Cybersecurity continues to be a white-hot topic this year, with near-constant breaches, new regulations and fierce competition among providers.

But what about 2019? Next year is likely to bring even more threats and challenges.

During an education session, part of the revenue and supplier conference track sponsored by Cyxtera at Channel Partners Evolution, Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Philadelphia, David Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing at The Fulcrum Group, Sam McLane, chief technology services officer at Arctic Wolf Networks, and Tom Praschak, president and CEO of CompassMSP, will offer predictions on the threats that will keep customer IT teams awake at night so you can add the right security products and services to cash in on the headlines. Jo Peterson, Clarify360’s vice president of cloud services, will moderate the session.

In a Q&A with Channel Futures, Johnson and Praschak gave a sneak peek at what they’ll share with attendees.

Channel Futures: What are some of your predictions in terms of cyber threats next year?

David Johnson: Cyber criminals are increasingly focusing their efforts on small and midmarket companies, and putting the time and effort into targeted efforts to extort and steal money.

David Johnson

David Johnson

Tom Praschak: Threats will grow in volume and sophistication as cybercriminals continue to change tactics.  Social engineering will utilize even more personalized information to lend credibility and trick employees.

CF: Do you anticipate things getting worse, or progress being made in the fight against cybercriminals?

DJ: Law enforcement has made some inroads, but until international law catches up, things will continue to get worse.

TP: Overall I believe things will get worse as many companies are investing in technology heavily but lacking the people, process and policy components to properly leverage those investments.  The shortage of cybersecurity professionals makes hiring qualified staff difficult.

Tom Praschak

Tom Praschak

CF: Is 2019 likely to bring new cybersecurity opportunities for the channel? If so, how?

DJ: There are many new opportunities for the channel, such as using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to combat cybersecurity threats. There are also opportunities to utilize integrated tools that can share information about threats (such as antivirus, firewalls, etc., from the same vendor).

TP: MSPs and MSSPs have a lot of opportunity to branch out beyond what’s typically considered the realm of an IT department to handle when it comes to security. A secure company requires commitments from the C level down. They need to be involved in these discussions, and having a broad company approach to security that encompasses not just the technology, but compliance, policies, training, etc., is necessary. The channel can bring a lot of that to the table.

CF: What do you hope those attending your session can learn and put into practice?

DJ: Whenever I attend an industry event, I always look forward to learning new ways to solve problems.  I also look forward to learning new ways to package managed security services.

TP: Cybersecurity risks are one of the single biggest threats to a modern business. Acknowledging this is a business problem, and not just an IT (technology) problem, is necessary to frame the problem in the right light, get the right resources aligned, and put actionable measures in place which will reduce risk.