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The human factor of cybersecurity could be what makes or breaks an organization’s infrastructure. With today’s constantly evolving digital economy, cultivating an informed and proactive workforce is no longer simply a choice — it’s a necessity, reports Wete and Company.

Data breaches are becoming increasingly common, and 35% of them are attributed to human negligence or error. According to the Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA), the cause of this is likely the mindsets of executives. Many believe that cybersecurity is solely the IT department’s responsibility, but that really isn’t the case. Employee awareness is essentially the first line of defense in protecting companies’ digital assets. 

Addressing Human Factors Underpinning Cybersecurity Risks

Businesses should employ strategies to address the human factors behind cybersecurity risks to reinforce the importance of keeping company and customer information safe. 

FISSEA suggests the following three overarching strategies:

·         Developing a Cyber Workforce

The cybersecurity challenge should be faced by a cyber workforce capable of meeting and overcoming obstacles and risks through retention and recruitment. Currently, companies are experiencing dangerous gaps in cyber talent. Thus, they must prioritize the recruitment of forward-thinking, IT-savvy professionals to fill these empty spaces.

Executives should design their strategy for predicting and managing their workforce, focusing on the core stages in employees’ careers to guide development, boost engagement, and ensure retention. 

·         Implementing Training and Awareness

Naturally, not every cyber workforce is capable of rising to increasingly intricate cybersecurity risks. As such, training and awareness programs must be implemented to provide targeted role-based education for these professionals. 

That said, all employees, customers, and suppliers should be educated on the importance of cybersecurity best practices. That way, phishing and other coercive data breach methods won’t succeed in infiltrating networks through human error. 

Experts note that the main engagement areas to focus on are as follows:

• Enterprise-wide corporate communication
• Online presence
• Awareness-level education and role-based training
• Monthly phishing tests
• In-depth anti-phishing education for all employees

The above methods work well with engaging all kinds of learners through videos, visual training aids, flyers, mailers, roleplays, and posters. 

·         Engaging Stakeholders and Leadership 

For entities that wish to uphold the notion that cybersecurity is everybody’s responsibility, stakeholder and leadership engagement are top priority. Encouraging collaborations with all departments and enabling the execution of interdependent activities/programs is critical for overall cybersecurity risk mitigation. 

·        Utilizing People-Based Solutions to Mitigate Cybersecurity Risks

Since the statistics show that humans are 35% of cybersecurity problems, implementing people-based solutions, such as those described above, dramatically increases companies’ abilities to keep their data safe and secure.

Despite the recent domination by AI and other technologies of various areas within the IT security industry, the likelihood of humans being replaced in these processes is slim to none. AI may be able to improve threat detection and response time, but humans will remain essential for ethical decision-making, critical thinking, and creativity, especially as hackers become increasingly advanced in their own tactics. 

So, if companies wish to prepare and protect themselves from future cyber threats, they must address the overarching human component of cybersecurity. Without proper education and training, a workforce cannot properly deal with modern technological challenges. 

Cybersecurity measures are no longer seen as something “extra”. In the world of increasingly sophisticated cybercrime and identity thieves, cybersecurity is now a necessity.

Wete and Company explains that this is where cybersecurity certifications come in. When obtained by individuals, businesses, or governments, specialized certifications make the difference between protecting a slew of personal data and losing billions to identity theft and data breaches. 

According to the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, nearly 50% of all adults in America have been victims of cyber attacks exposing personal information.

It’s an increasingly widespread problem. Security Intelligence finds that in 2022, ransomware attacks rose by 41% and phishing attacks grew by 48%.

Cybersecurity certifications can be powerful tools in slowing the tide. 

What are Cybersecurity Certifications

Those earning a cybersecurity certification have received extensive training in solving and preventing issues surrounding cyberattacks and hacking.

It also indicates knowledge of the best strategies surrounding both online security and privacy. Some programs are completed in a few days while others are earned in multiple parts over longer periods of time.

The programs are held online, in person, or in a format combining both.

Cybersecurity certifications are typically earned by IT professionals to help bring an employer up to speed with modern and evolving cybersecurity measures.

There are numerous cybersecurity certifications available, including entry-level and more advanced specializations. Those trained through various cybersecurity certifications often find that the experience helps them advance their career or receive higher salaries. 

Do Businesses Really Need Cybersecurity Certifications

In short, yes. An increase in remote workers and the rising sophistication of attacks have led businesses around the world to significantly invest in cybersecurity measures.

Such measures protect not just the business itself, but its consumers who worry about their personal information being stolen through increasingly common data breaches. 

A wide range of industries are targeted by cyber thieves, including some of the top industries around the world. In 2022, the top five most commonly targeted sectors were healthcare, financial services, retail, education, and energy/utilities, according to Tech Business News.

What are some of the Best Cybersecurity Certifications

There is a slew of certifications available, and many are required qualifications for potential employees before they can join an organization, such as the U.S. Department of Defense. Some industries, such as oil, gas, and technology, have their own certifications.

The most popular certifications include:

CompTIA Security+

Widely considered the gold standard of global cybersecurity certifications, CompTIA Security+ covers all the core skills needed to master cybersecurity. 

The IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certification

An entry-level training experience that helps professionals with the skills needed to launch their careers in under six months.

Certified Information Systems Security Professional

The CISSP certification covers the ins and outs of IT security. Holders of this advanced certificate have demonstrated the ability to design and implement a program in cybersecurity and then monitor it effectively.

The chief information security officer of a business typically has this certification, as do IT security engineers and security consultants.

Certified Information Security Manager

Used by many professionals to jump to manager roles in cybersecurity, the CISM certificate hones expertise in topics such as risk management and governance.

Virtual and augmented realities. The blockchain. 5G.

The technology trends of 2022 already seem a bit outdated.

In 2023, Wete and Company describe a whole new world of technology shaping the future of businesses globally.

Each year, thanks to all big and small improvements and innovations that grow to become industry game-changers, the world of tech can repeatedly showcase its power to reshape how individuals think, how companies grow, and how industries reinvent themselves.

Here are just a few of the technology trends that will leave a lasting mark in 2023 and beyond. 

The Prominence of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer futuristic. It’s here and will continue its prevalence within multiple business fields. Experts agree that by next year, more than half of user engagement with products will involve some form of speech, written word, or computer algorithms fueled by AI.

AI is particularly valuable as the demand for real-time data increases. For example, the technology can be used for more precise sales data and infrastructure analytics. It has shown time and time again that it can accurately predict both short- and long-term industry trends.

The result of utilizing AI is a business operating with greater agility and a form of protection against pending issues.

AI is increasingly proving itself to be vital to everything from refining autonomous driving to automating basic development work. Software within large companies is personalized for individual employees with AI, improving efficiency and streamlining processes seamlessly.

Digital Smells

Uploading pictures of recipes is one thing, but what if you could smell the meal you’re about to make? 

So-called gas sensor technology has evolved tremendously throughout the last few years, with the latest innovation designed to imitate the human brain and nose in order to digitize smells.

Such gas sensors using AI and other forms of machine learning can pinpoint the ways people respond to a wide range of smells. 

The technology could be used to advertise the latest fast-food burger, but also to offer important safety information related to contaminated food. 

Hyper-Interaction 

Consumers expect a certain amount of ease when using mobile devices for shopping, and many companies report doing most of their business interaction with customers either through a website or an app.

Virtual agents are expected to become the norm, increasingly replacing many forms of human-to-human interactions. Machines are also expected to interact more seamlessly with other machines to assist bothn business operations and consumers, leaving out a large portion of human interaction and management entirely.

Adjusting Nature

Editing nature isn’t new. Businesses have used nanotechnology to create products with features such as water resistance or reducing the risk of allergic reactions to certain foods. In 2023, such technology is expected to accelerate rapidly, especially with the advent of groundbreaking gene-editing technology such as CRISPR-Cas9.

Gene editing has the potential to help keep crops healthy and reverse damaging mutations to DNA. 

Going Green

In the fight against climate change, green technology is a powerful weapon. Expect new and highly specialized forms of green technology to take form in 2023, including clean-burning green hydrogen, less centralized power grids, and wind farms.  

The year 2000 seems like recent history, but in terms of technology, it’s light years behind 2023.

Wete and Company explain that just over 20 years ago, personal computers weren’t a staple in everyone’s home. The internet as a consumer marketplace faced a bit of uncertainty after the dot.com bubble burst. IBM’s reign over computing was fading. Social media? Not even a thing.

But the past two decades have seen remarkable and groundbreaking growth in IT. It has changed the way we work, live, play, shop, and communicate.

It’s no wonder then that the internet is regularly featured along with the wheel, nails, and the lightbulb on lists of the top 10 inventions that changed the world. Every year IT changes and evolves into something better than it was.

Here are just a few of internet technology’s biggest developments over the past 20 years.

Personal Computing Explodes

In 1981, IBM offered its first personal computer. It was called the Acorn, used Windows’ MS-DOS operating system and it sold for $1,565. Twenty years later, personal computing rose exponentially, and more people invested in the technology.

As the years progressed, people everywhere began investing in desktop or laptop computers, cell phones, or a PDA (remember those?). Personal computing isn’t going anywhere — but it is on track to continue to get better and better in the future. 

YouTube 

It all began in 2005 with a short video of a visit to a zoo. It’s now the most popular video-sharing site in the world. Content in the billions is accessed every single day on YouTube — and all for free. The unlimited knowledge accessible through the content on YouTube can far exceed what you can find in a library.

Whether it’s for entertainment, nostalgic television, or live feeds of historical events, YouTube has changed the way we see ourselves and the world.

Google

Nearly 230 million Google searches are performed every hour — not bad for a company that only went public in 2004. Since then, Google has become much more than just a search engine.

Google translates nearly every global language, hosts countless emails and documents, and created Chrome, one of the world’s most popular internet browsers. And just a year after it went public, Google Maps was unveiled and made its way instantly to computers and smartphones everywhere.

Suddenly, getting lost became a thing of the past. Paper maps quickly became obsolete, and real-time satellite technology took over.

The Security Industry

The first computer worm wiggled its way onto computers in 1988, and even though it impacted a mere 6,000 computers or so, that was enough at the time to call it a “high-profile attack.”

Over the past 20 years, cybersecurity has become as advanced as the internet itself, and there’s good reason for it. Nearly 95% of companies have reported seeing their networks infiltrated by web criminals at some point, according to the FBI.

Information security has changed tremendously thanks to regulations related to IT, government oversight, and an ever-growing industry of IT security protectors claiming to be on top of every new cyber threat.

3D Printing  

We can thank open-source software and better methods of manufacturing for 3D printing’s impressive rise in the last decade. Everything from human organs to entire houses can now be printed easily at home, in hospitals, colleges, libraries, businesses, and really just about anywhere. All it takes is a digital file.