The digital transformation brings with it a litany of advantages and opportunities for all kinds of organizations, from an increase in productivity and efficiency, to larger markets in which to operate.
But these advantages and the breaking down of barriers for the sake of increased globalization go hand in hand with some drawbacks, one of which is the incredible increase in the amount of cyberattacks carried out. We need look no further than last year, when there were almost double the amount of cybersecurity incidents in companies compared to the previous year. What’s more, there were around 159,000 data breaches driven by ransomware or new attack methods. And the economic consequences of these incidents are staggering: the global cost of cybercrime is expected to exceed $2 trillion by 2019.
It is clear that in order to tackle figures like these, it is necessary to invest in qualified professionals. However, with the increase in the scale and sophistication of attacks, the development of cybersecurity professionals has been outstripped by the growth and the sophistication of cyberthreats.
In this context, it is clear that there is a lack of cybersecurity professionals; in fact, 22% of organizations report that their cybersecurity teams are not large enough to take on everything that is required of them. The Information System Security Certification Consortium, or (ISC)2, estimates there to be a skills gap of just under 3 million professionals.
Addressing the shortage with technology
The boom of the Internet of things (IoT) means that there are ever more data points to track and more points of entry into systems. The use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) can help address this problem, and at the same time mitigate the skills gap. These technologies can gather and analyze data, trace threats, search for vulnerabilities, respond to breaches, and thus reduce the IT team’s workload. At Panda Security, we make this technology a reality with our Threat Hunting and Investigation service, which allows the automatic classification of 99.98% of threats, leaving just 0.02% of them to analysts. This way we can focus on the really dangerous attacks.
Some of the advantages that technology can bring to our organizations are:
Prevention. With AI, systems can be developed to search for security flaws and deploy solutions in real time.
Detection. AI can help cybersecurity analysts to detect and analyze high risks incidents, and to investigate threats.
Response. Machine learning and artificial intelligence can segregate networks to isolate assets or to redirect attackers away from vulnerabilities or valuable data.
Choosing the right cybersecurity solution for my company: what does it need to have?
Panda Security leverages a combination of solutions and services for their customers to provide visibility of all endpoint activity, control of all running processes, and to reduce the attack surface. This includes device management and control features, EDR and EPP solutions, 100% Classification and Threat Hunting services, all the data gathered by its Collective Intelligence for more than 28 years, and external IOAs and IOCs, all perfectly synchronized. These advantages are grouped together on the security platform, Panda Adaptive Defense.
The Cybersecurity Tech Accord – the key accord in the interest of defending equitable, global cybersecurity of which Panda Security has been a member since last year – has prepared a whitepaper, “Addressing the Cybersecurity Skills Gap through Cooperation, Education and Emerging Technologies”. In it, you can discover what challenges the skills gap presents, what initiatives have been proposed to resolve it, and more details on how emerging technology can put a stop to this problem.
Panda Security specializes in the development of endpoint security products and is part of the WatchGuard portfolio of IT security solutions. Initially focused on the development of antivirus software, the company has since expanded its line of business to advanced cyber-security services with technology for preventing cyber-crime.
