When it comes to IT security, there are a lot of marketing pitches out there offering bullish assessments of certain technologies, and, of course, the particular products being pitched. Really, there’s nothing wrong with marketers doing their jobs, and it’s especially useful when this information leads to learning about emerging technologies and innovative products with a great deal of potential. But it’s also nice to get some security straight talk.

Frankly, so much noise concerning security products and innovation can be a liability because it’s just more information to process. There’s a real need for a clear-eyed, big-picture assessment of the current IT security landscape. This includes providing a sense of the big threats and what can be done to mitigate them both on the macro and micro level. 

Main Takeaways

• Current Threats and Strategic Solutions: Big threats to businesses are coming from state actors performing espionage. Additionally, criminals have begun to use state sponsored attack techniques in order to hold companies’ data hostage. On a macro level, governments need to come together to agree that these sort of state sponsored attacks are unacceptable. Companies can also shore up their endpoints and maintain basic security protocols to reduce threats regardless of where they come from.
• Cloud Use: Although there are some legacy companies still slow to change to the cloud out of concerns that they may disrupt their old systems, there is a certain inevitability in companies moving to the cloud. Even more importantly, cloud-backed companies, that have put time in the space, will have greater opportunities as more companies move to the cloud,
• Technologies Making Security Easier: A.I. can help with anomaly detection, access management, and by reducing the quantity of human talent required. Though some marketing may suggest otherwise, A.I. and automation that is proactive to reduce threats is still in a more aspirational phase.

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