How to Stay Current on Cybersecurity Trends and Threats

8 min readFeb 20, 2021

Staying current on cybersecurity trends and threats is one way get to informed and avoid cyber risks…

Whether you think you’re at risk or not. The unfortunate answer is that everyone is at risk. How you reduce that risk is up to you.

Why should you stay updated on current trends and threats?

You can miss important updates that affect your business and personal information if you ignore cybersecurity risks, news, and development.

When you are uninformed, you place operations that need critical data, such as financial, business, and customer information, at grave risk.

On the contrary, staying informed enables you to protect yourself from dangerous cyber attacks.

Take a look at the following statistics which show why you need to stay current on cybersecurity trends:

Hacking and data breaches have grown more than ever before. The world will lose more than $6 trillion to cybercrime by 2021.

Do you also know that a company needs an average of 196 days to determine if they have been attacked?

Businesses are also to blame since 60% of data breaches are a result of ignoring security weakness

Attacks on IoT tripled and increased by 256% in 2019. Also, at least 11,000 exploits (weaknesses) were found in popular software and systems as of 2019.

Protecting internal systems:

Imagine this; someone you work with, or a friend is collaborating with a hacker. There is a good chance that the hacker will execute an attack
successfully because of your friend, who is now an insider threat. So, it’s important to protect internal systems.

Zero-trust model:

The zero-trust model assumes that everyone is a threat. It is a useful
model that enables you to monitor every computer user and activity to protect yourself.

Focus more on IoT security:

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the interconnection of physical objects that have sensors, and, technologies for exchanging information with other systems over the Internet. Since it is a challenge to protect every device, focus more on IoT security, such as endpoint detection and response systems.

Supply chain and third-party risk management:

Every business must work with suppliers and other parties. Do they have the same security as your business, or will they expose your information to security threats? A risk management program targeting the third-parties enables a company to identify possible threats promptly.

How to stay current on cybersecurity threats and trends

1 — Follow Top Cyber Security Blogs

One of the best websites to follow is Infosec Reporter blog. To find other top websites to follow, simply do a search on Google with the following keyword ‘’ Top Cyber Security Blogs’’. You will find a lot of security blogs to follow.

2 — Closely Follow Cybersecurity Professionals.

You can subscribe to a cybersecurity service, where security professionals issue frequent notifications of the recent cybersecurity trends and threats.

Keeping up with cybersecurity trends requires you to access news and trends from traditional sources, such as cybersecurity news sites

Also, webinars, conferences, and social media enable you to communicate with well-versed professionals to gain information on the latest cybersecurity threats.

Besides, since cybersecurity news is part of the mainstream media, you can find educative discussions on the latest happenings in the cyberspace world.

Engaging in such discussions is an avenue for learning emerging cybersecurity trends and best practices for remaining protected.

3 — Follow Cybersecurity Topics On Social Media.

Social media is a rich source of information for cybersecurity alerts.

For example:

Social media sites provide cybersecurity trends through write-ups, professional opinions, videos, and best articles on cybersecurity news.

In addition to that, social media is home to information like global security events, top cybersecurity resources, and career opportunities.

Although it should not be a primary source of information, following social media channels that discuss cybersecurity can enable you to remain current on cybersecurity trends.

For example, Twitter is a useful network for identifying cybersecurity hashtags, as well as companies or individuals to follow for real-time security threat discussions

4— Book A Spot In Live Events

You can prioritize live events as a source for gathering information on cybersecurity threats and trends.

Live, in-person events discuss essential topics like the latest cybersecurity attacks and how you can stop them.

Live events include workshops, sponsored meetups, lectures, educational courses, and networking events.

Web-based live activities, such as conference calls involving online communities and webinars, can provide you with the latest cybersecurity trends during the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in the cancellation of live events.

Some of the most influential cybersecurity speakers attend the events, thus assuring you of learning plenty of cybersecurity threats and trends.

So, how do you keep yourself updated with such events? Individuals must closely follow what, where, and when the events will occur by keeping tabs on local cybersecurity news apps, magazines, and forums. Also, one can google cybersecurity news to identify upcoming events

5 — Regularly Check Risk And Vulnerability Advisory Feeds.

The importance of remaining aware of cybersecurity threats is improving your protection from hackers.

It is important to know the latest vulnerabilities to ensure you can protect your applications and data adequately.

The operating systems, apps, software products, and web browsers used for daily tasks can contain security weaknesses, and addressing them is usually a race against time.

Thankfully, advisory sites and alert feeds provide updated information on new cybersecurity threats.

Making a habit of checking them frequently can enable you to know the best cybersecurity trends for protecting yourself.

Some of the sites to consider include:

SANS Internet Storm Center: It provides daily updates on the latest cybersecurity trends and threats. Guest writers that cover different fields of expertise ensure the website contains vital cybersecurity information.
SecurityFocus: It is a feed that provides updated alerts for almost all systems and products. However, some specific feeds are not updated as regularly as they should.
Have I Been Pawned: It is a site that lists emails or passwords involved in a data breach.
National Vulnerability Database: The national vulnerability database provides two updates. One feed focuses on providing information on analyzed vulnerabilities, whereas the other only provides information on recent vulnerabilities. Following a feed with the analyzed vulnerabilities provides more relevant information.
Full Disclosure or SecLists.org: It is one of the oldest sources of cybersecurity news. Although it is a rather chatty platform, it often provides new cybersecurity information not covered in other channels.
US-CERT/United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team: Provides updated vulnerability information about popular IT products.

You can search the database and sort the results according to date published or severity.

The platform also provides updated summaries of high-impact cybersecurity incidents.

6— Listen To Cybersecurity Podcasts.

Some people have busy lifestyles that may not allow them to take the time to read a news article or participate in live events.

Cybersecurity podcasts provide an alternative solution since one can listen to them when driving, walking, traveling, or working.

Related Article — Best Cybersecurity Podcasts For Beginners

Podcasts are also useful since it is possible to listen to and multi-task at the same time. Cybersecurity experts make appearances in some podcast episodes to discuss the latest trends and threats.

Discussions with other experts calling through mobile provide a wide variety of information on how to remain protected from dangerous threats.

Some experts also recommend emerging security tools that utilize newer technologies for detecting and eliminating sophisticated malware programs.

7 — Configure Real-Time Alerts

Real-time alerts enable you to implement quick fixes to eliminate security threats and provide updated information on protecting yourself from cybercriminals.

It is possible to use tools, such as IFTTT (If This Then That), to set up and customize alerts for everything related to cybersecurity.

An example is subreddit r/netsec, which is a popular forum for gathering cybersecurity information and news.

An individual can configure IFTTT to send emails or push notifications when a cybersecurity topic becomes popular on subreddit.

The headlines appear in the notifications or taskbar of a device, enabling users to determine whether to engage in the discussion.

8 — Use Other Sources

Numerous sources discuss government cybersecurity strategies, alerts, cybersecurity headlines, national vulnerability databases, and are sources of information security alerts.

For instance, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security provide cybersecurity information for developing policies.

Another source to consider is GitHub. Most people use GitHub as a code repository platform. However, it is also sensible to use the site to get security updates and changes made to various projects’ tools.

GitHub provides an RSS feed with many projects and tools in which you can subscribe. Also, individuals can subscribe to the activities of a specific professional to ensure timely access to cybersecurity trends and threats.

9 — Intelligence Sharing

The sites mentioned above and sources provide threat intelligence that can be used in creating intelligence-sharing platforms.

An intelligence platform enables an organization to determine where to focus on to enhance security.

Also, a personalized platform offers a starting point for investigating cybersecurity incidents and recommending appropriate solutions.

Once fully developed, an intelligence platform can adapt to the various cybersecurity information sources to identify information on a particular threat, thus enhancing the quality of such information.

10— Understand The Security Needs

Although keeping up with emerging cybersecurity threats and trends is essential, it is crucial not to be a victim of all fads.

Using predictions and reports in industry predictions and reports can enable you to determine the new and emerging technologies.

It is also vital to understand the technologies that meet the business and organizational needs to avoid a scenario where you have technologies you don’t need. It isn’t easy securing such technology.

Focusing on specific technologies allows a company to remain informed of the cybersecurity threats, remediation measures, controls, applications, and technology trends.

Top cybersecurity threats and trends to watch out for in 2020

1–5G Implementation

The implementation of 5G networks will see an increased use of sensors, connected devices, ad data volumes.

Smart cities, homes, and applications will collect a lot of data about your lifestyles.

A driverless car will monitor how other vehicles and people move, and healthcare will be delivered using wearables and electronic devices.

Also, 5G technologies will create new threats as attackers focus on smart technologies.

Companies will also adapt to use 5G in their operations.

Therefore, they will need to remain vigilant of the emerging threats and trends to ensure they deploy strong measures to curb cyber-attacks.

2 — A Continued Rise Of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence developments have brought machine learning technologies to cybersecurity.

Security companies are using deep learning algorithms to identify ad stop cybersecurity threats. A lot of cybersecurity solutions are using human logic and thinking to develop attack detection tools. This speeds up how you identify and respond to cyberattacks.

However, cybercriminals are also using AI to create dangerous attacks and malware. As such, companies require to know the best cybersecurity trends based on AI to overcome attacks.

3 — Cloud Computing Threats

In 2021, companies will shift at least 83% of their information to the cloud. The result is increased threats as hackers focus on stealing cloud information.

Although cloud providers have strong security solutions to protect your cloud data, you have more responsibility in securing it.

You require to have a thorough knowledge of the cloud system you use to understand how to protect it.

However, many cloud users have a low understanding of cloud security since they consider it as an afterthought.

Organizations and individual users need to focus on scalable, flexible, and cloud-based cybersecurity solutions to protect data and applications.

Hiring a security professional can help companies keep ahead of security trends and threats in the cloud and other technologies.

Originally published at https://infosecreporter.com on February 20, 2021.