Predictions Overviews:

• The First Phygital Catastrophe is Coming: A central mission-critical application will go down and create a ripple impact across businesses and for consumers around the world. For example, a hack on a major central system like an internet gateway, public cloud provider or a healthcare system like Epic will impact millions of people and we will see the physical ramifications in our everyday lives. Healthcare could be upended, businesses unable to provide digital services, flights cancelled, food and supplies not delivered and more. 

• The Consumerization of Cyberattacks Will Rise for Easier Wins: The attack perimeter is becoming more personal, and the consumerization of attacks will rapidly increase. For example, the last iOS update alone had 11 zero-day attacks. Hackers will amplify attacks on mobile apps and people. This issue will proliferate because as zero-day attacks are rising, consumer cyber awareness and the steps people need to take to protect themselves have not increased in tandem.

• Cybersecurity and Data Science Fields Will Unite: Cybersecurity and data science have been disconnected fields that served two distinct purposes, but they will come together to help organizations better understand and proactively protect against increasing threats. The fields will collide and continue to grow together out of necessity, as application creation and enterprise data continue to explode and dramatically expand the attack surface.

• Cyber Insurance Will be Mandated: In the next 12 months, the quantum of cyber insurance needed to protect against ransomware and other attacks will be mandated, at least in some geographic regions and industries. In a similar manner to requiring everyone to have auto liability insurance, high at-risk industries will be mandated to have a minimum level of cyber insurance. For example, companies may be required to have insurance to cover at least two percent of their annual turnover. In the next five years, almost all industries and geographic regions will mandate cyber insurance.

• A Healthcare Cyber Regulator Will be Established: Healthcare continues to be the most targeted and attacked vertical, putting consumers at risk while not effectively protecting itself. A healthcare regulator or governing body will be put in place soon, like the SEC for the highly regulated financial services industry, to help strengthen the healthcare industry’s security and consumer protection.

• More Cybersecurity Services will be Sold by Non-Cyber Companies in the Next Five Years: Cell Phone service providers and device manufacturers will embed cybersecurity as a service into their plans to help consumers manage their security. Businesses will purchase cybersecurity offerings within their IT plans to protect employees and infrastructure. A large chunk of cybersecurity, both personal and enterprise, will be sold by large technology companies rather than solely through cyber vendors.

Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions today announced a multi-year partnership with the European Tour.  As an Official Tour Partner and Official Cybersecurity Partner, Fortinet will provide its expertise and innovative security solutions to support the Tour’s digital innovation journey.

The European Tour hosts one of the largest and most complex “Bring Your Own Device” environments in the sports industry, with up to 25,000 fans, media and key stakeholders attending tournaments each day on its flagship European Tour – which becomes the DP World Tour next season – spread across a 47-tournament season in 27 countries. The Fortinet Security Fabric – which offers a broad set of automated, integrated solutions supported by advanced threat intelligence and AI-enabled security services – will enable the European Tour to enhance its security analytics, reporting and response capabilities at tournaments, as well as implement a zero-trust security approach.

The European Tour also operates a hybrid cloud environment for its office and tournament-based services around the globe. By partnering with Fortinet, the Tour will benefit from Fortinet’s adaptive cloud security solutions to bring advanced security, broad visibility and control across the Tour’s cloud infrastructures and increase the speed of its operations.

Speaking about the new partnership Michael Cole, Chief Technology Officer at The European Tour said; “In recent years we have pioneered the Tournament-As-A-Service concept, which packages intelligent and connected golf course systems into a cloud-based “smart city” solution that can be rolled out at any tournament. As we continue to bring this concept to life, Fortinet’s platform approach, through its Security Fabric offering, will further enhance the management, monitoring and agility of this complex operation and make sure we give our various stakeholders – whether that be fans, media, partners or players – an exceptional and secure experience.”  

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet said; “The European Tour delivers an amazing experience – in equal measure for their fans and world class golfers. As the European Tour’s Official Cybersecurity Partner, our company will bring its deep expertise in cybersecurity innovation to the world of golf.  We are thrilled to be working together with the European Tour, to accelerate its digital innovation journey thanks to the Fortinet Security Fabric, enabling broad visibility, seamless integration and granular control and automation.”

Max Hamilton, Commercial Director at the European Tour, added; “Following the ongoing and extensive transformation of the European Tour’s technological landscape, we have been keen to find a new partner that will help protect our investments and keep us at the forefront of technology in sport. Technology plays such an integral role in modern golf and Fortinet’s innovation and expertise will enhance our ability to successfully deliver a secure experience. It’s a true partnership in every sense of the word and further demonstrates our excellent commercial momentum.”