CS Jan-Feb 2024

2024 predictions
activity independently and accurately, to
effectively escalate to infosecurity teams as
appropriate. Likewise, infosecurity teams
will have at their disposal capabilities that
automate time- and resource-intensive
processes across the cybersecurity spectrum.
All this combined will make a marked stride
in helping to alleviate the global cyber talent
shortage.
Investment in security will see an upsurge to
reflect generative AI. As much as AI is a tool
that will help to make strides in strengthening
cybersecurity defences, it is also a technique
that is being widely deployed by threat actors
to breach those safeguards with success.
Following a period of relatively stationary
budgets, enterprises will increase spending
in security, investing especially in generative
AI-based products, services and cybersecurity
skills.
Aaron Kiemele, CISO at Jamf
In 2024, cybersecurity teams will need to be
extra vigilant about nation state threats. Major
elections taking place across the world, as well
as the continued conflict in Ukraine and Israel,
will drive increased cyberattacks from statesponsored
groups. Advanced persistent threat
(APT) groups linked to foreign governments
will expand their targets beyond large organisations
in critical infrastructure or sensitive
industries. Smaller businesses in the supply
chain or partner ecosystem will increasingly
be attacked as vectors to the true targets.
Collaboration, management and cloud tools
used by smaller suppliers will be attractive
targets for nation state actors. These tools
hold sensitive data and access that could
provide an easy pathway for lateral movement
towards a larger primary target. Organisations
of all sizes will need to ensure they are not
the weak link that allows adversaries access
to their partners and customers. Cybersecurity
teams should expand their protection, detection
and response capabilities, with nation
state campaigns in mind. Partnering closely
with governments and information-sharing
organisations will also be key to identify and
defend against threats early.
Ultimately, the APT landscape in 2024 will be
highly complex. But with robust preparation
and cooperation, organisations can develop
appropriate resilience against even significant
nation state capabilities.
Simon Hodgkinson, former BP CISO
and strategic adviser to Semperis
Businesses are finally starting to understand
that cyber isn't a topic for the IT department,
but an enterprise risk. Earlier this year, Uber's
former chief security officer was sentenced for
his role in covering up a data breach. Such
headlines drive home an important message:
Organisations are waking up to the fact that
security and operational resilience need to
be owned by the boardroom. Incoming
regulations such as NIS2, as well as the
general rise in cyber awareness, reinforce
this. Operational technology is one area
that's particularly difficult to protect and
organisations will need to put mitigating
controls in place to counter the risks.
Guido Grillenmeier, principal technologist,
Semperis
Attackers are still exploiting basic vulnerabilities
- with the help of AI. The core weak
spots used by attackers haven't changed
over the years and are still being exploited
successfully. Take Active Directory as an
example, Microsoft's core identity service,
which is used by hackers to gain user
privileges and penetrate deeper into their
victim's network. Attackers' initial entry
methods are evolving, though, with Artificial
Intelligence allowing cybercriminals to create
ever more sophisticated and convincing
phishing campaigns that play tricks with
users' emotions. Even users with a high level
of security awareness can now get caught out
by such incredibly well-engineered phishing
attempts. The release of Windows Server
2025 towards the end of 2024 recognises
the need to reinforce identity security, with
the introduction of some additional security
Yvonne Bernard, Hornetsecurity: with the
advent of new technology also comes
new opportunities for criminal activity
from bad actors.
Usman Choudhary, VIPRE: generative AI will
drive self-service security and help to alleviate
the cyber talent shortage.
www.computingsecurity.co.uk @CSMagAndAwards Jan/Feb 2024 computing security
11