Top 10 Cybersecurity Trends for 2024

As a business owner, you know that effective cybersecurity is critical to your company’s success. Cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated all the time – and more expensive. Globally, the cost of attacks has been estimated by some to exceed $10 trillion by the end of 2024.

Hostile actors are targeting all sizes and types of companies now, so SMBs are no longer safe. And they aren’t just lone wolf types operating out of basements anymore – many now resemble corporations themselves complete with dedicated departments and KPIs.

Meanwhile, many cybersecurity professionals are teetering on the edge of burnout – or have already thrown in the towel. And we’ve already seen that AI promises to be a game changer – for both the good guys and the bad.

So, it’s vitally important that you are aware of new developments in cybersecurity coming in 2024. The future of your business may very well depend on it.

1 – The profound impact of AI for good actors and bad

As AI increases in sophistication, its impact on cyber security will only increase. On the bad side, AI will enable more effective attacks and enhance the ability of attackers to do serious damage. It makes established attack strategies like phishing and malware more dangerous and will undoubtedly enable new ones.

On the other hand, AI enabled tools can detect, evade or neutralize threats in real-time through anomaly detection, intelligent authentication and automated incident mitigation. AI resets the cybersecurity playing field to a degree and both sides will see significant impacts -- good and bad.

2 – Cybersecurity skills will be in short supply

The gap between cybersecurity jobs and qualified professionals to fill them will continue to widen as threats become more prevalent and the supply of skilled professionals remains static. The most recent estimate of the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs sits at 3.4 million and that figure increases every year.

At the top of the cybersecurity personnel pyramid, CISOs (Chief Information Security Offices) are leaving in droves.  Gartner estimates that 50% of CISOs will leave their current jobs within a year to 18 months in what some have called the “great cybersecurity resignation”. The timing couldn’t be any worse, especially for SMBs. Just as their exposure is increasing, this cyber brain drain throws a very big wrench into their cyber defenses.

3 – vCISOs and MSPs to the rescue

With their CISOs leaving the building and with so many unfilled cybersecurity positions vacant, what will SMBs do to protect their businesses? Well, two things, actually.

Many SMBs will enlist a virtual CISO (vCISO) to fill the leadership vacuum when a conventional CISO leaves (or never arrived, due to resource constraints). vCISOs are typically just as qualified as a traditional CISO – in some cases more so – due to broader experience. But given the fractional nature of their engagements, vCISOs cost much less than a full-time counterpart and at a rate that is manageable for a typical SMB.

MSPs (Managed Service Providers) can also help fill the cybersecurity skills gap especially for SMBs with little or no in-house cybersecurity personnel. MSPs often provide vCISO services as well as a security operations center (SOC) to design and maintain SMB cyber defenses to compensate for inadequate in-house cybersecurity teams. Many if not most SMBs will go this route and given the increasing automation in SOC platforms via AI and ML, will have more resilient cyber defenses than if they were to employ a dedicated cybersecurity team.

4 – Phishing attacks on steroids

Phishing has become an increasingly prominent cyber-attack strategy as it avoids many of the sophisticated defense strategies implemented by businesses in recent years. Unfortunately, phishing emails have proven surprisingly effective as unwitting or careless employees can let hackers in simply by clicking on a malicious link. 

Even somewhat shoddy phishing emails have caused real damage, but AI will make phishing attacks even more dangerous. AI-enhanced phishing tactics will become more personalized and effective, making it even harder for individuals to identify malicious intent, and resulting in more breaches.

5 – Ransomware will continue to wreak havoc

Ransomware has been on the rise and promises to increase in frequency and severity in 2024. Ransomware attacks have evolved into complex extortion schemes where data is exfiltrated and threatened to be publicly released if a ransom is not paid. New attack strategies will make the system worse along with an increasing reliance on SaaS platforms that multiply security vectors and vulnerabilities.

SMBs will need to increase ransomware preparedness, particularly in recovering endpoints and critical infrastructure such as Active Directory. New defenses such as Extended Detection and Response (XDR) will become necessary to ward off new ransomware strategies such as “living off the land” techniques.

6 – IoT Cyber-attacks become more common

As more devices access the network, especially mobile devices and remote worker laptops, the attack surface for many businesses will only increase. As these IoT (Internet of Things) devices continue to proliferate, they provide more potential “ins” for bad actors to attack.

These devices are typically designed for convenience rather than security and represent a real risk to effective cybersecurity. With typically weak passwords and access protocols, they can expose businesses to data loss and malware intrusions.

7 – IAM becomes hyper-critical

The dependence on usernames and passwords for access control and authentication has made compromised credentials a recurring vulnerability. Without stronger Identity Access Management (IAM) protocols and strategies including MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), credential-based breaches are on the rise. AI promises to make the problem worse.

In today’s cybersecurity landscape, user access via usernames and passwords just won’t cut it. So, we’ll see an accelerated move toward biometric devices (facial, fingerprint, etc.), security keys and other passwordless IAM techniques going forward.

8 – The rise of cyber resilience

While cybersecurity has advanced by leaps and bounds, the reality is that not all attacks can be repelled all the time – 100% protection may be impossible.  As a result, a strategy of cyber resilience becomes more important in 2024 and beyond.

While cybersecurity is focused on preventing attacks, cyber resilience is next-level and is designed to ensure continuous operations after an attack has already occurred.  Developing the capability to recover quickly while minimizing data loss and downtime will be a strategic priority in 2024.

9 – The Amended FTC Safeguards Rule gets real

The Amended FTC Safeguards Rule has been finalized and published and takes effect on May 13, 2024. The new rule applies to a range of non-bank entities like car dealers and mortgage lenders and carries heavy sanctions for non-compliance.

Central to the new rule is timely notification of data breaches of customer data to the FTC, as well as a set of requirements including internal procedures and plans to prevent or mitigate breaches. Given the sheer number of companies that were previously not affected, but now must comply, it’s likely that a fair number will fail, at least initially.

10 – Zero Trust must evolve to include AI

While Zero Trust has been prominent as a technical network security model, new threats will require it evolve. Historically, the fundamental concept of zero trust – always verify – applied only within a company’s conventional network perimeter. 

With new threats and the extension of a typical network perimeter to include remote workers, mobile devices and partner organizations, complexity increases dramatically. In 2024, zero trust must morph from a fairly contained model to something adaptive and holistic, enabled by continuous AI-powered real-time authentication and activity monitoring including outside the conventional security perimeter.

In Summary

Cybersecurity is a dynamic endeavor on multiple levels ranging from new and/or evolving threats, new and/or evolving defense strategies, the impact of AI, and new government regulations with sanctions for non-compliance. Each of these will impact small businesses -- profoundly in some cases.

For most SMBs, keeping track of these new developments would be a near impossible task, let alone implementing the policies, programs, and technology needed to keep their companies safe and compliant. And yet, the survival of their businesses depends on it.

Virtually every business is a potential target and therefore must invest, prepare, and adapt to the constantly changing cybersecurity landscape. Every company needs a comprehensive strategy to safe-guard assets and develop effective means to anticipate, repel, and recover from cyber-attacks.

But the good news is that they don’t have to go it alone. Highly skilled MSPs and vCISOs make all the difference and are affordable for virtually all SMBs.

K3 Technology is your go-to guide to effective cybersecurity

The experts at K3 Technology can guide you safely through the cybersecurity challenges of 2024 and beyond. We always keep current on new threats and strategies to repel them, and provide the technology, guidance and services needed to keep your business safe. It’s a powerful combination that we can apply to your company to build the best Cybersecurity strategy for you. Contact us at K3 Technology to find out more.