Top Five Cybersecurity Pain Points of 2023 – Internet Trends Analysis

According to an analysis realized on millions of comments and posts from technical communities and forums on the internet, these are currently the biggest cybersecurity needs or pain points that are lacking solutions or improvement across organizations:

1. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) and targeted attacks: A large number of users voice concern over how cyber attacks keep growing more sophisticated and how hard they are to spot and stop.
2. Insufficient visibility and control over network devices: Numerous users report frustration with how little visibility and control they have over the many devices linked to their networks, including IoT devices.
3. Restricted budget and resources: Numerous users voice concern over the steep cost of cybersecurity solutions and the scarce budget and resources at their disposal for deploying them.
4. Shortage of cybersecurity talent: Numerous users voice concern about the scarcity of qualified cybersecurity professionals and the difficulty of hiring and retaining them.
5. Overseeing a remote workforce: As the pandemic drove a major shift toward remote work, numerous users voice concern about how secure employees' home networks and devices are, along with the challenge of managing and protecting them.
6. Cloud security: Numerous users voice concern about how safe the data and applications kept in the cloud are, along with the challenge of managing and protecting them.

It should be noted that the concerns listed above may differ according to organization size, industry, and particular use case, yet they represent the shared pain points that come up often across online communities and forums.

Advanced persistent threats (APTs)

The leading concern, Advanced persistent threats (APTs), refers to a form of cyber attack in which an adversary gains a lasting foothold inside a target's network so as to steal sensitive information or disrupt operations. Such attacks are typically highly targeted, and the perpetrators may devote months or even years to collecting information and penetrating the network before carrying out the attack.

APTs rank as a major concern, since detecting and defending against them is frequently difficult. Conventional defenses like firewalls and antivirus software can prove ineffective against APTs, because attackers may employ advanced techniques to avoid detection. What is more, once an APT has taken hold, it can move laterally across the network, compromising numerous systems and extracting large volumes of data.

To reduce APT risk, organizations must take a layered approach encompassing network segmentation, endpoint security, intrusion detection and prevention, and incident response. Organizations also need clear visibility into every asset and vulnerability on their network, together with the ability to spot anomalies that may point to an APT. This is typically achieved by deploying security information and event management (SIEM) systems. In addition, they require a clearly defined incident response plan capable of rapidly detecting, containing, and eliminating the APT.