2024 cybersecurity trends include methods of protecting against ransomware, AI threats, and IoT vulnerabilities.
Remote working, the growing adoption of digital technologies and the resulting new habits are driving considerable changes in the cybersecurity landscape. The attack surface that hackers can target has increased and threats have evolved to a point where most companies are not asking if they will be attacked, but when.
Incredible as it may seem, many companies' cybersecurity efforts are still underfunded. But threats abound. According to a PwC survey, two-thirds of executives say cybercrime is their most significant threat in 2024.
That's why it's so important to understand cybersecurity trends this year and in the future and invest in strong, solid and secure infrastructure.
1. The imminent presence of ransomware
According to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity , we are living in the “Golden Age of Ransomware” and boy, are they right. As the report shows, ransomware attacks increased by 150% during the first year of the pandemic alone. Unfortunately, you can expect this number to increase during 2024 and beyond.
There is a combination of factors that provide fertile ground for ransomware attacks to flourish. Firstly, more people are working remotely, which increases the number of potential victims of phishing attacks, which in turn are the first step of ransomware attacks. After a hacker compromises an employee's credentials, he uses them to access the corporate network and infect it with a virus that locks files through strong encryption. They then ask for a ransom.
Another important factor to consider is the emergence of ransomware kits as a service (RaaS). These packages provide all the tools and documentation needed to conduct a ransomware attack, providing easy access to harmful technologies to anyone interested in them. Both factors, along with the rapid increase in ransom values, explain why this type of attack has become so popular in the last two years – and why it will remain at the top for the foreseeable future.
2. An interconnected web of vulnerabilities
The Internet of Things (IoT) is getting bigger and bigger by the minute. In fact, predictions estimate that it will reach 15.14 billion devices by the end of 2024. Unfortunately, that level of popularity brings with it a clear threat: as more devices are connected to the IoT, the chances of cybercriminals breaking into them also increase.
The IoT is full of cybersecurity horror stories, which show that hacking these devices is not as difficult as you might think. And while some hacks may seem harmless (what's the worst that can happen to a hacked kettle?), the reality is that any IoT device can act as a gateway to entire networks (this kettle could help a hacker break into a smartphone or PC). .
The increasing adoption of IoT devices across industries, the deployment of 5G and edge computing, and the steady growth of smart devices all contribute to IoT's appeal to hackers in 2024, especially since there are fundamental flaws in IoT design that at times Sometimes they become an interconnected network of vulnerabilities.
3. More AI cyber solutions (and cyber threats)
The use of artificial intelligence continues to increase and it seems that nothing can stop it. This is because AI-based solutions are becoming more powerful and can now cover more varied uses. Case in point: cybersecurity. Solutions that use AI to identify potentially harmful activities are now becoming the norm across industries.
The idea is quite simple as it mimics what AI solutions do in the financial sector for fraud detection. Basically, AI analyzes multiple events per second on any corporate network, paying particular attention to suspicious activity in key areas. AI helps identify harmful behaviors and prevent future actions, containing the damage or putting human teams on alert in real time.
As useful as AI cyber solutions are, the main reason their adoption is becoming widespread has to do with evolving cyber threats. that also leverage AI .
Many cybercriminals are using AI to scale and refine their attacks. Some use AI to optimize their social engineering efforts, while others use it to identify vulnerabilities in networks. The worst part is that AI threats work quickly and can even outwit AI cyber solutions, which is why security teams are adopting a hybrid approach that combines AI with human management to better counter automated threats.
4. Identity-first security takes center stage
Gartner had previously named identity-first security as one of the trends for 2021, but it looks like the approach will gain adequate traction during 2024. For all of you who don't know what this approach means, suffice to say that it's about managing and monitoring identities individually rather than handling access on a more corporate basis.
The idea of identity-first security as a key cybersecurity trend is to provide better control over privilege escalation, rights exposures, credential misuse, and other common practices used by hackers to access corporate networks. In short, identity-first security aims to provide the right individuals and devices with appropriate access to only essential resources, at the right time, and only after due justification.
The important thing here is that we are no longer just talking about human users, especially as corporate networks increasingly depend on smart and automated devices. Thus, by adopting a zero trust stance, companies will now begin to focus on dynamically dealing with the identities of everyone and anyone within their networks, at all times.
5. More regulation and government involvement
We all know how it is: technology evolves so quickly that regulation often fails to police and regulate it properly. While this will continue to happen for some time, the cybersecurity industry is about to be treated differently. More and more governments are becoming concerned about the potential damage resulting from cyber attacks. This certainly has to do with the increase in attacks targeting critical infrastructure .
This is why 2024 will see faster regulation coming into play with the aim of better controlling the situation. Some of the possible ways this could occur include stronger sanctions for cybercriminals, greater legal obligations for CISOs, and regulatory frameworks for handling ransoms related to cyberattacks.
Naturally, the government response to the increase in cyber attacks will be disparate, although most developed countries have already shown signs of working on legislation to this end.
A year to act
While the above cybersecurity trends may paint a bleak picture, the reality is that the entire business world should not despair but rather take them as warnings that should motivate them to act. 2024 will be a challenging year for cybersecurity teams around the world, especially given the large number of attacks and their increasing sophistication.
Fortunately, the entire business world has two powerful tools to face the imminent threat. On the one hand, new technologies can multiply vulnerabilities, but they can also help prevent and mitigate attacks. On the other hand, training remains crucial to contain and limit attacks. Combining both is the perfect first step towards better prevention in 2022, a year that calls on everyone to take action against cyber threats.
