1 Introduction
KuppingerCole Analysts set out to understand the possible futures for digital business and cybersecurity by the year 2033 and develop recommendations for CISOs on how best to prepare for the challenges ahead. To accomplish this, we followed a proven futures studies methodology that builds on the SAFIRE Scenarios produced for the European Commission’s Directorate of Research and Innovation. In conjunction with Jonathan Blanchard Smith of SAMI Consulting, the team executed several workshops with research analysts, current members of KuppingerCole Cybersecurity Council, and cybersecurity practitioners at KuppingerCole Analysts’ Cyberevolution conference. The workshop outputs were then used to derive eight recommendations for CISOs to prepare them for the next 10 years.
It is not enough to identify the opportunities, risks, challenges, and threats of the future. There must be guidance on what actions can be taken to mitigate those threats.
We strongly believe that a key part of defending organizations from cyberthreats is preparing for the future. It is demonstrated in KuppingerCole’s Cybersecurity Fabric, a concept designed to enable organizations to keep complexity in check to achieve effective cyber resilience. The term “fabric” captures the paradigm of architecting cybersecurity within enterprises that deliver the combination of multiple isolated but corresponding elements that are “woven” into an integrated, seamless whole to deliver the full range of security services required by an organization. A security fabric requires defining a comprehensive target state, best achieved when key decision makers have a clear picture of the key risks, challenges, and threats approaching the organization in the future.
It is not enough to identify the risks, challenges, and threats of the future. There must be guidance on what actions can be taken to mitigate those threats. This report provides decision makers, particularly CISOs, with the guidance on what to do now to prepare for the future – whatever it may bring.
