5 Cybersecurity Trends in 2024 to Prepare your Team for

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that cybercrime is on the rise. Those crafty cyber criminals are constantly looking for new ways to compromise your business, and as a business owner, IT manager or employee, the onus is often on you to defend your business from common cybercrimes.
Long gone are the days where all we had to deal with was making sure “Kevin in accounts” didn’t have their password set as “Password123” (believe it or not, these people are still out there.)
In 2023 we dealt with some of the worst cyber security threats we’ve ever seen. In one case study we read, a 100-year-old business was snuffed out by a series of ransomware attacks. As part of our duty to defend Scottish businesses, we wanted to make you aware of 5 trends in the world of cyber security that you should keep an eye out for in 2024. 

The Rise of AI and Data Poisoning

The AI cat is out of the proverbial bag. There’s no shoving it back in now, it’s here and somehow or another everyone will need to adapt or die. Whilst there are myriad benefits to the use of AI for almost all businesses and industries, there are also some serious dangers. One area of cyber security we predict becoming much more of an issue in 2024 is Data Poisoning.

Data poisoning involves a concentrated effort to corrupt the databases which are used to train AI models. By filling these data sets with malicious and incorrect data, cyber criminals are able to skew the outcomes these algorithms work to.

Whilst this may not be a huge deal for those using AI to finish off an essay 2 hours before class or give them recipes to use up the last dregs in the fridge, if unchecked this could have absolutely disastrous ramifications for sectors like finance and healthcare.

But how do you protect against this? Short answer: common sense. AI should only ever be used when counteracted and augmented with human intelligence. If your workers are going to use AI in their tasks, and let’s face it most will in the future, it is vital they receive training in AI security, and a robust process and system is put in place for verification of any data produced from an AI source.

Spear Phishing Attacks

No, we haven’t spelt “fishing” wrong, and we aren’t suggesting you watch out for bearded men in yellow raincoats attacking you with a spear gun on your commute home. Spear phishing is the nastier older brother of a phishing attack.

“But I can’t remember what a phishing attack is?” I hear you shout at your computer in frustration. Well don’t worry, here’s a refresher. A phishing attack is an attempt by a cyber criminal to deceive someone into revealing sensitive information. Usually by sending an email claiming to be Nigerian Royalty, your bank or a long lost relative to encourage you to click a link and receive millions! This crude form has been replaced by fake emails from banks or services and is responsible for a huge number of incidents every year.

Spear Phishing is altogether nastier. Where phishing can be imagined as a wide cast net being thrown over a huge shoal of fish, spear phishing is a highly targeted effort on one “whale.”

In spear phishing, the hacker will dive into your records and carefully craft an email from somebody you trust, your boss, a client or even your IT support. They’ll include an urgent message with a link, and once you’ve clicked this link, they can start harvesting your data or installing nasty malware on your system.

For a full guide on what to look our for when avoiding spear phishing, we have a handy guide here for your team to look over.

Ransomware on the Rise

If you’re in the know, Ransomware is terrifying. Extortion and criminality go hand in hand, and unfortunately cyber criminals have been perfecting ransomware, and 2023 saw a marked rise in ransomware threat with more than twice the number of victims than in 2022.

In one case study we examined in 2023, a major company over 100 years in business was hit by a ransomware attack, crippling them completely. How long could your business last unable to access your systems, fulfil orders, or communicate with your clients?

Whilst we can try and show a brave face and hope 2024 will be better, the only way to insure this is for companies to be vigilant about the risks, and to be realistic about their cyber security needs.

Cyber Security Problems with Legacy Systems

Let’s face facts, as humans we’re creatures of habit. Our brains are built to form and find comfort in habits, and the same is true for businesses and their software solutions. When you have your team trained up and used to a certain package of software, it can be easy to despair when a brand-new service appears every other week. Whilst in many cases it’s sensible to keep your services as up to date as possible, there are benefits to sticking with what you know.

When faced with the choice to update all your systems to the latest version and retrain your staff, or continue using the software you are comfortable with, it’s no surprise that many choose the latter.

However, did you know that this course of action leaves you ripe for attack? As older apps and versions lose support and protection, a whole host of avenues of attack are revealed to vigilant cyber criminals.

Don’t worry though! There’s a way you can keep going with your favourite software and maintain security.

Our partnered solution, Droplet, is a secure and cost-effective way to keep using out of date operating systems and programmes, alongside a host of other benefits. For more information schedule a call and let us talk you through the programme.

Human Error

As mentioned before, one of the most common causes of cyber attack year on year is simple human error.

However, it is also an area you can make a massive difference to your IT security in 2024 for minimal investment. If you’re a business in Scotland concerned about this, or any other issue listed above, we’re currently running a promotion for businesses of 20 people plus. Contact us today to enquire and let’s find out if we’re a good fit, and we’ll offer you 6 months of IT security training for free!

We hope this list hasn’t scared you too much. The world of cyber security is changing, hence our dedication to learning and development within the tech and cyber security spaces. We have a huge range of resources available on our website so you can learn about the threats out there. If it’s all a bit overwhelming, fill the form in below to figure out if we’re the best fit to defend your company from cyber criminals in 2024.

Still worried about being underprepared? 

At Jera IT we are constantly vigilant about the latest threats that threaten businesses across Scotland. One of our core values is constant education and improvement, so our staff are fully equipped to defend Scottish businesses.

Go to sleep soundly, knowing that your business is protected with Jera.

If you need help getting the following requirements up and running, contact us here at Jera. We can help you achieve the cybersecurity standards you need for cybersecurity insurance.