Top 10 Security Industry Megatrends for 2022

Some trends endure. Some don’t. The nice thing about the annual Security Industry Association (SIA) Security Megatrends™ report is that SIA really does its homework to identify what’s really hot in the security industry. Now in its sixth year, the report has seen trends come and go. But for the most part, SIA identifies long-term trends that are shaping the future of the security industry.

Input for the report comes from the association’s annual member survey, with additional input from industry executives and the association’s Securing New Ground event speakers and attendees.

While AI and cyber security remain in their #1 and #2 spots, respectively, for 2022, the report identifies three new trends that indicate a shift in the industry mindset: Interoperability, data privacy, and health and sustainability. These trends show that the industry is becoming more cognizant of how its activities affect the world around them.

The full list of 2022 trends are:

  1. Artificial intelligence
  2. Cyber security
  3. Supply chain assurance
  4. Service models and the cloud
  5. Workforce development
  6. Increased interoperability
  7. Data privacy
  8. Security as proptech
  9. Expanded intelligence monitoring
  10. Health and sustainability

AI Tops the List
Sitting at the top of the list for the second year in a row is AI, a broadly defined class of technology that suffers from marketing hype and immaturity. Which is, of course, where all new, cutting edge technologies start.

While simple algorithms that recognize license plates and masks are considered AI by some vendors, AI with actual intelligence is beginning to mature in the marketplace. Up and coming AI systems are correlating data that hasn’t been correlated in the past, and surfacing insights that can improve security and save time by automating common repetitive tasks and processes that are otherwise a time drain for busy security professionals.

According to the report, AI as a Megatrend promises to influence every sector of security and current development of AI-specific chips is propelling new advancements.

Cyber Security Is Becoming Top of Mind
While AI is the shiny new object, cyber security is the houseguest who won’t go away, despite your best efforts. Ranked #2 last year and this year, cyber security was once listed as “cyber security of physical security.” This has evolved to include cyber security in general. That’s because an attack can be launched through places other than an access control server or camera. Company servers and network infrastructure are also at risk. For more background, IST’s Chief Strategy Officer, Michael Ruddo, gives his expert input on cyber security in this SDM magazine article.

It’s not surprising that cyber security is still at the top of the list. Particularly since the global pandemic, ransomware attacks have soared, hitting every sector of society, with a particular emphasis on healthcare organizations, municipalities and the operational technology that underpins critical infrastructure such as water works, energy pipelines and energy generation.

The good news is that cyber security awareness has never been higher, and customers are now asking better, tougher questions on how to best validate or update their cyber security approach, and are more willing to invest extra money for extra protection. The key, of course, is spending the money on the right solutions to get the results you really need.

Interoperability Is Gaining Traction
SIA’s megatrend report says that unless you’re in a big corporation or a government agency, current integration between technologies like video and access control or intrusion systems is “surprisingly low.” However, this is changing as more systems are becoming based on open architectures and as customers are coming to expect the ability to correlate data sourced across systems.

The report identifies interoperability as a tremendous opportunity to connect disparate security systems using common protocols to enable communication between systems and can connect security systems with other business systems. To work, the industry will need to adopt more standards so that connecting systems doesn’t require custom programming and engineering.

Data Privacy Is a Big Concern
The public is now more aware that their data is being collected and stored and have concerns about how that data is used. Since the security industry is in the business of collecting and storing personal data, including identities and locations gleaned from access control and video surveillance, data privacy has become a hot topic that IST has been aware of for some time.

Privacy is particularly important when data captures people in environments where they have a right to expect privacy. So, you can’t collect this data without processes and policies in place to ensure privacy and an audit trail to prove it.

Currently, every state has laws regulating how organizations need to respond to a data breach. But only California, Virginia and Colorado have comprehensive data privacy laws similar to the GDPR in Europe. This megatrend is being closely monitored by legislators and regulators, so you can expect more government regulation moving forward.

Health and Sustainability Is Driving Industry Change
The global pandemic has added new responsibilities for security teams to use security technology to protect the health of employees and visitors. The conversation about how security teams will actually do this has been in flux, having moved on from temperature screening and touchless functionality towards more generalized health and comfort topics. For example, security teams may become more responsible for detecting toxic chemicals and monitoring indoor air quality.

On the sustainability side, manufacturers are beginning to build energy efficiency into their products and taking steps to ensure products use less materials and more efficient packaging.

According to the report, improvements in health and sustainability, especially for building environments, will require better interoperability between security and building systems.

If any of these megatrends are of particular interest to you, download the full report, which is full of detail, statistics and interesting insight from industry leaders.

Top 10 Security Megatrends for 2021

Every industry has its trends and security is no different. The Security Industry Association (SIA) released its annual list of security megatrends for 2021, and unsurprisingly, some priorities have shifted while others endure. SIA publishes its Security Megatrends list annually based on feedback from focus groups, interviews and survey data from top security industry business leaders.

One shifting priority is predictive data analytics for security, which appears on SIA’s list for the first time ever. Ranked third for 2021, predictive analytics shot past more familiar trends like cloud computing and data privacy.

Artificial intelligence, which ranked fifth in 2019 and second for 2020, is now the top megatrend for 2021. Interest in AI remains high as it promises to help security departments do more with less in the long term. Popular use cases include monitoring logs for suspicious activity, malware detection and automation to help security analysts focus more on high-value activities. AI is in the product roadmap for many security solutions that you’re already using, so adoption may be natural over time, with AI working in the background to deliver more value.

The convergence of physical and cyber security continues to be a hot topic, appearing second on the 2021 list, down from the top spot last year. Organizations continue to look for more synergy between these two often-separate disciplines to physically secure cyber assets such as data centers and IoT devices.

Predictive analytics, which has been trending in other industries, is now a hot topic for the security industry. Theoretically, if you have enough of the right data, you can predict the future, at least to some extent. This is an advanced data analytics capability, which builds on prescriptive analytics—a technique that provides insight into why an event occurred.

Given that 2020 is the year of the pandemic, it’s not surprising to see touchless and frictionless solutions emerge on the list for the first time as the sixth hottest megatrend for 2021. Reducing physical contact points improves safety, and these solutions can be paired with facial recognition—which placed seventh on the list, down from third last year—to provide fast, secure access to authorized individuals.

Ranking fourth for 2021 is connectivity and the IoT of everything. More personal and industrial devices connected to enterprise networks have expanded the attack surface. Organizations are interested in the ability to manage the security of edge devices at scale.

Returning to the list after dropping off for 2020 is responsive environments and intelligent spaces. Smart buildings are filled with network-connected sensors and other devices that require security.

Security leaders continue to be interested in new service models, which ranks 10 on the 2021 list. Hosted and managed services, coupled with modernization of security platforms, promise to deliver more reliability and better security at a lower cost over time. For example, IST’s S.H.I.E.L.D full life cycle approach to modernizing security infrastructures can give security leaders the ability to focus less on infrastructure and more on security strategy without breaking the budget.

Cloud computing continues to endure as a top-five trend while data privacy makes the list again after dropping off for 2020.

The full list: SIA’s 2021 Security Megatrends

  1. Artificial Intelligence
  2. Cybersecurity of Physical Security
  3. Predictive Data Analytics
  4. Connectivity and the IoT of Everything
  5. Cloud Computing
  6. Touchless & Frictionless Solutions
  7. Facial Recognition
  8. Responsive Environments & Intelligent Spaces
  9. Emphasis on Data Privacy
  10. Move to Service Models

2020 Security Megatrends: Are You Prepared?

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has identified and forecasted key trends in security for 2020. These top 10 forces at play in security, expected to have far-reaching impacts on organizations across the nation, are:

  1. Cybersecurity Impact on Physical Security
  2. Artificial Intelligence
  3. Facial Recognition
  4. Emphasis on Data Privacy
  5. Cloud Computing
  6. National Security Concerns
  7. Connectivity and IoT Everything
  8. Workforce Development
  9. Move to Service Models
  10. Identity as the New Perimeter

It is no surprise to us that for the second consecutive year, cybersecurity is identified as the predominant trend shaping the security industry.

With the increased risk and frequency of cyberattacks, we know that cybersecurity is a major concern for governments, companies, healthcare organization, schools, property managers, and more. Integrated Security Technologies is working hard to make sure that security solutions meet or exceed an organization’s cyber-preparedness standards. We are a leading system integrator and developer that our customers spanning many industries have come to depend upon.

We know it’s almost impossible to keep your connected systems and their network infrastructure running smoothly and attack-free. It’s also easy to open up vulnerabilities since a small misconfiguration or unpatched application or operating system can become disastrous if left unfixed. Our proprietary Life-Cycle Support program, S.H.I.E.L.D, was designed for that reason. IST stops cyber threats before they can even occur by deploying cutting-edge cyber security protection strategies including constant vigilance and a proven program that includes monitoring and maintenance on any desired schedule. Let’s discuss how you can gain even greater cyber security protection with us.

The Top 10 Security Megatrends in 2019: Are you Prepared?

Every year at the Securing New Ground (SNGTM) conference, the SIA identifies the ten biggest security trends for the upcoming year by mining SIA member surveys from hundreds of top-level executives in advance, unpacking the hot topics explored by SNG speakers and by speaking with SNG attendees.

We’ll provide the top ten security megatrends forecast here and then do a deeper dive into each these topics in our next set of blog posts, not only providing you with the data behind these trends, but actionable ways to incorporate security best practices into your business to ensure your security and your success.

As Ed Pederson, VP, Integrator and Distribution Sales for Bosch says, “Embrace change. Get involved. Share your opinions. Most of the time I see my customers not embracing change.” These ten megatrends are the change that’s been coming, so get ready to embrace the following:

1. Integrate Physical and Cybersecurity Correctly: As more and more communications, utility and security systems are connected through the growing IoT, this creates additional open environments and a stronger need for cybersecurity measures. The threats to our physical security are real – and dangerous. You can take practical steps to counteract these threats.

2. The IoT and Big Data Converge: More devices = more data. Between IoT, the cloud, big data, analytics, AI, cybersecurity, drones, robotics, software as a service (SaaS) and more, the sheer volume of information is insurmountable. How do we ride this wave and capitalize on it? Stay tuned …

3. Is Security keeping up with Cloud Computing? We trust in the cloud; hence it continues to grow in popularity. Yet cloud computing and security may not be moving at the same pace. Digital companies that operate through the cloud need to ensure their cybersecurity measures are tracking. Security integrators are setting up more managed services to facilitate this transition.

4. The Security Skills Shortage and 5 Ways to Overcome It: Record low unemployment translates as a dearth of skilled security labor across all type of businesses and in all job levels. Not only do our new security hires need to speak the language of security, but all non-IT employees need to be well versed too. As the industry attracts and onboards the next generation of security professionals, this widening hiring gap needs to be addressed.

5. What’s Next with the Proliferation of AI? After all the hype, AI is finally infiltrating our daily lives. Start-ups are taking advantage of its technology to leverage their position in the marketplace while more established companies tentatively test AI first before larger rollouts. This new megatrend will be interesting to track.

6. Data Privacy vs. Convenience: Which is Better? As we embrace growing interconnectedness and open systems, we relinquish some of our privacy. Where is the balance? What level of data privacy are we all willing to give up for the convenience of these seamlessly interconnected systems?

7. How Will Security Integrators Leverage DIY Security Systems? The market is loaded with DIY security options ranging from SimpliSafe® security to Nest’s video surveillance – and security integrators are losing money on the expensive equipment installations that get replaced by these lower cost options. Business customers are going DIY too. As they regroup, integrators are focusing on service models backed by excellent customer service with the convenience and ease of use that these plug-and-play customers expect.

8. The Best Ways to Bring Smarter Security to Smarter Environments: We’re taking connectivity one step further with whole-house and whole-business solutions that tie in multiple security devices, including HVAC, elevator controls, automation and more. When smart devices connect, they create smart environments, which must be secured – all the way up to the macro “smart city.” As machine learning helps these networks improve, they’ll gain popularity, making stronger security more imperative.

9. Going Biometric for Access Control: More companies are adopting facial recognition access systems now since the technology has greatly improved. Voice and sound recognition are forging ahead in the consumer market and are on track to infiltrate commercial businesses soon. How do we make these transitions easy and keep everything secure?

10. 3 Ways DIY is Revolutionizing the Security Space: The U.S. is the largest consumer electronics market on the planet, especially when it comes to connected smart devices. As consumers grow more comfortable securing their own, space, Google and Amazon’s smart speakers and voice control devices will become even more important. The largest companies with infrastructure already in place are poised to win the market share.

As we explore each of these new security megatrends in more detail, we’ll provide ways for you to take advantage of the new opportunities too. With great change comes great risk – and also great possibility.