As disturbing details regarding the depth and breadth of Target’s security breach continue to surface, the clear message is that organizations need to implement greater cyber security safeguards to prevent future breaches from occurring. For as the Target attack shows, such breaches of personal data not only pose financial risks, they also put the company’s reputation at risk and open the doors for legal retaliation.
In the interest of creating better safeguards against cyber attacks going forward, here is a look at 5 predicted cyber security trends for 2014.
Greater adherence to NIST standards and guidelines
Under the Executive Order “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity," President Obama has directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to work with organizations on developing — as stated on nist.gov — a “framework of standards, guidelines and best practices to promote the protection of critical infrastructure.”
While developing this framework has been considered a “voluntary” practice on the part of organizations thus far, heightened scrutiny of security practices by the FTC and other regulators will force organizations to more strictly adhere to NIST standards and best practices with regard to cyber security in 2014 and beyond. Otherwise, in the event of a security breach,...