5 cybersecurity predictions for 2023

It’s the home stretch to say goodbye to 2022 and start 2023. Based on work with clients from all sectors of the industry, here is a compilation of some trends that can be predicted for the coming year.

1. Critical infrastructure and the public sector will continue to be the most attractive targets

As cyber attacks become more sophisticated, building collaborative communities between the public and private sectors will be crucial to synchronize operations and take preventative measures as a unified front for threats to critical infrastructure. Armed with automated botnets, hackers scavenge computer systems to locate “soft targets.”

2. OT attack patterns will become more prevalent

The growing demand for better system connectivity, faster equipment maintenance, and better understanding of resource utilization has given rise to Internet-enabled OT systems, which include industrial control systems (ICS) and others, such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control systems (DCS), remote terminal units (RTU), and programmable logic controllers (PLC). As everything becomes Internet-facing and cloud-managed, the critical infrastructure and manufacturing sector (i.e., healthcare, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, power generation, oil production, transportation, defense, mining, food and agriculture) is being exposed to threats that may go deeper than data breaches. In the coming years, OT attacks will become more prevalent and will be used in cyber warfare.

3. Strengthening Fundamentals- Vulnerability and Patch Management, Risk Reduction and Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR).

As digital transformation initiatives accelerate, CSOs require a deep and accurate understanding of their organization’s cyber risk. Understanding the details of your risk, what to prioritize and how it can be effectively reduced is the best foundation for creating a holistic plan to manage threats across the organization: priorities for cyber resilience now and in 2023.

This will be the year for MXDR with a unified platform that automates incident investigation, such as enrichment, analysis, classification and response, rather than relying on overworked security. Organizations will look for MXDR to include 24/7 monitoring, critical alerts and root cause analysis. and 24-hour “eyes on glass” support.

4. CISO: changing roles and mindset of the future, the impact of burnout and the blame game.

Today, the role of the CISO within organizations has become transformational. They can deliver consistent system performance, security and privacy across the organization and its ecosystem in the midst of constant and changing threats.

It is time to stop repeating how things cannot be done (for security reasons). Instead, we must stop operating from silos and build relationships with all business stakeholders, incorporating ‘scenario thinking’ and responsiveness into organizational cyber functioning. But just as importantly, to address the first part, the board must proactively plan and prepare for a cyber crisis; only by understanding the risks can the business be in the right strategic place to successfully combat them.

5. More cyber-savvy board and investment

The best companies thrive because they have people at the top who can exercise control based on informed decision-making when a crisis looms. Leaving cybersecurity out of this equation for success in 2023 is a risky gamble.

Cybersecurity teams should equip the board with the following as a starting point.

• A clear articulation of the current cyber risks facing all aspects of the business (not just IT).
• A summary of recent cyber incidents, how they were handled and lessons learned.
• Short- and long-term roadmaps that describe how the company will continue to develop its cyber capabilities to address new and expanded threats, including related responsibilities established to ensure progress.
• Meaningful metrics that provide essential risk and performance indicators supporting the successful management of the top priority cyber risks being managed.

Our current global landscape is putting resilience to the test. As organizations continue to digitally transform, it has created new and heightened concerns about cyber risk. For redborder, protecting these digital connections must be a priority for leaders looking to help their organizations adapt to these changes while continuing to innovate.