BetaNews Staff

2020 was a difficult year all around. Many organizations are still adjusting to the new landscape while trying to plan for the future. Cybercrime was at its prime in 2020 with global costs climbing as high as $1 trillion, according to CSIS research. Unfortunately, with the pandemic dragging on and an extremely drained remote workforce that still needs to be secured, there is every chance that cybercrime will be an even bigger headache in the months ahead. 

Numerous aspects are aligning to create even more dangerous situations. Organizations that fail to identify and address these impending hazards will be at risk from increased cyber-attacks and data breaches. But these types of imminent disaster can be averted with the right plans. By aligning security efforts with business goals, redesigning infrastructure, and looking at new technologies, organizations can build resilience while setting themselves up for future success. 

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Following the passing of Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act and the Washington Privacy Act currently making its way through the legislature, states across the country are working to expand consumer rights over their personal data. As rights requests emerge for enterprises affected by current and future data privacy regulations, businesses cannot trust the person making the request is who they claim to be. With fraud escalating as cybercriminals are taking advantage of online-only operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprises need to ensure they can authenticate users making rights requests to avoid the devastating repercussions of handing personal data to fraudsters.

This article will discuss new considerations for enterprises amid new state privacy regulations to keep data secured and out of cybercriminals’ reach. 

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Let’s get real about real-time data.

We are reminded daily how real-time data makes business decisions easier. Timing is essential. Yet still overlooked in the need for real-time data is operationalizing the data itself. Timely data is just part of the equation. Being able to glean actionable insights in a timely manner is the other part. According to research by Enterprise Strategy Group, 38 percent of IT and business professionals say complexity and usability issues with their business intelligence platform is a challenge.

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In today’s hectic news cycle, there always seems to be a new story angle that is focused on cryptocurrency. The increasingly popular digital currency’s market value recently reached $2 trillion for the first time and the Coinbase IPO was referred to as "crypto’s coming-out party." But, just as cryptocurrencies are gaining traction with consumers as legitimate transactions, they are also massively used by criminal actors and terrorists, with a global total of $10 billion in illicit activities in 2020.

Though technology has helped to advance industries and markets tremendously, it is clear that advanced technology has also played a part in illegal activities around the world. We are witnessing a drastic shift from the traditional financing of criminal and terror actors to a new world of digital financing, creating a seriously daunting task for security and law enforcement organizations to anticipate, track and identify illegal activities.

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Of the technologies that saw a spike due to the pandemic, cloud-based services are experiencing a bump in enterprise sales. The enterprise previously had been trailing scrappy upstarts in terms of digital transformation, largely because of the complications associated with moving tens of thousands of endpoints into a new environment. With entire workforces shifting to work-from-home environments, though, movement to the cloud has become all but inevitable.

According to IDC, digital transformation in the enterprise has accelerated since the start of the pandemic as enterprises seek greater flexibility and cost efficiency. Yet, enterprise security teams are posing a slew of new questions to cloud vendors about the security of their offerings. Best case scenario, this adds time to an already lengthy buying cycle. Worst case, security practices and protocols can kill a contract.

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There are several drivers that have fueled the surge in cloud usage globally. Businesses are recognizing that the cloud provides a level of flexibility that in-house environments cannot match. Cloud makes it easy to scale up and down quickly and efficiently with nearly unlimited resources. Adding capacity to an enterprise system can often take days in an on-premises data center, if there is capacity, but can be accomplished in minutes in the cloud.

As we have witnessed over this past year, with a sudden need to work from home, cloud rescued many enterprises by providing an abundance of resources quickly. It empowered millions of employees to work from home when circumstances were not conducive to work from their office. Therefore, it's not surprising to see the report from Research and Markets forecasting the global cloud computing market to reach $832.1 billion by 2025. However, with increased cloud usage comes the challenge of managing that consumption and avoiding overspend.

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Technology conferences are some of the most exciting to attend and experience because of how fast advancements are made in the field. Whether you’re an enthusiast interested in the latest or greatest gear, looking for new business technologies, or you want to see some new STEM achievements, there’s a lot of potential out there.

As the pandemic winds down, things are opening back up, and that means many new and exciting in-person events are kicking off, as well. Here are the top 10 noteworthy tech conferences of 2021.

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Technology and engineering go hand in hand. They rely each other to further progress innovation across all sectors. For bridges, technology has allowed designs to push the boundaries of what was once thought possible.

New designs and improving maintenance services increase efficiency and reduce waste with the help of technology. While some innovations are moving into the mainstream, others can give us an indication of which direction bridge engineering is heading in. Here, we look at the most promising technology that is creating the future of bridge construction.

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Policy decisions may or may not be productive. In worst cases, they can be counter-productive.

Banking system is the backbone of any economy, and there is a reason behind it. Money supply in the market is managed by banks that engage in safekeeping of depositors’ money and lending a portion of it to others. The central bank oversees the functioning of banks, prints currency notes, drafts monetary policy, and all these actions infuse stability in the country’s financial system. Central banks manage interest rates and tweak them to either infuse liquidity in a slowing economy or suck liquidity to control higher levels of inflation. Policy decisions like these are productive exercises.

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The question of whether not moving to the cloud is beneficial for security has largely been answered with a resounding "yes," which is why organizations are increasingly relying on cloud-based technology and services for business operation.

A more nuanced conversation, however, lies around the question of whose responsibility cloud security is, ultimately.

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The benefits of cloud computing make it impossible to ignore in 2021. With more accessibility and state of the art resources at your disposal, the cloud offers the best value in today’s working world in terms of services gained for their cost. That said, security risks can still keep some away from the technology.

Rather than being worried and passing on the tools offered by the cloud, getting educated on what the risks are with cloud computing can help you utilize proven software and programs with peace of mind. When it comes to cloud security risks, a lot of the threats posed to businesses all around the world are avoidable. Here’s a handful of risks you should know about when working in the cloud and how to keep your security tight in this new, exciting space.

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Cyberattacks are happening more frequently and with greater sophistication. As a result, rapid threat detection and response is critical to finding threat actors and minimizing their impact on the enterprise. This task is easier said than done. Information security teams are understaffed and the digital infrastructures they must protect continue to increase in complexity. Time is also of the essence.

Every passing second dangerously prolongs a threat actor’s presence within the network, creating additional backdoors, pilfering critical data and assets, and increasing their chances of absconding with the crown jewels. In those especially urgent moments, when the security team is literally all hands-on deck, there isn’t time to run queries through a number of different tools and wait for results to come back. Security teams need real-time insights they can act upon quickly.

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We know technology has had an impact on every area of our lives. We can manage almost our entire lives through our smartphones, from arranging appointments to paying bills. Technological innovations have also found a way into the workplace, completely revolutionizing the way we work.

As technology is embedded into workplaces, it can unsettle workers. With technologies including artificial intelligence and automation able to replicate elements of our jobs, it’s easy to see why. Half of UK workers believe they may be replaced by automation, AI, or robots in the next decade. A further 61 percent are concerned about AI.

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In 2021, the cost of ransomware attacks is expected to exceed more than $20 billion worldwide. Ransomware has emerged as one of the most lucrative, elusive, and easy-to-implement methods of cyber-attack currently available. Being able to hold a company, its operations, and its data completely hostage presents a great opportunity for malicious hackers looking to maximize their earnings. This is made more attractive by the fact that many businesses lack the preparation necessary to sufficiently protect themselves from ransomware attacks. In a world where companies have become increasingly reliant on technology to store, manage, and facilitate their data and processes, business security solutions have never been more important.

The goal of this article is to analyze the rise of ransomware attacks and identify the ways in which an organization should protect itself against this increasingly popular form of cybercriminal activity.

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"Exceptional service" has always been a key customer demand over the years. But customers today expect more -- a combination of customized insights, connected interactions and an agile approach in addition to exceptional customer service. Therefore, while focusing on customer experience, communication and connection become highly crucial.

The recent pandemic and the process of businesses overcoming it have further brought to the spotlight the need for customer experience backed by flexible technology support and exceptional customer satisfaction, especially during adverse times. Information Technology (IT) has a significant role in providing the exceptional service and connected experience customers have always demanded.

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