Top 6 cybersecurity threats in 2024

 Cybercrime is one of the most significant rising risks that businesses face in 2024, and cybercriminals do not discriminate when targeting businesses. That said, in many cases, the bigger or more successful your business is, the more at risk of receiving a cyber threat you’ll be. For example, only 40% of seed and pre-seed startups believe they will face a cyber threat, but 72% of Series C startups expect an attack.

1. Social engineering

Social engineering remains one of the most dangerous hacking techniques employed by cybercriminals, largely because it relies on human error rather than technical vulnerabilities. This makes these attacks all the more dangerous because it’s a lot easier to trick a human than it is to breach a security system. And it’s clear that hackers know this: according to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations report, 74% of all data breaches involve some form of human interaction, and somewhere between 75% and 91% of targeted cyberattacks start with an email.

In 2023, social engineering tactics were a key method for obtaining employee data and credentials. In recent years, social engineering attacks have become more sophisticated and harmful due to technological advances such as deepfakes and Generative AI. Attacks are becoming more difficult to identify and cybersecurity companies are being forced to quickly improve their systems.

Common types of social engineering

Here are a few of the most frequent types of social engineering attacks:

• Phishing: Criminals send messages through email, text, or social media, pretending to be a reputable source with the goal of getting individuals to reveal sensitive information and data such as bank account info, social security numbers, and passwords.
• Spoofing: Similar to phishing, but the attacker “spoofs” an email address or even an entire website to deceive individuals. For example, they may change a single letter in an email and create a landing page that is nearly identical to the original.
• Whaling: A highly strategized phishing attack that personally targets high-ranking executives and officers within a company with the goal of getting access to incredibly sensitive information or sending large sums of money.
• Baiting: Scammers will lure individuals into clicking on fake advertisements with attractive offers and promotions, such as free products and discounts. The links may either install malware onto the device or ask individuals to input personal information.

 2.Third-party exposure

Cybercriminals can get around security systems by hacking less-protected networks belonging to third parties that have privileged access to the hacker’s primary target. 

One major example of a third-party breach occurred at the beginning of 2024 when AT&T addressed a massive third-party data breach that affected more than 70 million customers, exposing call and text data, passwords, and more.

This type of cyberattack is especially dangerous as many third parties tend to be much less secure than the major companies they work with. Third-party threats have become increasingly more common, and in 2023, 29% of all data breaches occurred due to a third-party attack.

3. Configuration mistakes

Even professional security systems more than likely contain at least one error in how the software is installed and set up. A small error when configuring a cybersecurity system can lead to a massive vulnerability. According to a 2023 report from security company Censys, more than 8,000 servers were vulnerable to data breaches due to misconfigurations. This essentially leaves the “door” open for cybercriminals to steal sensitive information and exploit vulnerable security systems.

A configuration issue can be as simple as using weak passwords or a more complex problem, such as improperly set up firewalls. Here are some of the most common configuration issues that lead to cyberattacks:

Failure to change device default configuration: Printers, fax machines, and other devices that may have privileged access to your business network come with default security settings that are quite easy to hack. You must make sure that the IT team properly sets up the passwords and security settings.

Network segmentation: In order to separate more sensitive information from the standard network, your company should use network segmentation to limit and control company data on different networks.

Not updating/patching computer software: Software updates are one of the best ways to ensure your devices are protected against cyberattacks. So, it is vital to frequently update computer software, retire outdated systems, and patch operating issues.

Using Weak Passwords: You should set strict password restrictions and complex criteria for all employees, especially executives and employees with high-level access.

5. Artificial intelligence cyber threats

Without a doubt, AI has changed the game when it comes to cyber threats. AI-driven attacks use machine learning to quickly analyze security systems, identify and penetrate weak spots.

Additionally, cybercriminals are now able to automate attack processes, so not only have the attacks become more sophisticated, but also more frequent. According to a 2023 survey from CFO.com, 85% of cybersecurity professionals believe that the rise in cyberattacks is due to AI tactics.

Additionally, in our 2023 cyber risk index report, we found that 90% of startup founders are concerned about the dangerous potential of AI cyberattacks.

This has caused a shift towards a more proactive approach to improve systems and increase security. 

As mentioned above, AI has also really pushed the boundaries of phishing, with 95% of businesses agreeing that phishing attempts have gotten more sophisticated and personalized in the last year.

With all this said, artificial intelligence hasn’t been all bad news for cybersecurity; it has actually improved capabilities in recent years. Security systems that utilize AI have improved threat detection, are more automated, and can even point out weak points in your system.

New technology, such as IBM’s AI threat detection systems, helps businesses stay ahead of the curve by fighting AI-powered attacks with AI-powered security.

6. Insider threats

An insider cyber threat occurs when a person within a business or organization, such as an employee or contractor, is the culprit of a cyberattack. There are two types of insider threats: intentional and non-intentional.

• Intentional insider threat: Insider deliberately uses their access to cause harm or steal sensitive information, such as leaking confidential data or sabotaging systems.
• Non-intentional insider threat: Insider accidentally causes a security breach, such as by falling for a phishing scam or improperly handling sensitive data.

Since insiders already have been granted access to internal systems, intentional insider threats are more difficult to detect and can cause a lot of harm.

In 2018, a Telsa employee who was denied a promotion intentionally sent extensive and damaging sensitive company data to third parties.