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Small and medium-sized enterprises have had to adapt rapidly to an increasingly digital landscape , relying more heavily on technology to conduct their day-to-day operations than ever before . This has opened them up to new cybersecurity threats that disproportionately impact smaller organisations . In fact , according to Check Point Research , an organisation in the UK is being attacked on average 775 times per week in the last six months . As we look towards a new year , we are already seeing some emerging tech trends that we expect will impact how SMEs combat this worrying threat .

Deryck Mitchelson , Field CISO , EMEA at Check Point Software Technologies

Shortage of skills :

Every industry and every company is experiencing a cyberskills shortage . This is a trend we expect to see continue into the new year and is something that will impact how SMEs tackle some of the key cybersecurity challenges that lie ahead . Specifically , it is likely that a dedicated security team will no longer be a feasible option , leaving companies without adequate protection from growing cybersecurity threats . As a result , we expect to see a greater adoption of outsourced services as businesses begin to lean on the expertise of managed security service providers . This trend is further supported by the recent changes to Network and Information Systems ( NIS ) regulations , which will bring MSPs within the scope to keep digital supply chains secure .

Cloud adoption halted

While 2022 has seen the rapid adoption of cloud technology , I suspect that this will begin to plateau and even decline due to the rise in cost and complexity . Many firms will consider bringing workloads back in-house or to private data centres to reduce their overall threat surface . This is because there is a significant operational and technical overhead required to maintain a growing cloud estate , whereas on-prem services can be much simpler to manage . As a result , this could see SMEs taking a few step backs in

BUSINESSES SHOULD BE COMFORTED BY THE FACT THAT BY TAKING A PREVENTATIVE APPROACH , IT IS POSSIBLE TO PREPARE AND SECURE THEIR NETWORKS FROM NEW AND EMERGING THREATS .

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