What's Next in Cybersecurity for 2023 | Fastly

Andrew Petersen is Vice President of Security at Fastly. Previously, he was the CEO and Co-founder of the cybersecurity company, Signal Sciences, which was acquired by Fastly. One of the industry’s most highly-respected cybersecurity experts, Andrew is also the author of “Cracking Security Misconceptions.”

As we close out the year, it’s a good time to reflect on where cybersecurity is headed in 2023 and beyond. An uncertain global economy, a fast-changing geopolitical landscape, increasing government and financial regulation and other key factors will shape how adversaries adapt their tactics and targets –  and how we respond. In the meantime, I want to share some insights on what we can expect in the new year based on conversations with global CISOs, our customers, partners and other industry colleagues: 

From cloud adoption to automation, here are four security industry trends to expect in 2023.

1. Cybersecurity roles will remain abundant despite increasing layoffs.

Headlines about recent layoffs across the tech industry have been hard to read, knowing the stress they cause employees and their families. Yet the shortage of qualified security experts is as acute as ever – so we shouldn’t expect that layoffs will leave good talent jobless. These shifts may also benefit smaller organizations, as top-heavy tech giants redistribute their long-hoarded talent. To further capitalize on these silver linings, organizations might consider investing in the careers of future cybersecurity practitioners and leaders through education and training.  

2. Securing the rapid move to the cloud is key. 

During an economic slowdown, many companies will consider this to be the perfect time to invest in R&D. We’ve seen this during past recessionary periods, with the wisest companies taking the opportunity to carefully reinvest with a focus on transformation.

This time around, we expect cloud adoption will continue to be a popular investment for enterprises. The cloud’s agility, increased functionality, and lower overhead are more desirable than ever. Companies will need to do more with less given the budget pressure from the economic downturn and the cloud enables that outcome. 

Another driver of cloud adoption will be software applications that create differentiated consumer experiences that help drive top-line growth. For example, Starbucks reported earlier this year that mobile application orders now account for 25% of total transactions for its’ U.S. company-operated stores. 

As software continues to be an instrumental tool for business growth, we must be sure security is built-in from the start – not bolted on afterwards. Organizations must invest in the right processes and staff to manage these new tools (both on prem and in the cloud) to measurably reduce risk.            

3. Security will get easier through automation.

In 2023, there is no doubt that websites and web applications will continue to be critical components of a business. Yet web apps are still a top attack vector. As companies re-evaluate their systems, websites and web apps should be a part of this audit – as well as the time and the security technologies required to protect them.

In their effort to save both time and money, we expect companies to increasingly embrace automation for select tasks so their SecOps teams can better focus on the more difficult security problems they need to solve. And adding solutions like a next-generation Web Application Firewall (WAF) will not only lighten the load for security professionals, but also protect the digital properties and applications that matter most to the business.

4. Outsourcing security will become more popular.

While budgets shrink across industries, customer expectations continue to grow. And as companies look to deliver better and better experiences to their customers, they’ll require increasingly sophisticated security measures.

So, as they audit their security operations and technologies, organizations will also be asking themselves: should we manage our own security, or is it better for our business to outsource it to third-party vendors?

To answer this question, business leaders must consider the value of insourcing security within their companies – versus the effectiveness of outsourcing. For many companies, especially small and mid-sized organizations, third-party vendors with deep security expertise are a more efficient and cost-effective choice, in the long run.

Security in 2023 

Security will remain top of mind for organizations as we head into the new year. During these uncertain economic times, companies should make their security operations as efficient as possible – and take advantage of cost savings from automation and potential growth via continued cloud adoption. As 2023 approaches, we should all focus on the opportunities posed by this period of re-evaluation and renewal – and come out even stronger.

Be sure to reach out to our experts if you’re interested in Fastly’s offerings, and follow along here as we share more information about security trends in the year to come.