When you think of cybersecurity, you probably think about firewalls and passwords – but the ever-changing cyber threat has forced the technology to move far beyond that. The expanding frontiers of cybersecurity are being driven by a need for new, scalable solutions to security problems. Unfortunately, the rate of cyber-attacks seems unlikely to decrease, and there are not enough qualified cybersecurity professionals to handle the need from private industry. The combination of these two factors has caused a significant degree of innovation in the cybersecurity sector, and this has resulted in the emergence of new approaches to keeping computer systems secure.
For example, one of the more novel areas of innovation is the development of quantum enhanced cybersecurity systems. While quantum computing may pose a threat to existing cybersecurity protocols, there is also the potential for quantum processes to augment the programs that keep systems safe. Jane Melia from the cybersecurity firm, QuitessenceLabs, told The Cipher Brief that “there seems to be less familiarity with the ways in which quantum technology, combined with state of the art classic approaches, can actually strengthen security, and address some of the major challenges that the security community has been grappling with.”
As a field, quantum computing is still in a very early stage of its development, but it is already being used to enhance certain aspects of cybersecurity, ranging from secure sharing of keys to the generation of truly random numbers. As quantum computing matures, there will likely be a growing array of products and services that will leverage it to improve network security.
While the connection between quantum computing and cybersecurity is fairly clear, the connection between Bitcoin and cybersecurity seems less so. The blockchain is the public ledger system that underlies Bitcoin, but it has uses far beyond that. Some cybersecurity firms have figured out how to use the blockchain to improve security by tracking how files are accessed and changed through that same ledger system. The effective result of this is that companies can know when their systems have been hacked instantaneously, and they can see exactly what was changed and how.
Mike Gault, CEO of the blockchain-based cybersecurity firm Guardtime, told The Cipher Brief “It would be naive to believe complete protection of today’s highly complex networks is possible. What we can ensure is complete detection, accountability and auditability.” Network breaches are inevitable, but improving companies’ ability to know how, where, and when they were breached can enable them to greater enhance their security posture. For all the hype around Bitcoin, the defense applications of the blockchain may wind up being as impactful, if not more so.
As bad actors in the cyber-arena continue to adapt and change, it is incumbent upon the cybersecurity industry to do the same. Quantum-enhanced and blockchain-based cybersecurity systems are just two of the emerging approaches to security that have come about as companies realize that firewalls aren’t enough to keep them safe. With cybersecurity spending projected to reach $101 billion by 2018, there are strong incentives for firms to pursue innovative new ways of protecting their networks. The cyber-threat can never be completely eliminated, but these novel approaches to cybersecurity could mitigate it to a significant degree.
Luke Penn-Hall is the Cyber and Technology Producer at The Cipher Brief.
