Cyberattacks will cost the global economy $10.5 trillion by year’s end.
This staggering amount shows that cyber security must become a strategic priority for individuals, organizations, and governments.
As in every other business and technological field, AI will transform attack and defense. All trends covered here will be affected by it.
Cyber threats are no exception to the rapid pace of technological advancement in recent years. See my predictions for the cyber security trends everyone should watch in 2024. As they say, forewarned is forearmed.
Table of Contents
Cybersecurity Skills Shortage?
Through 2024, a shortage of cyber security professionals persists. Research shows that 54% of cyber security professionals believe the skills shortage has worsened over the past two years. We can expect continued salary increases for skilled workers and more investment in training, development, and upskilling programs to fix this.
Generative AI on Both Sides of Battle?
AI-powered attacks will become more sophisticated and smart as AI advances at an alarming rate. This includes deepfake social engineering and automatically adapting malware to avoid detection. Real-time anomaly detection, smart authentication, and automated incident response will help us detect, avoid, or neutralize threats. If cyber attack and defense in 2024 is chess, AI is the queen, with powerful strategic advantages for the best player.
Next-Level Phishing?
Increased sophistication is expected in social engineering attacks that trick users into giving attackers system access. Deepfake attacks will increase as generative AI tools like ChatGPT allow attackers to be smarter and more personalized. Organization-wide awareness and education will be the main response, but AI and zero trust will also grow.
Boardroom Cybersecurity?
By 2024, cybersecurity is a strategic priority that cannot be isolated in IT. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 70% of boards will have a specialist. Prepared organizations can take advantage of new business opportunities by moving beyond reactive defense.
IoT Cyberattacks?
Cyber attackers can exploit more “ins” as more devices connect to the internet. The work-from-home revolution will continue to put workers at risk of connecting or sharing data over unsecure devices. These devices are often designed for convenience rather than security, and weak security protocols and passwords may put home consumer IoT devices at risk. The industry’s slow adoption of IoT security standards, despite the vulnerabilities’ long-standing existence, will keep it a cyber security weak spot, though this is changing.
Beyond Cyber Security: Cyber Resilience?
Many people use cyber security and cyber resilience interchangeably. In 2024 and beyond, the distinction will become more important. Cyber security focuses on preventing attacks, but many organizations are prioritizing resilience, recognizing that even the best security can’t guarantee 100% protection. Resilience measures ensure operations continue after a breach. In 2024, agile recovery to minimize data loss and downtime will be a priority.
Negative Trust?
Zero trust—always verify—evolves as systems become more complex and security becomes business strategy. Zero trust means there is no safe network perimeter. Changing threats extend this principle beyond the corporate network to remote workers, partnered organizations, and IoT devices. From technical network security to adaptive and holistic, AI-powered real-time authentication and activity monitoring transform zero trust in 2024.
Cyber Warfare and State-Sponsored Attacks?
State willingness and ability to launch cyber attacks against military and civilian infrastructure in 2024 has been shown by the Ukraine war, which is entering its third year. Military operations worldwide will likely include cyber warfare. Phishing attacks and distributed denial-of-service attacks to disable communications, public utilities, transport, and security infrastructure are the most common methods. Outside of warfare, 2024 will see major elections in the US, UK, and India, and cyberattacks to disrupt democracy are likely.
Cyber Security Professionals Needing More Soft Skills?
As threats become more sophisticated, cybersecurity professionals will be expected to handle more complex tasks in 2024. Those responsible for countering cyber threats will also have to deal with complex social and cultural issues. Soft skills like communication, relationship-building, and problem-solving will become more important.
Regulate Cybersecurity?
Governments and organizations are becoming more aware of cyber threats to national security and economic growth. New cyber security regulations are also driven by the social and political fallout of large-scale data breaches.
UK businesses have until April 2024 to comply with the Product Security and Telecommunications Act, which mandates minimum security for networked products (such as not shipping with a default password). The EU’s Radio Equipment Directive won’t be implemented until 2025, but lawmakers will likely focus on it in 2024.
Cyber Security Trends 2024, Emerging Threats in Cyber Security, Next-Gen Cybersecurity, AI in Cybersecurity, Zero Trust Security Model, Cloud Security Solutions, IoT Security Trends, Ransomware Protection, Blockchain for Cybersecurity, Cyber Threat Intelligence,
Quantum Computing Risks, 5G Network Security, Endpoint Security Solutions, Threat Hunting Techniques, Biometric Authentication, Cyber Resilience Strategies, Cybersecurity Automation, Regulatory Compliance in Security, Phishing Attack Prevention,
Security Orchestration, Mobile Device Security, Social Engineering Defense, Incident Response Planning, Threat Actor Attribution, Critical Infrastructure Protection