As we enter 2024, Stefan Keller, Chief Product Officer at Open Systems, alongside Craig Harber, Security Evangelist, project a pivotal shift in AI's role in cybersecurity.
Stefan Keller, Chief Product Officer, Open Systems
2024 AI Predictions
Defeating AI generated phishing attacks will become a major area of investment due to the widespread availability of generative AI tools that leverage deepfakes and personalize messages with a greater degree of sophistication.
Defending converged ecosystems (IT/OT/IoT) will become an important focus area as companies move forward with business transformation initiatives to boost overall performance through increased revenue, lower operating costs, and better customer satisfaction and workforce productivity.
Increasing cyber resiliency of business systems will become a major growth area as senior executives weigh invest in capabilities to ensure continuity of operations even in the wake of a successful breach.
Craig Harber, Security Evangelist: Open Systems
2024 Trending
IT leaders need to prepare for a significant increase in cyberattack scale, scope, and sophistication in 2024. Generative AI tools give attackers a significant advantage in defeating malware detection engines deployed by security teams by modifying malware code and tailoring email messages to trick even the best-trained users. Some IT leaders may think this is just more of the same, but this technology is a potential game-changer for the attacker.
The sophistication of AI-generated socially engineered messages and deepfake videos using personal information from all social media will be convincing to even the most well-trained and cyber-savvy user. It will fool users into giving up credential information that allows the attacker to gain a foothold into the target network and then move laterally in search of other valuable information. Bad actors will also weaponize this technology to influence the 2024 presidential election through disinformation campaigns. The outcome of the election will decide the policies of this country for the next four years.
Business transformation takes a customer-driven, digital-first approach to all aspects of a business operation to increase customer adoption and business opportunities. It uses advanced analytic engines, automation, hybrid cloud, and other smart digital technologies operating across the boundaries of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). While it creates new opportunities for efficiency and innovation, it also expands the cyberattack surface that security teams must defend to prevent significant damage to our industrial sector and the nation's critical infrastructure.
Recent cyber breaches expose common gaps in security tools, processes, and policies that prevent security teams from defeating sophisticated cybercriminals. Companies must be able to operate in a contested environment. They must invest in robust cybersecurity resilience strategies to maintain business continuity before, during, and after a cybersecurity incident. It’s not just about investing in the best cybersecurity tools to prevent an attack. Security teams must prepare for the inevitable. They must continuously update and exercise incident response plans and conduct tabletop exercises to ensure critical business workflows can operate while attacks are identified, contained, and remediated. These steps are essential to protect against financial loss and brand reputation.
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