Overview
The topic of cybersecurity demonstrates the need for greater defense online and better network protection, as so many areas have become susceptible to attacks in the last couple of years. The purpose of this research is to focus on how past and present events could help individuals forecast the potential trends emerging in the future. The impact of this field is being found on various levels of society including the individual, governmental, business, and international levels. As the digital grows, the importance of becoming well-versed in areas of cybersecurity holds great value in todays and future societies.
Scope/Trajectory
Every component of cybersecurity has been growing at drastic levels, which indicates the cybersecurity market is projected to reach close to $366.10 billion by 2028. As more and more components of our lives are encompassed by machined learning, e-commerce, cloud computing, and the internet of things, individuals will be left unable to ignore the ultimate necessity for further cybersecurity implementations. Although evidence of positive changes to our environment has been brought about from cybersecurity, such as new and innovative high-paying jobs, the many negative impacts on our world should not be ignored as every sector has become vulnerable to attacks and data breaches.
Looking greater into the future, our world will see an even greater uptake in ransomware threats, more treats involving USB devices, higher production in key areas of automation and innovation, and the structure of everything needing secured remote access. With these areas becoming heavily integrated into the daily lives of people, one would think individuals would be running to sites to protect their data and online blueprint; unfortunately, they are not. Many individuals are unable to grasp the scale of how vastly cybersecurity will be impacting their lives in the present day and in years to come. What are the real-life effects concerning network security: the capability to reroute vehicles, suppliers becoming targeted at higher rates due to the library of customer data being held, statewide to nationwide electrical blackouts, inability for military equipment to perform, hackers gaining complete access to financial information and medical records, etc. While the impact of the cyber world remains highly evident, it is important to advocate for education on the matter in addition to the 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs.
Opportunities in the Innovative Field
Companies have the opportunity of getting ahead of competitors in cyberspace since so many industry professionals have not allocated enough funds for cybersecurity implementation into business models. Not only would the increased interest in network security give a corporation a leg up against others in related fields, but also it would save the business from future incidents involving financial losses, customer complaints, digital attacks, data breaches, and crime-related delays. Implementation into businesses creates a larger number of jobs added to the already 3.5 million unfilled positions in the field, including career opportunities such as an information security analyst, chief information security officer, security architect, and security engineer. With the average salary recently growing to 16.3% in just a year, the field of cybersecurity is highly in demand and offers high growth in innovation for the future.
Disconnect between Business and Government
Large numbers of individuals still do not understand or are unwilling to understand the risk factors regarding cybersecurity as it relates to themselves on a personal level. But, these same people believe it is the social and ethical responsibility of a business and for our government to recognize the potential damaging factors a privacy hack or cyberattack can cause. In order for the businesses and government to focus on solutions, the individuals need to care about the issue at large.
The disconnect between the business and government levels is apparent as each end is willing to expose the other to potential risks. As the government (divided into civilian and government contractors) notices a greater ethical and social dilemma on network security, especially in the eyes of the public’s trust, the business focuses mainly on the economic impact, which is why some companies have not incorporated cybersecurity into their business model. They do not realize the need to take precautions and initial measures until a future attack disrupts the entire function of their business.
If both the government and business levels were able to pull together their resources, a clearer course of action could be taken to prevent cyber threats even on a global scale. An example of this could be shown in the various Latin American countries as resources are pulled together from different levels to bypass encryptions on cellular devices and privacy protections. This could shed more light on the rising issue of China becoming the worldwide offender of extensive biometric data collection. How could this impact other countries and their cybersecurity efforts in the future? What kinds of surveillance capitalism problems can this create?
Stakeholders
When addressing the concept of stakeholders in terms of cybersecurity, each individual must notice the role they hold in the cyber landscape of the world; each person has a greater impact than often recognized. Within the realm of cybersecurity, common stakeholders hold key indications of where the future will lead. These include “the companies from various sectors of the economy, internet service providers, software vendors, users, and the government.” The role of the stakeholders looking into the next year is to pivot their attention toward the realization of significance on each of the levels that cybersecurity influences.
Industry Effect
The digital age individuals are living in combined with the recent pandemic developed a greater shift to remote working, but this type of work does present issues for privacy. As more people are demanded remote options in their fields, the awareness around online protection ultimately needs to be increased. Over half of these workers do not have a separate work device and instead resort to using personal devices with unsecured networks. These vulnerabilities resulted in 67% of cyber attacks targeting remote employees. How can we ensure companies will update their security? What changes should be made to the business overall to protect data and workers’ privacy?