FEATURE : DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Edwin Weijdema , Global Technologist , Product Strategy at

Veeam , tells us how preparation for the cyberthreats of the future will put your business ahead of competitors and allow you to accelerate your Digital Transformation processes .

This ranges from cloud-based caches filled with stolen user data such as email addresses and authentication credentials , to personal identifiable information ( PII ) such as scans of passports , drivers ’ licenses and bank invoices .

Data exfiltration has become so valuable it ’ s now the backbone of all cyberattacks . And it may only take one breach to ruin your reputation and relationship with your customers .

That ’ s why not having an effective cybersecurity program in place puts your Business Continuity at risk .

been more important – or more difficult – following the events of 2020 . With so much disarray and widespread changes to working patterns , such as the mass migration to remote working , the job of keeping businesses secure has never been more difficult . Between more sophisticated cybercriminals and immense pressure to ensure governance on compliance , 2021 is already shaping up to be a minefield . And as such , cybersecurity has risen to the top of most organizations ’ agendas .

So , as we have just entered what promises to be a complicated year , here are three cybersecurity resolutions every business should consider in 2021 .

1 . Watch out – Dark Clouds are on the horizon

Businesses haven ’ t been the only ones accelerating their Digital Transformation this year – cybercriminals have been hard at it too .

There has been a sharp rise in ‘ Dark Clouds ’ as cybercriminals have migrated to the cloud , often for the same reasons businesses have – cloud allows them to avoid big up-front capital expenses , pay monthly for their shady businesses and scale up only when they need to . Coupled with the ability to access information from anywhere , it ’ s no wonder we ’ re seeing cybercriminals innovate .

Because , come 2021 , you ’ re either going to be one of those proactive organizations aggressively looking to strengthen your systems ahead of time , or the other type of business not doing that – and becoming more vulnerable with every passing day .

2 . Team up – cybersecurity has turned personal

Between collaborating cybercriminals , the upwards trajectory of data growth and the distributed workforce , the risk factor for every business is accelerating .

This is one reason why we expect to see most businesses increase their general IT spending by around 5 – 10 % in the new year , despite the economic impact of the pandemic . And we expect most of that allocation to go towards IT security .

But even with these investments , it won ’ t be enough to cover all the potential threat vectors . So , businesses will still be forced to place strategic bets across their people , processes and technology in the hope of covering their weakest points .

For example , will you invest in the education of employees ( after all , people are always going to be the biggest weakness ), or put that money into optimizing and securing processes by investing in a Security Operations Center ( SOC )? Or will new technology be the most effective investment ?

It ’ s impossible for every business to get this mix perfectly right , so business leaders need to also

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