Coming into 2023, we predicted that the economic downturn would fuel sophisticated fraud, the growth of serverless workloads will increase the attack surface, and there would be more MFA bombing attacks. As we look to 2024, Outpost24’s team of security experts have predicted the emerging threats that will shape the cybersecurity landscape. Dark AI tools, and a shift in security priorities are some of the challenges that organizations will face. Our experts also suggest a greater need for Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) to safeguard against these threats. Read our insights into the security challenges of the new year and learn how your organization can best prepare against them.
What do you anticipate will be the primary focus of organizations’ security strategies in 2024?
Organizations will be placing more emphasis on exposure management in order to be more efficient and to save money on integration. This idea is in line with the concept of CTEM from Gartner, which advocates for a focus on exposure, rather than just vulnerabilities, and for a continual approach rather than one based on compliance.
A lot of organizations, big and small, are struggling to deal with vulnerabilities, still relying on CVSS for prioritization and using multiple tools and vendors to implement countermeasures. To reduce risk and expenditure, CISOs will need more data and intelligence to identify which business-critical assets need protection: automation for discovering and assessing attack surfaces, and dynamic exposure metrics for mitigation.
- Sergio Loureiro, Director of Product, Outpost24
What impact will AI have on cybersecurity in 2024?
2023 witnessed the advent of AI, and many major players have created their own generative AI applications. This, however, comes with both security advantages and risks. There are more personalized social engineering attacks and ultra-convincing deep fakes aiming to breach our personnel, the service desks that support them, and the systems and data they access.
As AI-driven threats become more complicated, there is a growing need for top-notch cyber security expertise. Nevertheless, the scarcity of accessible or economical personnel leads to the requirement for managed services and vendor consolidation. Solutions must be suitably personalized to an enterprise and provide a prioritized view of the risk. What systems are exposed, how serious the danger is, the capacity to solve the problem, and the confirmation of that solution, all become essential. This CTEM philosophy will enable companies to be ready for the challenges of 2024 and beyond.
- Darren James, Product Manager, Outpost24
What lessons can be learned from 2023?
Throughout the year, some risks have been notably more prominent than others – those have been in services accessible from the internet, as well as the so called “zero days”. Whenever something is exposed to the internet, the risk of exploitation spikes. The zero-days are hard to defend against, but reduction of exposure significantly reduces the risk of breach.
Of millions of audited passwords, we determined that the usual passwords used in 2023 were extremely similar to those used two decades ago. Organizations must not forget the basics of cyber security, especially the aspects that are connected to the internet and their default settings. To protect against attackers, it is vital to be aware of what is being made available to them. Many of 2023’s cyber-attacks could have been avoided with inexpensive preventative security solutions. Risk mitigation before a breach is much less costly than incident management.
- Martin Jartelius, CISO, Outpost24
What security solutions do you see emerging in 2024 to help combat cyber threats?
Market players will offer AI-enabled cybersecurity assistants. These “first-line defenders” can help drive solutions, analyze datasets, reduce alert fatigue through triaging and false-positive management, and lay out playbooks to streamline the remediation process.
- Stijn Vande Casteele, Founder of Sweepatic EASM, Outpost24
What existing security risks do you expect to also find in 2024?
Third-party supply attacks have been increasing in prevalence over the past few years as organizations outsource services they don’t want to provide themselves, creating new potential security risks. This trend, coupled with vendor consolidation, is creating points of failure that have not been taken into consideration. What’s worse, this also represents a great opportunity for attackers, as they can use third party suppliers to amplify their efforts and potentially compromise hundreds or thousands of companies at once.
- Victor Acin, Head of Threat Intel, Outpost24
Cybersecurity solutions to combat threats in 2024
We can guarantee that the cyber battlefield will keep transforming in 2024, and the measures needed to combat it should adapt too. Companies must pay attention to any and all possible threats that may arise as digitalization increases, making non-stop vigilance and protection ever more important. Here’s how Outpost24 solutions can help:
- Understand your external attack surface with Sweepatic’s AI-driven analysis modules. Analyze all your known and unknown internet-facing assets for vulnerabilities and attack paths. Get a free attack surface analysis and see where you stand for 2024.
- Risk-based vulnerability management approach with Outscan NX for threat intelligence led risk scoring and more targeted remediation efforts.
- Continuous pen testing of applications with real-time feedback from our in-house testing team for the accurate view of your vulnerabilities.
- Detect and deter external threats with Threat Compass, our modular cyber threat intelligence solution to confront external cyberthreats and manage digital risk.
Our 2024 cybersecurity predictions are from security veterans at Outpost24 with extensive industry expertise. If you would like to see how Outpost24 can better secure your organization for 2024, please contact us to speak to one of our experts today.
The post The scope of cybersecurity in 2024: Predictions from the experts appeared first on Outpost24.
