Top Four IT Trends to Master in 2012

Last year saw some of the biggest security breaches to date, and some large organizations feeling the heat. Anonymous and LulzSec made their presence known, taking on a large number targets. RSA suffered a massive breach, inadvertently putting the security of its many clients in jeopardy. The Sony Playstation Network had to be shut down following a breach. Even Apple cracked pursuant to this agreement an attack from malware writers.

Whether this year will be as eventful remains to be seen nevertheless what we can predict is cybercriminals will continue to look to profit from their illicit activities, albeit with evolving tactics. Or rather than wait for them to strike, a little foresight can help prepare to fight back. So, with this in mind, this article draws on the author's experience of the corporate security landscape to predict four key threats he believes organizations will have to face in this Olympic year and how to mitigate them. Maybe more important he as well looks at the evenly Olympic battle organizations face as they migrate away from Windows XP to Windows 7.

1. Mobile SecurityThe explosion of mobile computing, for instance, the various tablets that stormed the enterprise while 2011, shows no sign of slowing down. Nevertheless, for too long, the security of these devices has continued to lag behind that of traditional desktops and laptops. Many enterprises have struggled with pressure from the workforce to allow these technological marvels, and the precarious balancing act to do so securely.

The tablet market

While many argue that Microsoft has ground to catch up in the tablet market, I think 2012 could see Microsoft gaining mindshare, as Windows 8 will be more appealing to the corporate world. Expected to go into beta in 2012, it is widely anticipated to provide superior integrated security features. In combination, Microsoft is following Apple's lead of having a dedicated App Store, nevertheless it's expected to include corporate controls, which will give companies a more 'corporate friendly' tablet. The ability to connect Windows 8 tablets to a domain will ensure that these devices can be secured just like any other Windows endpoint. For this reason I think Microsoft tablets will be viewed favorably in the corporate environment.

2. Bring Your Device to WorkBut it's not just tablets - smartphones too pose a serious security concern to the enterprise, especially with the growing trend for people to use their own personal devices to improve their work life balance. Lured by aesthetics and functionality, little regard is given to their corporate security offering. Personal laptops are of even greater concern as the specification could present the organization with a or rather large liability headache.

One of the major concerns is that the apps users download to these devices could introduce vulnerabilities. Should the contingency arise, users, wanting to take advantage of the flexibility and freedom their device can deliver, will be looking to transfer corporate data on to them. The research-savvy users will use external cloud storage accounts, just as Dropbox, or even email it out of the network to access it externally. The biggest risk here is data loss so, intrinsically, this is where we will see the big investment, as companies battle to control corporate data.

A fairly new advancement on the block that could gain traction in 2012 is the hypervisor for smartphones, which will allow a phone to be effectively split into two distinct profiles, which are securely isolated from one another. The corporate side could be managed by the enterprise, complete with enhanced security solutions and controls, with the users having a personal side for their apps, music, contacts, etc.

Whether this year will see as many high profile incidents as 2011 remains to be seen. But, we are confident that across all industries and sector, one challenge this year will be a common one: organizations looking to migrate across to Windows 7 must 'get it right' this year or it could all be over for the straightway few years as they struggle to regain control, if they can manage it at all. Don't wait to see what the criminals have in store for you - act now and get ahead of the game.

Paul Kenyon is co-founder and Chief Operations Officer at Avecto. He is responsible for driving the revenue and growing sales globally with a focus on North America and Europe. Paul is a successful business executive with an outstanding 15-year track record in building, growing and leading high-performing, multinational high tech companies in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim. In 1999, he started AppSense, the global leader in User Environment Management for businesses and service providers. With the lead role on global sales, AppSense quickly grew to profitability with earnings of over $30 million.