2015 predictions

1. A major IoT hack and a ransomware attack on a cloud service
“There were some colossal data breaches in 2014 but the scale and gravity of cyber attacks will continue to rise in 2015. With confidential data being stored in and sent to more destinations than ever, hackers will be targeting cloud services, IoT devices and infrastructure in record numbers. Indeed, 2015 could be the year we witness the first major Internet of Things hack and ransomware attack on a cloud service.”

2. Big data and security come together as the traditional security analyst becomes the new data scientist
“With cyber attacks on the rise, big data will continue to come to the rescue of security in 2015 and, consequently, the traditional security analyst will become a data scientist. Security teams are increasingly reliant on big data analytics to identify attacks and protect corporate assets, with advancements in machine learning giving security teams the firepower required to monitor attempts at infection and data exfiltration. As such, this year could be an excellent time for people who see themselves as number crunchers to consider a career in cybersecurity.”

3. Cloud services win the security debate over on-premise apps
“I expect 2015 to be the year that cloud services finally win the security debate over on-premise apps. We’ll start to see more and more organisations move their data “crown jewels” to the cloud in recognition of the robust security capabilities from enterprise-ready cloud services such as Workday, Salesforce, and ServiceNow. In the past, companies have ignored the unrivalled investment in security from top tier cloud providers and third-party cloud security vendors, but this game will be over shortly, with cloud becoming the victor.”

4. “The year of the enterprise”: Consumer cloud services shift their attention to businesses
“2014 was the “year of the user,” but don’t expect consumer tech companies to continue to ignore growing business opportunies. 2015 will be the “year of the enterprise” as consumer cloud services make a more determined effort to penetrate the enterprise in search of revenue and profits. Employees lead the way when it comes to cloud adoption and have already created significant demand for enterprise versions of consumer applications. In 2015 we’ll start to see more and more cloud service providers joining the likes of Facebook and Dropbox in terms of new and improved enterprise service offerings.”

5. CEO + CISO = BFFs
“Security breaches are no longer the sole responsibility of the CISO, with the Target fallout proving that CEOs are also being held to account. Indeed, expect CEOs to develop closer and better working relationships with the CISO in the next twelve months. Whether it’s in negotiating security budgets, managing risk, or briefing the board of directors – I’d go so far as to say that the two will be joined at the hip in many organisations next year.”