The enemy of cybersecurity

Over 400 years ago, Shakespeare was onto something about overconfidence being “mortals’ chiefest enemy.” He might think it is especially true if he had to deal with cybersecurity threats. Day to day, common examples of such threats that you may experience are trivial, such as phishing emails, suspicious URLs, or giving third parties access to your login credentials.

But at the organizational level, cybersecurity is a whole new ballgame. AI-enabled phishing and network incursion are the most common cyberattacks that companies experience. To protect against these threats, enterprises invest more into safeguarding their systems and data every year. According to some estimates, the worldwide cybersecurity market is set to grow from $217 billion in 2021 to $345 billion in 2026.

So, cybersecurity is a big priority for businesses. Especially considering that, ironically, even cybersecurity firms themselves are not immune to cyber-attacks, such was the case for Fortinet (NYSE: FTNT). No one is safe. This is why the cybersecurity industry is always continuing to develop new solutions. For example, Fortinet (NYSE: FTNT), which specializes in developing Firewalls, recently announced FortiGate, which the company describes as the Next-Generation Firewall. Meanwhile, Crowdstrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) and CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR) developed new identity threat protection solutions to keep up with the changing virtual world. 

The corporate world also faces another dilemma: the desire to move toward automation and continual digitization. Technology is attractive because it can cut costs, increase profits, and mitigate some risks, but this opens up vulnerable areas for cyber-attacks. These attacks are driving costs up. McAfee’s report, “The Hidden Costs of Cybercrime”, estimates that the cost of global cybercrime reached over $1 trillion in 2018.

On the other hand, cybersecurity is not just a technology problem but a human one. Fixing leaks or breaches also involves a human factor. And in most cases, threats originate from human vulnerabilities. Social engineering exists because we let down our guard.

That’s why we should all keep in mind that overconfidence is our biggest enemy when it comes to our cyber hygiene. However, this is not an easy task. It makes sense that Shakespeare’s quote is so timeless. And it is especially true after the world has aggressively shifted to the internet and new threats are being created even while you read this. Stay on guard.