The rise of the global COVID-19 pandemic has made a huge impact on the cybersecurity industry. A majority of cybersecurity professionals believe that the risk to enterprise data is greater than ever, particularly in remote access systems during the quarantine, according to a survey by Black Hat.
Black Hat USA Attendee Survey respondents also are concerned about the rapid increase in new exploits built around vulnerabilities exposed during the crisis. Security experts warned that attacks on critical infrastructure are more likely than ever, while expressing a lack of confidence that government and private industry are prepared for such attacks.
At the enterprise level, Black Hat USA Attendee Survey respondents think that they do not have the staff, budget, or technology they need to handle the threats they expect to see in upcoming months. Many are frustrated by a lack of effectiveness in current security tools and an overabundance of hype surrounding technologies that are not delivering on their promises. At the community level, cybersecurity professionals are increasingly feeling burned out and in need of greater help and support. They seek better information sharing, improved training and education, and greater opportunities for women and minorities.
Survey respondents were top executives, CISOs, CIOs, CTOs, security specialists, and researchers from organizations in more than 20 sectors, with 10% coming from banking/financial services/venture capital and accounting. Most of the respondents (69%) hold the CISSP security certification; many respondents also hold other certifications, including CEH (33%), CompTIA Security (31%), and MCSE (25%).
The World Economic Forum has also recently released a report for entrepreneurs and investors providing a framework to develop technology in a secure manner, focusing on essential principles such as privacy-by-design and security-by-design.