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In the last year, for many, this ‘information security’ knowledge has developed from awareness to a more in-depth understanding of the perils of poor data practice. With impacts such as brexit and new governing regulations like GDPR, 2018 saw interesting changes to the industry
as we know it.
To say 2018 was an improvement on 2017 in terms of cyber defence would be a stretch. What is notable is not necessarily the frequency of cyber attacks, but the sophistication of the large scale attacks witnessed this year. These breaches were significant in scale, cost, impact and legacy.
In January, The Tribune newspaper claimed that I bought user details via an ‘agent’ advertising his services on Whatsapp. Using this ‘service’, the reporters could enter any Aadhaar number, (a 12 digit unique number assigned to every Indian citizen) and retrieve numerous types of information on the queried citizen. This information included names, addresses, photos, phone numbers and email addresses.
The data breach is believed to have compromised the personal information of all 1.1 billion citizens registered in India.
My Heritage, the online genealogy platform revealed that they had found a file labelled ‘myheritage’ on a private server outside the company in June. Upon inspection, officials determined that the file contained email addresses and passwords of all users. Fortunately, the service stores payment, family tree and DNA data on separately, and therefore there was no reason to believe this information had been compromised.
It is imperative to note the impact cryptocurrencies and blockchain have had on the wider cyber security industry in the past year. The anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies coupled with their obvious high value and lack of regulation associated with such immature markets, makes them particularly attractive to cybercriminals. After witnessing bitcoin’s value surge significantly in value and subsequently popularity in the last year, this year saw a rather rapid decline. However, following the bitcoin saga, a fair number of alternative cryptocurrencies joined the market – many less prominent than bitcoin. This has consequently lead to a breeding ground of cybercriminals mining and thieving this secretive currency.
With Brexit looming on the horizon and the deal still uncertain, the cyber security industry lingers in limbo. Since the referendum, far fewer migrants are arriving at UK terminals with the intention of living and working here. Therefore as a result, the industry skills gap continues to suffer.
For the first time, net immigration from Europe has fallen with a substantial drop. Extrapolate that scenario further and in summer 2018 we find that number only continuing to fall, with an annual drop of 43% in net migration from the EU; all this before any agreements have been reached around freedom of movement. With the cyber security skills gap persistently casting a dark shadow over the industry, a decrease in skilled European workers is only going to contribute to this employment issue.
The effects of Brexit are not unique to cyber security, but they are a considerable factor that will only serve to fuel skill shortages further. STEM businesses across the UK are impacted with as much as 89% said to be experiencing skill shortages.
Cyber security is not unusual but rather indicative of a broader failure to attract a new generation in to the technical workforce. This compounds not only the number of professionals in security but also its ageing population, The centre for Cyber Security and Education found that “only 12% of the cyber security workforce is under age 35… 53% of the workforce are over age 45”. It is important to acknowledge these significant industry hurdles and proactively seek to overcome them. Through training professionals in house and opening opportunities up for graduates, we will be able to see this gap reduced.
To round up, this year the industry has seen multiple hurdles and is slowly recovering. Cyber security is constantly evolving and improving, alongside cybercrime. Keeping up with the chase appears to be an issue for many years to come. Breaches will happen, but the most important thing is for companies to focus on how they will deal with a breach when it happens. We need to be vigilant with data practice and security and determine post breach action plans. The skill shortage is another issue which is unlikely to resolve in the coming year, but with in-house training and a focus on the upcoming generation, it can certainly be narrowed.
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