Diving into the 2024 Security Megatrends
Cybersecurity is a fast-paced and constantly changing industry. Ongoing technological advancements, new paradigms and evolving threat actor techniques make the landscape look different each year. Keeping up with the trends and changes is not only a point of curiosity; it’s also informative regarding how to guide and tweak your strategies.
But what about security in general? Aside from cybersecurity-specific trends, there’s a lot to glean from looking at the wider picture of overall security trends. Here’s an overview of the 2024 Security Megatrends Report published by The Security Industry Association (SIA), a leading trade association representing global security solution providers.
Key 2024 Security Trends
The full report is chock-full of interesting statistics and insights, but not all of it is relevant to cybersecurity. Here is a run-through of the report’s most valuable takeaways through a cybersecurity lens.
Predominance of AI
It’s perhaps unsurprising to hear that AI dominates security trends in 2024. In fact, AI-related trends were in the top four slots of the report’s 10 megatrends. Three of the four are directly applicable to cybersecurity, and there is some overlap with Nuspire’s prediction of what 2024 might look like in terms of the impact of AI on infosec.
- Regulation—Rapid evolution and concerns about various threats have called for moments of reflection in terms of AI regulation. An Executive Order published by the Biden administration promised sweeping action to strengthen AI safety and security, which will come in the form of regulations. Companies using AI technologies will need to add AI regulations on top of existing information security compliance requirements. On the upside, new laws should strengthen cybersecurity by reducing the risk of malicious AI use and ensuring that AI-driven security tools are reliable and safe.
- Security—Staying with security, the SIA’s report places AI security at the top of the megatrends. This trend relates to how those in the security industry can lead with transparency and trust in how they use AI technologies. In fact, the report specifically outlines the importance of cybersecurity in ensuring algorithms are safe and protect data, IP and corporate integrity.
- Generative—Much of the reason AI is even in the discussion about 2024 security megatrends was the enormous leap in the power of generative AI during 2023. As a race for profit incentivizes newer and better versions of these models, expect LLM apps like ChatGPT to be baked into more cyber solutions. On the downside, threat actors will also benefit from these improvements and use LLM apps as an aid to carry out cyberattacks.
Expanding Security ROI
One interesting trend was related to delivering a return on investment (ROI) from security that extends beyond core security outcomes. This concept is increasingly relevant in cybersecurity, where the value of security measures is often seen not just in preventing breaches or attacks, but also in the additional benefits. Some examples include:
- Cybersecurity tools can provide valuable data analytics. By monitoring network traffic, user behavior and access patterns, you can get insights into business operations, employee productivity and customer behavior.
- Many cybersecurity solutions and services aid regulatory compliance by automating data protection processes and generating reports. This not only helps in complying with regulations like HIPAA, but also adds value by reducing the manual effort and potential for human error in compliance-related tasks.
- Investing in robust cybersecurity can significantly reduce the risk of disruptive cyber incidents. This ensures business continuity and can be a key factor in maintaining customer trust and loyalty in a world where people prefer doing business with companies that take care of their data.
IT-OT Convergence
Operational Technology (OT) systems control industrial operations and physical processes and were traditionally isolated from IT systems due to their different objectives and operational requirements. But now, they are increasingly converging, which comes with both benefits and cybersecurity implications.
The potential benefits of integrating data from OT systems (like sensors and control systems) with IT’s analytical and predictive capabilities include improved efficiency, innovation, cost savings and decision-making. But this 2024 security megatrend also comes with cybersecurity challenges in effectively controlling traffic flows between disparate technologies and ensuring IT threats don’t cross over to OT environments. In fact, the report pinpoints ransomware attacks against OT systems as something that will likely increase in 2024, with wide potential for disruption on manufacturers and operators of critical infrastructure.
Closing Thoughts
The 2024 security megatrends show that the only constant in security is change. A glance at 2023’s table of contents shows an entirely different set of trends just one year prior. Ensuring you have sufficient resources/expertise/teamwork to quickly adapt to change is crucial. This is where MSSPs prove their worth to make up for coverage gaps, provide consulting, and even detect and respond to the latest security threats.
