Anticipating the future by looking backwards.
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As we look to the new year and the potential futures that will manifest in 2024 we should also take a moment to look for any threat actor trade craft differences or evolution that we’ve seen during 2023. Cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated and diverse. According to various reports, some of the noticeable differences in the threat actors’ behavior and techniques in 2023 are:
Increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology: Threat actors are leveraging AI and deepfake technology to create more convincing phishing emails, impersonate legitimate users or entities, bypass biometric authentication, and generate fake audio or video content to manipulate or extort their targets.
More targeted and customized attacks: Threat actors are conducting more research and reconnaissance on their potential victims, using social engineering, open-source intelligence, and data breaches to gather information and tailor their attacks accordingly. They are also choosing their targets based on their industry, size, location, or vulnerability.
More collaboration and specialization among threat actors: Threat actors are forming alliances and partnerships with each other, sharing tools, techniques, and resources to increase their efficiency and effectiveness. They are also specializing in different aspects of the attack lifecycle, such as reconnaissance, exploitation, persistence, exfiltration, or ransomware delivery.
More innovation and adaptation to the changing environment: Threat actors are constantly developing new ways to evade detection and response, such as using encryption, obfuscation, polymorphism, or fileless malware. They are also adapting to the changing IT landscape, such as the shift to cloud, remote work, and IoT devices, and exploiting the new vulnerabilities and opportunities they present.
Threat actors in 2024 will absolutely continue evolving in diversity, complexity, and technological capabilities. The nature of their activities dictate that. Organizations can prepare for these events by following some best practices, such as:
Establishing a robust cybersecurity policy that outlines the measures, roles, and responsibilities for enhancing cybersecurity effectiveness.
Securing the perimeter and lot connections with firewalls, encryption, VPNs, and other technologies to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.
Employing a people-centric security policy that educates and empowers employees to recognize and report cyber threats, and to follow security guidelines and protocols.
Controlling access to sensitive data and resources with identity and access management (IAM) solutions, and implementing the principle of least privilege.
Managing passwords wisely with strong and unique passwords, password managers, and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Staying informed and updated on the latest cyber threats, trends, and solutions by attending cybersecurity conferences and events.
Implementing a proactive and resilient incident response plan that can quickly detect, contain, analyze, and remediate cyber incidents, and minimize the impact and damage.
