As we make our way into 2024, it's clear that security leaders are navigating an increasingly complex landscape. They’re adapting to new threats that emerge from ongoing technological evolution and trying to stay ahead of sophisticated cyberattack techniques.
Recognizing the critical need for forward-looking strategies, we turned to our industry leaders for their predictions on the trends and challenges that will shape the cybersecurity sector in the upcoming year. Their insights provide a valuable perspective on the pivotal developments expected to dominate the cybersecurity conversation, from the integration of Generative AI (GenAI) in cyber defenses and attacks to the increasing importance of cyber resilience and the strategic implications of market consolidation.
This blog post delves into these expert predictions, giving a detailed analysis of the changing cybersecurity environment as we deal with the challenges of 2024.
Mark Gillett – Generative AI: A Double-Edged Sword
There’s no doubt that Generative AI is poised to take the cyber industry by storm in 2024. While these technologies offer novel defenses, they also present new vulnerabilities – in fact, we have already seen threat actors use GenAI for crafting malicious code or generate realistic phishing emails.
To that end, Mark Gillett, our VP, Product, predicts that in 2024, it’s likely that we’ll see threat actors exploiting vulnerabilities by using code created with GenAI. Moreover, it’s likely that more governments will release regulations that govern the use of Generative AI and large language models (LLM).
Eldon Sprickerhoff – The Rise of AI-Generated Malware
Eldon Sprickerhoff, our Founder & Advisor, also reiterated the challenges that GenAI will pose for security leaders, especially given the continued rise of AI-generated malware.
“I think we're going to have to see the efficacy of EDR slightly decreasing due in part to what I expect to see an uptick in GenAI and malware that's generated through GenAI,” Eldon says. “Right now, it's very niche, but I think you're going to see an uptick of polymorphic malicious code generated through, through algorithms.
This trend underscores the need for adaptive defense mechanisms capable of identifying, containing, and neutralizing evolving threats early.
Tia Hopkins – Shifting Towards Cyber Resilience and Continuous Threat Exposure Management
In 2023, much of the focal point for organizations has been to reduce their cyber risks; as a result, security programs have traditionally been structured around cyber risk management first and being resilient second. However, Tia Hopkins, our Chief Cyber Resilience Officer & Field CTO, emphasizes that this may not be enough as we head into 2024.
Instead of solely concentrating on mitigating known risks, Tia states that what security leaders need is a robust framework designed to withstand and recover from unforeseen threats and incidents, effectively minimizing business disruption.
“From an exposure management perspective, the ask is to think about not necessarily shifting away from vulnerability management, but threat management also needs to be a part of the puzzle,” Tia says. “And this fills this broader approach that we refer to as continuous threat exposure management. That means, yes, manage your vulnerabilities, but also consider your threats and the way your business is changing because that combination of information is your overall exposure.”
For security leaders, this means the focus should extend beyond mitigating known risks to preparing for the unknown by way of continuous threat exposure management, which merges vulnerability management with threat intelligence to offer a holistic view of the organization's security posture.
Matt Neisler – Sophistication in Threat Actors and Defenses
Matt Neisler, our Chief Financial Officer, stresses the level of sophistication that 2024 will bring for cybercriminals to launch new cyberattacks: “We will continue to see the threat actors getting more sophisticated in their capabilities using AI/ML capabilities.”
Therefore, security leaders should understandably rely on advanced defensive strategies that leverage AI, machine learning, and collective threat intelligence to stay ahead of threat actors.
In addition, as economic challenges continue to persist, Matt stresses the importance of demonstrating value beyond cost; therefore, his advice for security leaders is to engage a trusted security partner that offer value-rich services, including comprehensive protection and rapid response capabilities.
Larry Gagnon – Redefining MDR Partnerships
Larry Gagnon, our SVP, Security Services & Incident Response, predicts an increase in the pace of cyberattacks, with traditional response models struggling to keep pace.
“Today, it's not uncommon to see a threat actor go from initial access to total network compromise in a matter of 12 hours,” Larry says. “Simple alerting and notification systems can't keep up with that.”
Therefore, he advocates that security leaders must work with their MDR providers to enable immediate response action to suppress threats through host isolation, IP blocking, killing processes, or even disabling users. This approach aims to accelerate time to value when it comes to incident response.
“In my mind, this is truly what an MDR partnership should look like.”
Kurtis Armour – Market Consolidation and Innovation
As economic challenges continue to drive security leaders to do more with less, Kurtis Armour, VP, Product, believes there will be a notable shift in how the market responds as well.
“We're going to see a lot more platform consolidation,” Kurtis says. “We're really seeing the big players out there double down on investments and research and development to try and acquire more total addressable market and total serviceable market.”
As a result, this consolidation is expected to streamline cybersecurity solutions, offering enhanced efficiency and cost benefits to security leaders: “The more that you spend with vendors and the more that you double down, the more discounts and overall efficiencies you're going to gain from the technology.”
The cybersecurity landscape of 2024 demands a proactive, innovative approach to defense, emphasizing the importance of resilience, advanced threat intelligence, and strategic partnerships.
As organizations navigate these challenges, the insights from our experts provide a roadmap for adapting to the dynamic cyber threat environment, ensuring preparedness for the complexities of the digital age.
