Mobile devices’ use continues to grow. While threats like phishing continue, the attack surface is also being increasingly stretched as users now use the devices to access critical organizational data. Users are also using third-party apps on secured devices. As a result, threats to endpoints like mobile devices continue to increase, turning them into potential vectors for incidents like breaches, data theft, and various types of fraud. Here, we will see the trends expected in 2025 to combat these threats.
Zero-trust adoption rise: Zero trust access continues to be a game changer because of its principle of “trust no one, always verify.” This ensures that bad actors may be thwarted even after penetrating the organizational network. Its enforcement of very strict access controls access to sensitive information. The difficulty (for the bad actors) is further increased by the need for continuous verification. In addition, it offers a risk-based approach, ensuring that attackers, in case of successful penetration, the technology’s just-in-time and risk-based authentication ensure that the access is further restricted. Because of these benefits, it is expected that the technology will be integrated with mobile devices.
Reducing reliance on passwords (shift towards biometrics): Because of various reasons, we need to use a whole lot of passwords. Remembering all these passwords is a pain. Keeping them in a written format is risky. The physical list can be lost and/or misused. Keeping them in a digital format is also not really a very good idea. Password vaults were initially considered a good idea. But this has also proven to be a myth. This is resulting in a new phenomenon called password fatigue. Biometric access is the ideal alternative to traditional passwords. It reduces password fatigue and also the risk of fraud and enables more secure access. As mobile device usage explodes, biometrics can ensure quicker, secure access.
AI to assist in detecting and combating threats: Yeah, everyone is tired of seeing AI everywhere, While the word has been overused now to the point of frustration, the technology is useful for various verticals. Its ability to analyze vast amounts of data to spot anomalies (in this particular use case, likely threats) makes it a vital addition to cybersecurity software. Tools equipped with AI can also spot exploitable vulnerabilities to stop attacks before they happen. Owing to these capabilities and mobile environments being increasingly exploited by bad actors, AI-assisted threat detection and mitigation is set to increase in the mobile environment.
Increased adoption of cloud security: Data storage continues to be a vexing area for both organizations of all sizes and individual humans. Organizations need to spend money and resources to store their information and ensure quicker access to users. Individuals are facing the same issues about storage. This is one of the factors driving the adoption of cloud services.
Adding advanced mobile app and API security: M-commerce is growing, so is the app ecosystem across various platforms, and their jailbroken or reverse-engineered versions. While some of these apps may be benign, they are nevertheless vulnerabilities that will allow attackers to gain control of critical endpoints. Similarly, APIs can also be abused for misuse. Therefore, developers are increasingly implementing various app protection measures, such as Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP). They are also applying self-attestation models. Both of these ensure mobile application security by providing protection from tampering, unauthorized access, and help launch dynamic security responses.
Blockchain integration: Blockchain’s distributed ledger allows it to offer tamper-proof storage and secure data exchange. It also can be used to secure mobile transactions and authenticate user IDs. This ability is owing to its distributed nature and ability to create strong transaction records that cannot be tampered with. These capabilities help add more security and trust.
Increased adoption of ITDR tools: With the spike in phishing and ID theft, there is a pressing need to protect ID management infrastructure. Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) tools play a vital role in achieving this objective by adding an extra layer of security. With mobile devices turning into vectors for financial crime incidents, we will see increased adoption of ITDR tools into MTM software to provide better protection from such bad actors.