Biggest Security Threats on the Rise
Ransomware, artificial intelligence, and social engineering are all on the rise and are set to be 2024’s biggest security threats. When it comes to security, staying ahead of the curve is not a choice, it is a necessity. You must be able to anticipate threats and innovation and take steps to react accordingly.
Ransomware strikes have surged this year, as they have, year over year for the last several years. There has been the rise of hard-to-trace cryptocurrency, work from home has resulted in new IT vulnerabilities, and ongoing political battles have opened the US up to cyberthreats from other countries. Ransomware-as-a-service became a key factor this year. That model is where cybercriminals offer ransomware tools and services to other malicious actors, for a cut of the profits. Phishing attacks is still the top ransomware threat.
Because of these phishing attacks, social engineering is on the rise. We are seeing new techniques and malicious attachments. Search engine optimization (SEO) is seeing increased levels of manipulation by threat actors looking to make their frauds seem legitimate. Every cyberattack involves some type of social engineering. Once trust is established, which is the social engineering part of the equation, you are wide open for other attacks to occur. Whether it be the distribution of malware, identity theft, or something else entirely, social engineering was the gateway.
Adversarial Nations and cybercriminals have begun using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to find and exploit vulnerabilities in threat detection models. Tied to this, is extortion by hackers using ransomware and demanding payment by cryptocurrencies. AI-driven attacks are increasingly becoming more sophisticated, with AI algorithms being used to automate and optimize attacks.
These three trends are big now in 2023 and will continue to be going into 2024. Do not think for a second, these will be the only cybersecurity trends that will carry into 2024. Next year will provide both challenges and opportunities and every organization need to put their security at the forefront.
Not sure where to start? Let the team at 2W Tech help! We are a technology solutions provider specializing in solutions for the manufacturing industry. Let our team of IT Consultants help evaluate your security posture and ensure you have the best security solutions stack and best practices in place.