The cybersecurity world moves so quickly that it can be hard to keep up. But with new technology arriving and improving every day, it’s worth taking a few minutes to anticipate what sorts of cybersecurity trends are emerging in 2024—both in terms of potential threats as well as new tools to help combat and even predict those threats.
Increasing AI Threats and Increasing AI Threat Detection
2023 was undoubtedly the year artificial intelligence (AI) learning broke into the mainstream, emerging in the public consciousness as something more than a novelty, but a credible tool for increasing productivity and efficiency. Cybersecurity trends around AI and machine learning are both positive and negative in some ways.
The AI hype will continue, but we will begin to discover the risks associated with rapid AI implementation and reliance. We are already seeing stories of AI-driven support being shut down for the use of profanity and even degrading its own company, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. As LLMs are continuously learning, a real risk of data poisoning exists in implemented models. We will also see a call to arms to produce actionable security frameworks—helping protect these models and their data.
Additionally, bad actors will be (and already are) taking advantage of developments in AI to launch increasingly damaging and successful cyber attacks. Whether that’s using machine learning to analyze success rates and hone in on optimal scamming strategies, or utilizing new automation capabilities to attack systems with a level of aggression never seen before, AI is a force to be reckoned with in the cybersecurity space.
Fortunately, AI isn’t just a tool for those with malicious intentions. Cybersecurity experts are utilizing AI to push back and defend against these threats with more strength than ever. AI can support more traditional methods of defensive cybersecurity and offer exciting possibilities for proactive and even predictive measures to avoid these threats in the first place.
Phishing Techniques Will Only Get More Advanced
It’s hard to mention cybersecurity trends without discussing phishing attacks. While phishing has long been an effective attack vector, the methods and messaging constantly evolve.
Advances in technology will never change the fact that ultimately, humans are the most vulnerable part of the cybersecurity ecosystem. Phishing and social engineering continue to offer a major access strategy for those looking to infiltrate and gain access to our most important technology, and in 2024, look for these strategies to level up even further.
Most notably, access to ChatGPT and similar LLMs means attackers can draft more effective messaging that fools even the savviest users, bad actors can use AI tools to scrape and clone social profiles with near-instant speed, and malicious code can be generated instantly and without flaw.
MFA Isn’t a Silver Bullet
While many normal people are finally adopting multifactor authentication (MFA) throughout their lives and work, MFA is not a perfect solution. As we enter 2024, one of the key cybersecurity trends will be that attackers will continue to find ways to circumvent MFA prompts.
We still stand behind our policy that all publicly available logon systems should be protected with MFA, but we are seeing a rise in successful attacks on these protected systems.
EvilProxy made a huge push in 2023 and is showing no signs of slowing down, using fake login pages to intercept users and even steal MFA tokens. This reiterates that users are and will continue to be our weakest link, so let’s shift our focus to education systems that work!
MFA fatigue is real and can open the door for attackers. Ensure your employees are trained on and understand the importance of MFA, and ensure
Supply Chain Attacks Will Continue to Grow
Just as we mentioned humans being an easy attack point, some of the biggest cybersecurity risks come from the company they keep.
Many organizations have relationships with other organizations to help them survive and thrive. You likely work with suppliers, contractors, distributors, partners, and maybe more. Sure, your company may have robust cybersecurity measures, but what about those companies you work with?
Often, they have access to your systems and sensitive information—and can provide an access route for attackers. If they don’t have a security posture that meets your acceptable risk level, you’ve increased your own attack surface by working with them.
To manage increasing supply chain threats, it’s important to understand your entire third-party network and the systems and data they’re accessing—and maintain cybersecurity protocols and requirements based on their access. Even with those you know, trust, and work with day in and day out, this is a critical exercise to minimize risk.
We encourage keeping an inventory of all vendors and third-party partners to classify, assess, and treat their impact and risk on your organization. This may sound daunting, but VRM software and services make this crucial cybersecurity step easier and more thorough than ever.
At FRSecure, we advocate for the “principle of least privilege”–a strategy that limits every user and entity to the minimum level of access needed to do their job, minimizing the risk of malicious threats gaining entry to systems and data and causing data breaches.
Geopolitical Tensions Will Create Cybersecurity Threats
It’s not hyperbole to say that the world is going through tumultuous times—things like pandemics, civil unrest, and ongoing cultural division are at the forefront.
2024 is looking to be a year full of impactful geopolitical events. From major elections to international conflict to massive gatherings like the 2024 Summer Olympics—events like these are prime targets for cyber threats and deception.
When people are preoccupied with other concerns, attackers often pounce. When we’re caught paying attention to more immediate concerns, it’s easy for our cybersecurity guard to be let down. There’s a reason we saw an uptick in cyber attacks during the Covid-sparked transition of businesses going remote and hybrid.
But this also rears its head in many other ways.
“Hacktivist” attacks intend to make a splash when the whole world is watching, deep fakes and misinformation are spread around elections to shape the world’s political trajectory covertly, and more.
It’s never been more important to stay vigilant. We recommend keeping up with the cybersecurity impact of current events as a way to better equip yourself with the information needed to keep your organization out of harm’s way. Security training and awareness will always make a difference.
Cyber Insurance Reform Will Continue
As the ransomware business continues to be very lucrative for threat actors, business owners and cyber insurers are feeling the burn.
Cyber insurance is continuing to grow in popularity with businesses as cybersecurity threats evolve. With this evolution though, cyber insurers will be forced to re-evaluate their qualifications and eligibility requirements—identifying a system to accurately quantify risk.
In turn, businesses should also understand their security posture and risk profile if they expect reasonable premiums or even continued coverage at all!
Important note: insurance is not a replacement for an incident response plan and program. Insurance is not a cybersecurity provider and is meant to work in conjunction with other proactive measures, not replace them.
Providing Security Solutions That Make a Measurable Difference
With so many emerging cybersecurity trends and threats, there are so many new opportunities to protect yourself and your business. If you need help knowing where to start—whether you’re just jumping into the waters of information security or looking to up your game in response to new challenges—FRSecure is here.
To learn more about how our team of experts can help your organization find solutions and provide you with the training necessary to keep your information secure, reach out to us at FRSecure today.
