AI Issue 12 2017

4 Acquisition International - December 2017 News: from around the world A leading and influential figure in the IT channel, Ian Kilpatrick now heads up the Nuvias Cyber Security Practice.Hehasoverallresponsibilityforcybersecurity strategy, as well as being a Nuvias board member. Ian brings many years of channel experience, particularly in security, to Nuvias. He was a founder member of the award-winning Wick Hill Group in the 1970s and thanks to his enthusiasm, motivational abilities and drive, led the company through its successful growth and development, to become a leading, international, value-added distributor, focused on security. Wick Hill was acquired by Nuvias in July 2015. Ian is a thought leader, with a strong vision of the future in IT, focussing on business needs and benefits, rather than just technology. He is a much published author and a regular speaker at IT events. Before Wick Hill, Ian qualified as an accountant, was financial controller for a Fortune 50 company, and was a partner in a management consultancy. Here he shares his predictions for the developments in security that will affect the IT market in 2018. 1. Security blossoms in the boardroom Sadly, security breaches will continue to be a regular occurrence in 2018 and organisations will struggle to deal with them. New security challenges will abound and these will grab attention in the boardroom. Senior management is increasingly focusing on security issues and recognising them as a core business risk, rather than the responsibility of the IT department alone. The coming year will see further commitment from the boardroom to ensure that organisations are protected. 2. Ransomware has not gone away Too much money is being made from ransomware for it to disappear - it won’t. According to Cyber Security Ventures, global ransomware damage costs for 2017 will exceed US$ 5 billion, with the average amount paid in ransom among office workers around US$ 1400. Companies can help prevent ransomware by tracking everything coming in and out of the network and running AV solutions with anti- ransomware protection. And, of course, you should do regular backups to a structured plan, based around your own business requirements – and make sure you test the plans. Ian Kilpatrick, EVP (Executive Vice-President) Cyber Security for Nuvias Group, predicts how IT security will change as the New Year draws in. Top 10 IT Security Predictions for 2018