speed and scale of the shift. This disruption created great strain for IT security teams. Pair that with the increase in employee BYOD devices, already-overworked IT teams raced to ensure only authorized devices could connect to corporate assets. 

COVID-19 has caused havoc on the schools across the U.S. In the spring, school districts did whatever they could to provide the tools to students to get through the end of the school year. As schools are starting up around the country this month and next month, the challenge school IT departments are having is how to secure all of the devices distributed to students. Here, we talk to Jake Kouns, CEO and CISO for Risk Based Security, where he leads the company’s technology strategy and is responsible for product vision and leadership in the security industry.

While there are several security concerns that cloud users must address in the long run, here are three critical areas that must be given immediate attention, especially now as organizations are planning to scale their remote work setup, and nine best practices organizations must follow to ensure optimal safety of their cloud instances.