2024 Cybersecurity Predictions

AI’s evolution will continually improve both organizations’ cyber defense efforts and cybercriminal activities. At the same time, increasingly complex regulatory requirements, continued consolidation of cybersecurity tools, a widening attack surface, and heightened global geopolitical issues will all play a significant role in driving the direction of cybersecurity.

Over the past year, we’ve witnessed significant developments in cybersecurity, including the emergence of generative AI and its ability to enhance organizations threat intelligence efforts, and the rise of Threat Exposure Management, a program of consolidation to identify and mitigate risk and strengthen cyber defense proactively.

Prediction #1: AI will evolve to become more broadly accessible while cybersecurity continue to address the reliability and privacy of data.

AI will become broadly accessible to practitioners, regardless of their skillset or maturity level.

As concerns for data privacy with AI grow, companies will form their own policies while waiting for government entities to enact regulatory legislation. The U.S. and other countries may establish some regulations in 2024, although clear policies may not take shape until 2025 or later.

Prediction #2: AI will be used as an attack tool – and a target. Hackers will increasingly use AI to improve effectiveness, and legitimate use of AI will surface as a prominent attack vector.

Threat actors will use AI to increase the frequency and accuracy of their activities by automating large-scale cyberattacks, creating duplicitous phishing email campaigns, and developing malicious content targeting companies, employees, and customers.

Malicious attacks like data poisoning and vulnerability exploitation in AI models will also gain momentum, which cause organizations to provide sensitive information t untrustworthy parties unwittingly. Similarly, AI models can be trained to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in computer networks without detection.

Prediction #3: Tighter regulations and cybersecurity mandates hold the C-suite and Boards accountable for corporations cyber hygiene.

In 2024, as attack surfaces widen and the frequency and scale of attacks grow, regulatory mandates will hold business leaders more accountable for their organization’s cyber hygiene. The C-suite and other executives will need a clearer understanding of their organization’s cybersecurity policies, processes, and tools.

Prediction #4: The need for proactive cybersecurity combined with continued tool consolidation will underscore the necessity of cyber threat intelligence in critical business decision-making.

More companies will adopt Threat Exposure Management (TEM), a holistic, proactive approach to cybersecurity, of which cyber threat intelligence (CTI) is a foundational component. As a result, they will need robust CTI solutions delivering focused insights to mitigate business and operational risk significantly.

Prediction #5: Geopolitical and other issues will broaden attackers motivations beyond financial gain, resulting in a growing pool of targets, attack vectors, and tactics.

In 2024, 40 national elections will occur worldwide. As threat actors’ motivations stretch beyond financial gain, an uptick in attacks targeting entities without profit centers, such as schools, hospitals, public utilities, and other essential services, as bad actors aim to gain power and influence and cause general disorder.

Cybercriminals will increasingly offer their skills and expertise for hire through ransomware-as-a-service, malware-as-a-service, and DDoS-as-a-service offerings.

Affiliate programs will continue to grow as powerful cybercriminal gangs franchise their ransomware technology, scaling operations to a network of lesser-skilled individuals for distribution, making the extortion business accessible and profitable to a larger pool of threat actors.