3 potential threats for 2024

We're in an era moving at unprecedented speed. New tech every day, plus two more trying to attack us. Here are the three to watch.

We live in a time that's evolving at unimaginable speed. Every day a new technology comes along to help us — and two more come along to try and rob us of all our data. In today's article we'll look at three potential areas that will keep developing and turning into threats for you, too.

1.            AI has a dark side too

AI brought a revolution to the cybersecurity world. With it, we can monitor network integrity in real time and respond to attacks almost instantly. It would be naive, though, to assume no one will turn it against us. Examples of how it can be used against us include:

•             Very polished phishing attacks

•             Disinformation articles

•             Deepfake videos

This kind of content is usually very persuasive and can fool even a careful reader. So always check the sender's email, and verify the information in articles (verify the source) — ideally twice!

2.            Hacktivism is gaining importance

Hacktivism uses hacking as a way to promote political or social views. It's mostly used to expose corruption and other worthwhile causes. But it isn't unusual for it to be used to manipulate people and spread fear. These attacks try to publish information that would normally be off-limits to the public — which can be a good thing, but can also affect the lives of innocent people.

3.            Ransomware will still be the biggest danger

Ransomware is a type of attack that encrypts the victim's data and then extorts them, threatening either not to decrypt it or to publish it. In 2023 the number of ransomware attacks grew by 95%, and it's expected to keep climbing this year. Attackers are also likely to focus on larger infrastructures like security systems and cloud servers. Defending yourself is critical. I recommend, for example:

•             Backing up using the 3-2-1 rule

•             Updating and modernizing your network infrastructure

•             Training employees on phishing and what to do with a phishing email

•             Using multi-factor authentication and a strong, unique password — ideally passwordless together with phishing-resistant sign-in

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