Let’s turn to the future of cybersecurity. What are new and upcoming trends, and what should companies look for in the next years? Gartner has made top 8 predictions for the upcoming year. This Spotlight specifically highlights four of them.

 

1. Nations are likely to pass more legislation to regulate ransomware payments, fines, and negotiations.

Gartner predicts that the percentage of nations who pass legislation will rise to 30% by the end of 2025, compared to less than 1% in 2021.

Earlier this year, Spotlight explored whether paying ransom to criminals should be illegal

 

2. The board of directors will increasingly have a dedicated cybersecurity committee overseen by a cyber-qualified board member.

Gartner argues that boards are increasingly going to appoint members who are cyber-literate. Gartner’s prediction is that 40% of the board of directors will have a dedicated cybersecurity committee by 2025.

 

3. CEOs will increasingly focus on organisational resilience to deal with cyber incidents.

Yes, organisational resilience. Gartner claims that CEOs will focus on building organisational resilience to survive threats from cybercrime, severe weather events, civil unrest, and political instabilities.

Spotlight has taken a similar approach and examined the factors that contribute to organisational resilience

 

4. Hackers are more likely to use operational technology as a weapon

Gartner predicts that by 2025, threat actors will have weaponized operational technology to cause human casualties.

ISTARI’s Abel Archundia, MD for Global Life Sciences and Industrials, has published a short Perspective on the convergence of information technology and operational technology.