Trends In Cybersecurity Risk For 2024

TechTarget has outlined seven noteworthy cybercrime trends for 2024. At the top of the list is the growing concern around AI and AI phishing. The rapidly advancing technology introduces various security challenges, enabling attackers to utilize AI for information gathering from social media. This information is then employed in spear phishing and business email compromise campaigns.

Phishing, in all its forms, remains a significant threat. In 2023, attackers successfully impersonated legitimate partners of Facebook and Google, leading to fraudulent gains exceeding $100 million.

The rise of AI-generated deepfakes is contributing to the creation of realistic audio, image, and video content. These deepfakes are utilized in misinformation campaigns, blackmail, and fraud. Unintentional actions by users, such as incorporating source code, copyrighted material, or confidential business data into AI-powered chatbots, expose this data to both threat actors and competitors.

The use of AI can also result in compliance violations, raising concerns about the privacy of personally identifiable information and sensitive data used to train language models. This can potentially lead to data breaches and legal issues, including copyright infringement and breaches of contract.

While ransomware remains a persistent threat, evolving tactics like double and triple extortion attacks have emerged. In 2023, approximately two-thirds of organizations fell victim to ransomware attacks.

Budget constraints are becoming increasingly prevalent, influenced by factors such as interest rates, global conflicts, and recession fears. Many organizations are cutting back on cybersecurity spending due to inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, and concerns about economic indicators like interest rates and gross domestic product.

The cybersecurity industry is grappling with a skills gap, resulting in staffing challenges. Coupled with budget cuts, this has led to fewer staff members handling the same workload, contributing to the risk of burnout.