The year 2020 gleams with the prospect of technological changes that will continue to alter the enterprise of tech, along with the lives of those who live with it, in ways myriad and profound. That future requires a commitment to cybersecurity that extends into the future. 2019 had no lack of security breaches; with the way the sophistication of cyber-criminals continues to grow, 2020 promises challenges new and unique. A few insights from top experts in the field of security will help make this year successful against threats.

Find Balance Between Machine and Human

Many of security’s aspects lie beyond the capacity of a human mind to thoroughly understand; 22 billion devices are expected to be used online in 2020, data in massive amounts will be spread across several clouds, and streams of attacks in merciless numbers can be expected from phishing schemes, shape-shifting malware, and other threats. AI and machine learning are thus a foundation for efforts aimed at security. Tech needs to be there to do the heavy lifting, but humans need to be available to put the work of thinking into the mix, offering up deep analysis that is beyond technology solutions. Human inventiveness will always be the center of the arms race that is security.

Cast Wide Nets for Talent

Unfortunately, there is a dearth of talent to provide that human ingenuity. 2019 saw the workforce of global security fall short by several million skilled positions. The competition for available, talented workers is fierce. Enterprises in 2020 will need to stretch creatively to find the security talent necessary; this begins with an outlook that is more inclusive: teams need to be empowered with advanced tools for collaboration as well as welcome minorities and long-distance candidates. Sometimes talent is already in the organization but located in an unlikely place such as sales, business, or design.

Keep the Board Informed

Even organizations that are highly diverse will need top-down leadership to properly fire on all their security cylinders. Awareness of security must, therefore, be extended to the CEO and the board. Cyber-criminals are quite business-like, highly creative, and have the upper hand; to face them, awareness needs to exist from the very top on down through the ranks.