editorial

From the Editor

2018 has been quite the year for cybersecurity. Breach upon breach has hit the headlines, GDPR has sent companies scrambling as it comes into force and the rise of spear phishing campaigns has seen many stung.


In this issue of Verdict Encrypt, we take a look at some of the biggest cybersecurity challenges in the past year, and consider some of the emerging threats and solutions.


Mapping every attack to happen this year would be near impossible, but to get a picture of the devastation that’s occurred we’ve charted some of the biggest attacks and breaches to face organisations in 2018.

“Breach upon breach has hit the headlines, GDPR has sent companies scrambling as it comes into force and the rise of spear phishing campaigns has seen many stung.”

Perhaps the most impactful event in the cybersecurity world this year was the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in May.


But six months later, has it had the desired effect? We speak to a host of cybersecurity experts to find out more.


We’ve all heard how cybersecurity is facing a skills shortage, but hackers are in demand too. We look at both sides of the coin, hearing from a platform that allows companies to hire white hack hackers and discovering the rules of recruitment for red hat hackers on the dark web.

On the threat actor side, we also look at some of the remarkable discoveries made by cybersecurity experts this month, including the unmasking of notorious hacker Tessa88 and the discovery of an entirely new – and potentially state-sponsored – threat actor: The White Company.


Meanwhile on the enterprise side, when it comes to cybersecurity tools for businesses, vendors have long ruled. But with managed security service providers getting an overhaul, is that set to change?


For all this, and much more, read on in the latest issue of Verdict Encrypt.


Lucy Ingham

Editor