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It shouldn’t be overlooked that October was also a bumper month for security-related sanctions: Anthem
reached a settlement of $16 million with the US government for its 2015 data breach, Facebook was
fined $645,000 by the UK’s regulator over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and Yahoo agreed a $50
million settlement for those affected by the 2013 data breach.

As these occurrences become increasingly regular, organizations are investing in improving their security
posture, so as not to be caught out. Cyber attacks are pushing the development of defense systems, and
this is genuine progress. As a result, it will be more difficult for criminals to hit companies with scattergun
mass attacks, and targeted attacks will become the only option.

Governments too, are becoming increasingly aware of the opportunities offered by the cyberspace, with
more and more creating their own Cyber Security Centers and Cyber Forces. The world has begun to
recognize the necessity of such systems.

Furthermore, if we take an even greater step backwards, it is abundantly clear cyber attacks have not
impeded genuine progress in the technology industry. We are constantly developing new tools, apps,
social channels, middleware and capabilities, not to mention migration to the cloud and other big trends.

Progress Has Been Made but What’s Next?

Of course, the next challenge will be in protecting these new technologies. Over the past 10-15 years, a
lot of technologies and devices have appeared. However, they came - and continue to come - with a lot
of errors and vulnerabilities, which, in addition to convenience (it is convenient to use a smartphone, store
information in the cloud, and use face recognition for payments) are inherently a threat if exploited by the
wrong people.

The Internet of Things is the epitome of this. Any device that has wireless connectivity can be hacked—
everything from mPOS (Mobile Point of Sale) terminals to vacuum cleaners. Smart devices with default
passwords or non-closed vulnerabilities are very likely to become a sore spot of their owners, and a
favorite weapon of attackers who will use them to penetrate into local networks and conduct other attacks.
For example, we can expect to see continued use of IoT devices for botnets due to the low level of
security implemented in such devices.

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