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Data protection and security | From AI automation to an ever-increasing cloud migration, the promises of IT are many. However, and as always, their accomplishment will depend very much on the data available, its accessibility and its protection.
In the digital world in which we operate, data is today after humans the main capital of the company. Without the availability of the information system, without its data, the company is nothing. We saw it again recently with the general breakdown of Google services.
For long minutes, thousands of teleworkers found themselves paralyzed while waiting for the digital giant to resolve this incident. At the time of writing this column, it is not yet clear what is the cause of this noticeable interruption of services. She reminded me of how much we are dependent today on the technology around us, but also and above all how critical data protection is.
As 2021 approaches, there is an acceleration in topics related to data protection and security. Here are three key trends that seem to me to be on the horizon right now and that should punctuate the next 12 months.
1. A dramatic rise in ransomware attacks
The pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in ransomware attacks and I think the lights are red regardless of the size of the company. Companies can no longer close their eyes to this phenomenon and must anticipate it. The stakes are high. The ransomware economy has become a scourge that no business, large or small, can seem to escape. Two essential questions then arise: pay the ransom or resist.
For me, 2021 is going to be the year of resistance. More and more companies should take the path of refusal and stop giving in to blackmail. This phenomenon starts from two key principles: First, one ransomware attack can hide another and therefore paying a ransom does not guarantee companies that they will not be attacked again a few months later. So what good is it? Second, paying a ransom directly feeds the vicious cycle of cybercrime. Each ransom paid allows cybercriminals to improve, to strengthen their arsenal. Refusing to pay is in a way slowing or even weakening the constant threat of cybercrime. Its better you should know how to protect yourself from hacking?
2. Cloud application security will become central
In 2021, accelerating business migration to the cloud should not come at the expense of data security. Certainly the big cloud players on which the majority of companies rely offer a range of services to support this migration. However, they do not give a business the data protection it needs. IT and security teams should therefore not take this protection for granted with the cloud. They must give priority to securing and restoring this data.
3. The democratization of AI in business
Finally, the third trend I want to focus on concerns the role played by artificial intelligence in the democratization of computing. AI is already found in many areas of our daily lives. Already democratized for the general public, artificial intelligence will also be implanted massively in business processes. This trivialization should greatly benefit IT teams but also businesses. In particular, the democratization of AI will lead to considerable time savings which will undoubtedly impact the capacity for innovation and the level of competitiveness of companies.
In light of these trends, data protection is one of the major challenges of 2021. To accelerate their migration to the cloud, deploy AI, innovate and become more competitive while facing cyberthreats, companies must guarantee the availability of their data, wherever it is. In today’s data-driven economy, therefore, data availability is the top priority.