Introduction
2023 was a turbulent year for cybersecurity, with several high-profile incidents that caused significant disruption, damage, and loss. Come 2024 and AI permeating our lives evermore, cybersecurity is being impacted both negatively and positively.
Additionally, unprecedented events like COVID-19 pandemic, contested elections, and spiking socio political unrest have led to an explosion in the number and severity of cybercrimes over the course of just a few years.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is expected to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $6 trillion in 2021. Cyber threats are increasing and diversifying exponentially, resulting in increased security challenges for organizations across the globe.
No matter what the size of your business, as long as you use online, computer-based tools, emails, management systems and website maintenance software, you’ll therefore need to be aware of the top cybersecurity threats.
To help you stay ahead of the curve and protect your organization from these growing risks, we have compiled the top cybersecurity threats that you need to watch out for in 2024.
Top Cyber Threats
Quantum disrupting Security: With their high-processing speeds, Quantum Computing can render conventional encryption schemes useless in minutes. Malicious actors might leverage this new technology to hack into important Fintech organizations. To defend against quantum threats, organizations will thus need to adopt quantum-resistant encryption algorithms and protocols, such as lattice-based cryptography, and hash-based cryptography.
AI-powered Attacks: AI can be used to create more sophisticated and stealthy attacks, such as deep fakes, adversarial AI, and autonomous bots. Malicious Large Language Models enhanced by GenAI tools can also be used to craft compelling phishing and faster attack vectors. To counter AI-powered attacks, organizations will need to invest in superior AI-based solutions.
Ransomware: This is a type of malware that encrypts the victim’s data and demands a ransom for the decryption key. It is becoming more sophisticated and aggressive day by day as attackers use more advanced encryption algorithms and employ more extortion tactics. To combat ransomware, organizations will need to follow best practices, such as patching systems, limiting their network exposure, and educating their users.
Cloud Computing: Cloud Computing offers many advantages such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. But it also poses many new security challenges like data security, access control, and compliance. In 2024, we expect to see increased attacks on cloud data, such as data breaches, data leaks, and data tampering.To protect cloud services, measures such as encryption, authentication, and backup need to be stepped-up.
Decoding 5G Risks: 5G promises faster speed, lower latency, and higher capacity than previous generations. However, 5G will increase the attack surface, as more devices, networks, and services are connected and exposed to cyber risks. To protect against these risks we need to implement 5G security standards and frameworks, such as 3GPP, GSMA, and NIST.
Supply Chain Attacks: These are attacks made on suppliers or partners of an organization instead of the organization itself. Supply Chain attacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated. To resist these attacks organizations will need to establish supply chain security policies and procedures, such as supplier vetting, contract review, and incident response.
Insider Threats: These kinds of attacks happen due to accidental or malicious intent of staff or contractors or partners of a business. In 2024, insider threats may intensify with the densification of interconnections and networks. To deter insider threats, organizations will need to adopt a holistic insider threat management approach, that includes monitoring, training, and auditing, and implementing insider threat detection and prevention solutions.
Conclusion
Trends of cybersecurity threats will constantly keep challenging organizations in the upcoming years, and it is important to stay updated with the latest developments. The year 2024 will certainly bring about its share of threats – new ones and persisting old ones.
Understanding the above mentioned threats in this article is just the first step in defending against them. From ransomware to supply chain vulnerabilities, it’s crucial to stay vigilant and take proactive measures to protect against cyber threats.
In the digital age, investment in cybersecurity is going to be huge as companies try to defend themselves against known and the unknown. As always, preventive measures and care are better than dealing with unexpected revelations.