Prediction: Businesses will continue to have to adapt to government regulations

Says who? “Regulatory frameworks will continue to drive security maturation for companies. Specifically, the European GDPR will force companies to take a complete inventory of data they control or process, as well as map out their complete Internet presence.” – Greg Reber, partner at Moss Adams, a consulting and wealth management firm

How likely is this? Pretty likely

Why? There is a growing focus among consumers and governments on user privacy and data security. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect in 2018 and California enacted its own privacy law that will go into effect in 2020. More recently, Congress brought Google CEO Sundar Pichai in for a hearing about privacy (though in some ways it highlighted U.S. many lawmakers’ woeful grasp of technology). Scandals at Facebook and elsewhere will make sure this focus on privacy doesn’t disappear, though Steve Durbin, managing director of the Information Security Forum, says the pace of innovation will make it difficult for national and regional regulators and legislators to keep up with all the developments.