Challenges of Cybersecurity

The best cybersecurity strategies go well beyond the basics mentioned above. Any sophisticated hacker can avoid these simple defenses. Cybersecurity also becomes more difficult as a company expands. For example, the ‘attack surface’ of a Fortune 1000 company is much larger than a small to medium-sized business.

Expanded Attack Opportunities for Hackers

Another challenge of cybersecurity is dealing with the increasing overlap between the physical and virtual worlds of information exchange. As driverless cars and other self-regulated devices become the norm, the Internet of Things (IoT) and BYOD business policies give criminals more access to cyber-physical systems. That include cars, factories, the smart fridge and toaster in your kitchen, to even one’s medical pacemaker. In the future, infiltrating one of these systems may mean infiltrating them all.

Complicated Regulation

The regulatory environment is also complicating cybersecurity, especially the political discussions around consumer privacy. The European Union recently implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) framework, creating more hurdles for companies to ensure they can do business without incurring hefty fines. The security mandates of regulatory agreements like the GDPR require all companies to be held to a higher standard, which can translate into more complications for SMBs and startups in the short term. In the long term, the virtual environment would likely be safer for everyone involved. However, there is a balance that must be achieved between protecting the consumer and offering that same consumer the choice of new business.

Lack Of IT Talent

A critical challenge of cybersecurity is the lack of qualified professionals to do the job. There are many people on the low end of the cybersecurity spectrum with generic skills. Security Experts who know how to protect companies from sophisticated hackers are rare. Those who know how to get things done understand how in-demand they are. When they work, they charge fees that most smaller enterprises cannot afford. Only the biggest and richest companies in the world can afford these elite-level services, another hurdle that SMBs have to overcome to compete online.