The Short-Term Impact Of COVID-19 On The Cyber Security Industry

The digital infrastructure has become the focal point for many internal organisational discussions, especially after the coronavirus pandemic. We are now witnessing different forms of revised focus on digital offerings, with organisations paying attention to improving or upgrading CRMs, website capabilities and cybersecurity.

The impact of COVID-19 on cybersecurity has received significant attention both from the government and cybersecurity experts – and with good reason. There has been a spike in ransomware attacks, mail spams, and phishing attacks. Online attackers are taking advantage of COVID-19 as bait to impersonate organisations and brands, and thus, mislead clients and employees.

But that is not all, end-users who also download COVID-19 related applications from the internet easily end up downloading different kinds of ransomware and spyware disguised as legitimate applications.

Several organisations have shown confidence in their ability to ward off cyberattacks during and post COVID-19. But despite this level of optimism, could it be the case that the coronavirus pandemic will critically hit the cybersecurity sector, at least for the short-term?

This sector witnessed an increase in spending even in the face of an economic downturn. And most experts believe that this situation will provide the industry with the resilience it needs.

Thus, the question is, is there any negative outlook for businesses, organisations or individuals in the cybersecurity industry – despite the level of optimism of market predictions?

Some experts tend to disagree, maintaining that in the short-term, that might not be the case. For them, this pandemic will shed further light on a topic that is already much talked about for its lack or shortage of skills. They predict that most businesses will be exposed due to their lack of skilled access (whether in-house or external) to deliver their operations using a remote workforce.

Small startup cybersecurity companies and firms could be among the worst hit by the adverse effects of challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason is that companies that have been able to grow enough to exhibit their value (in the like of integrating to other products in the cybersecurity landscape and offering professional services) are in a much better position. This is due to the fact that they have a stronger resistance to the effects of the pandemic.

Also, many businesses will need to take a lot of hard decisions on reducing the amount of money spent on some areas to protect the company as a whole.

When it comes to smaller startups or companies that are now emerging on the scene of cybersecurity solutions, these companies may end being the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. And this will hardly be a surprise, even in the face of a booming cybersecurity market globally. This is because most of these startups are yet to solidify or establish a customer base and repeat business that may put them in a better position to weather the storm.

For these smaller businesses and startups to survive, they need to seek new companies – and this is where the problem lies. The cybersecurity industry requires a lot of trust between clients and solution providers and some level of credibility and reputation – all which are difficult to gain without any form of physical presence.

A physical presence may be in the form of a physical office for meeting up with potential clients or the client’s physical office – neither of which is easily possible due to the current restrictions due to COVID-19.

The benefit of hindsight makes it less difficult to dictate what kind of steps should have and could have been taken by cybersecurity businesses. Many companies or businesses would have hoped that a lot more investment went into remote working capabilities, IT, and even in concepts such as software-defined parameters and zero-trust.

However, we may have to accept the current situation as the new normal for the next couple of months – or even more. But for any business that can afford to be flexible enough to adapt, the right time to act is now.

However, one point worthy of note is the fact that the current spike in cybercrime during COVID-19 has led to acceleration and exacerbation of already existing issues in the cybersecurity landscape.

Trends like equitable access to skills and cyber capacity, international fragmentation, and the same criminal activities still exploiting the situation are now vital in the cybersecurity world since COVID-19.

How JVR Consultancy Can Help

All of the above may sound complicated, but they are basic security problems that are easy to fix. At JVR Consultancy, we can empower you to take your company’s safety to the next level by assessing and certifying you as Cyber Essentials qualified.

Cyber Essentials is backed by the government, which is why it’s essential to contact us as soon as possible for a free analysis on your current systems and a road map on how best for you to progress. As one of few consultancies in the UK to be accredited by the IASME Consortium in partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre, we can assess your application and certify

For your free Cyber check please get in touch with us today.

Frequently Asked Questions from our Customers