As we head into the New Year, businesses as well as IT companies specialising in cybersecurity are facing a growing number of threats. Along with having to be aware of the latest in phishing, scamming and hacking, businesses also face limited budgets and outdated technology that is just not up to the task of protecting them.
With the old year fading away and the new on upon our doorstep, now is the best time to assess security risks and also determine where changes can be made, in terms of planning and technology availability, especially security software.
Recently security experts shared their 2024 trend predictions with Information Week, an online publication specialising in tech news, and this is what they had to share.
The Advancing Threat of AI
While the rest of the world has been gripped with the image and text generation capabilities of AI like ChatGPT, the security industry has been wearily watching, as it has become quite obvious that AI has the power to become a real security problem.
“We’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of what potential capability enhancement that these kind of tools could give to both attackers and defenders,” Kelli Vanderlee, senior manager at threat intelligence solutions provider Mandiant Intelligence, a part of Google Cloud, told InformationWeek.
According to Google Cloud, AI could be used to create powerful phishing attacks and it could be used to make it easier for threat actors to manipulate society through the use of deepfakes and the generation of devastating fake news.
The good news is that AI can also be used to help defend against advanced AI generated attacks, so we can expect to see a great improvement in cybersecurity defences in the near future, using the capabilities of AI.
Cloud Security will become a Priority
The data and programmes used by countless companies is often Cloud based these days. But just one well-timed, well-aimed cyber-attack can wipe out a company’s data and damage operations.
In 2023, Mandiant Intelligence watched as Cloud spaces were attacked relentlessly and according to Google Cloud’s Cybersecurity Forecast 2024, this attacking will continue to be a troubling trend in the New Year, especially as threat actors continue to search for and unfortunately find new ways to exploit Cloud issues.
To mitigate the threat of an attack, Yuval Wollman, who is the chief cyber officer and managing director at UST, which is a digital technology solutions company, suggests companies use Cloud Security Posture Management.
Ransomware will continue to be a problem
It would surprise no one in the tech world that ransomware is such a lucrative business, that those who use it to exploit web users and companies will continue to do so with extra vigour in 2024.
A trend in ransomware attacks that has recently become a bigger problem is dual attacks. These attacks are structured in such a way that they happen one right after the other, with the victim hardly getting enough time to recover.
According to Andrius Useckas, the CTO and CISO at ThreatX, an API and web application protection company, phishing is the most common way that a ransomware attack starts. And with the advancements in AI, phishing scams are becoming very difficult to detect, with Useckas saying that the best defence a company can have is to keep staff well-educated in the ways to identify phishing while also creating layers of protective cybersecurity systems.
Preparing for a Cyber-Secure 2024
Taking a look at some of these business focused threats, you need to ask yourself if you have a cybersecurity system in place that is robust enough to hold the wolves at bay. If you don’t, you need to start your New Year with a clear plan to jack up your cybersecurity set up, and you can start by contacting 24/7 IT Services. Not only do we specialise in cybersecurity for businesses, but we also offer Cloud Solutions, VoIP Solutions and Managed IT Support.
Contact us today and let us help you protect your business.
