An estimated 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely permanently by 2025, according to Upwork. This 87% increase from last year’s numbers also means that there is a significant shift coming in IT security. With most employees working remotely, business owners need to ensure that data is both accessible and secured. Here are a few of the biggest expected shifts in business IT technology and their processes.
A Massive Increase in IT Security Tech Spending
Roughly 55% of enterprises are planning to increase their cybersecurity budgets this year, according to PwC. The survey by PwC also stated that despite 64% of these enterprises expecting a revenue drop, they report that the decision to increase IT protections is crucial. With remote work becoming the norm for the immediate future, a business’s data, digital processes, and assets are prime targets for cybercriminals. Interviewed executives say that the increase in IT security spending will go toward managed security and IT services to help augment what they lack in their network and IT security.
Improving Firewall Protections
There has been a significant rise in malicious device activity in the past year, and the suspected culprits are remote workers without corporate firewalls, according to Arctic Security. Devices were normally protected under the blanket of a corporate network firewall. However, with workers working on their private networks, devices are left vulnerable. Industry experts at CoreTech suggest improving firewall protections is a big shift on the horizon. They recommend that business owners take a look at what sort of firewall they need, as protections may be needed on a device-level instead of just one for the network. This puts security software and applications under the spotlight, as they’ll need to be placed on company-owned hardware to limit malicious device activity in the future.
AI and ML Weaponization
Another of the bigger shifts in IT technology will be the full weaponization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business processes and cybersecurity. AI-based IT protections will change the way business networks protect themselves from malware and other anomalies. Speed is the key when it comes to preventing data breaches. Any AI-based network-monitoring system can immediately locate, isolate, and identify vulnerabilities before they spread through a business’s cyberinfrastructure. Another big shift will involve Machine Learning (ML) that can use a massive database to educate business owners about the different sorts of malware that have been previously identified in the market. The tandem of AI and ML are tools that will effectively change how companies will defend themselves and their employees.
Security and IT are working hand in hand to ensure that businesses are able to continue their operations without a hitch. Discerning business owners ought to do their research on which processes need reviewing and what service providers can give them ample support. The new year always brings new challenges, so the coming months will be a test on the existing IT security of businesses to see how they hold and how they shift accordingly.
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