Cyber threats are growing in number and strength and the future of cyber security is looking ever more complex and challenging. The number of threats to large organizations is growing rapidly, as is the number of bad actors who create them and the number of systems at risk from cyber attacks.

Data breaches are increasing, according to one report, by 85 percent a year, and in 2016, half a billion personal records were stolen or lost. But that does not, and should not, stop organizations from trying. The way to get ahead and stay ahead, especially in online security, is to look ahead.

Several vendors and analysts have predicted the upcoming challenges in the field of cyber security. Although, there are many other predictions as well, but these are the ones we heard most frequently.

Internet of malicious things

Everything from smart devices to smart meters, medical devices, automobiles and more, the Internet of Things (IoT) have already been known as zombie troops for cyber attackers. Due to its instant access to the internet and resources, these (IoT) devices can be devastating. Many organizations aren’t inspecting their most commonly used apps for malware, enabling everything from DDoS attacks to Trojans to serving as entry points into enterprise networks for other attacks like ransomware and APTs. This type of inadequacy will create a worse situation in 2017.

DDoS: Weapon of mass obstruction

DDoS attack firepower in 2016 increased to frightening levels. Due to lack of basic security features in IoT devices, the DDOS attack has raised from 400Gbps bandwidth to 1Tbps or more becoming the norm. These attacks require specialized protection that very few organizations in the world today can provide. It is predicted that firepower will be used sometime in 2017 to take down critical infrastructure and even the internet infrastructure of whole countries in support of a physical military attack.

Increased Usage of Cloud Technology 

Financial institutions have been slow to adopt the cloud. However, with more regulations, compliance, and better security features in the cloud, more of these companies will no longer be able to ignore its benefits, will start testing the cloud on workloads and move some services beyond just the corporate data center.

2017 will be the year of cloud technology where many organizations and businesses will start adopting this due to its unique features and benefits.

Online Terrorizing

Think take-downs of traffic lights, portions of the power grid, water systems, etc. – they might not cause catastrophic damage, but they will disrupt daily life. But in some cases, the damage could be significant, through the use of data forgery. In 2017, these types of attack will be on the rise due to ambiguity to identify the attackers.

However, there are many other threats as well that includes breach attacks, as we have witnessed previously. So, those in charge of cyber security are faced with a challenging task, must defend their organization from a constant barrage of attackers at the same time remaining one step ahead of criminals.