What Are the Top 5 Cybersecurity Concerns for 2021?

Most of us are glad to see 2020 in the rearview mirror, but what does 2021 hold? What cybersecurity issues are keeping IT leaders awake at night in this new year? Let’s see what insiders and security professionals have to say:

Top Four Cybersecurity Concerns for 2021

1. Increase in Remote Workers

This past year saw a surge of employees thrust into remote work at an unexpected rate. Though a steady trend of remote roles was already on its way, 2020 escalated companies’ remote workforce from 22% to 58%. Organizations had little planning time and little experience with such setups. Many workers had to use their personal devices and wireless connections – devices and connections whose security statuses were unknown to the employer.  

Even though some businesses have now had the time to refine their remote cybersecurity protections, many have not. Some have found find that they lack resources to adequately manage the risks and cybercriminals are well aware of this. In 2020, the security firm Kaspersky reported a severe spike in brute-force hacking attempts against remote desktops and the search term “how to remove a virus” increased by a whopping 43%. Rightly so, 52% of compliance and legal leaders express worry about third-party cyber risks related to remote work.