As 2015 winds down, it is a good time to take stock of where you are with cybersecurity. As you should be aware by now, cybersecurity is an ongoing process that requires constant evaluation, monitoring, testing, training and adaptation. The events of the last year only reinforce this notion. While large-scale payment card data and health care information breaches continue to dominate the headlines, the Ashley Madison breach shows that plenty of damage can occur when a financial windfall is not the hacker’s objective. Following on the heels of the Sony breach, which was all about ideology, it is all too clear the harm that a breach can cause, regardless of the type of data that you have or the motivation for the attack. Here are a few predictions for what to expect in 2016:
• Don’t take the bait. Phishing (socially engineered targeted email) will be behind the most newsworthy cyberevents in 2016 and will continue to be a leading cause of cybersecurity incidents. Employee training and awareness is the most effective defense against this threat.
