This week we are revealing the top cybersecurity threats in 2024. We warned you, it’s spooky season and cybersecurity awareness season, so prepare for a fright!

As technology continues to advance, the risk of cyberattacks also increases. Not only is the number of cyberattacks growing, but these incidents are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous. Many smaller organisations mistakenly believe they are not at risk of cyberattacks. However, all organisations, regardless of size, are vulnerable. Cybercrime is a particular threat to SMEs due to their weaker security measures, valuable data, supply chain weaknesses, and insufficient employee awareness.

If you’re now wondering what the top cybersecurity threats are in 2024 and how you can protect your business, you have come to the right place!

Social Engineering

Social engineering attacks manipulate individuals into disclosing confidential information such as login credentials or performing a certain action such as downloading software. This kind of attack is particularly dangerous as it relies on human error rather than technical flaws. In the past number of years, social engineering has become a major way to steal employee data and credentials. Social engineering has also become more advanced and harmful due to technologies like deep fakes and Generative AI, making them harder to detect.

Common Types of Social Engineering

• Phishing: Cybercriminals send fake emails, texts, or social media messages pretending to be from a trusted source with the goal of tricking individuals into revealing sensitive information and data, such as passwords or financial details. Ireland currently ranks as the number one country globally for phishing activity.

• Spoofing: Similar to phishing, but the attacker “spoofs” an email address or website in order to deceive people. For example, they might change one letter in an email address or even impersonate your domain name if you are not fully DMARC compliant. These targeted scams trick victims into revealing private or sensitive data, downloading malware, or sending money to an attacker.

• Whaling: A carefully strategised phishing attack aimed at high-ranking executives in a company with the goal of gaining access to extremely sensitive information or tricking the executive into sending large sums of money.

• Baiting: Scammers entice people with fake ads offering attractive deals like free products or discounts. Clicking these links can either install malware on the device or prompt users to enter personal information.

Third-Party Exposure

Cybercriminals often bypass security systems by targeting less protected networks of third parties that have access to their main target. This is a major issue for organisations that rely on third-party vendors for various services. These vendors may not have the same level of security measures, creating weak points that cybercriminals can exploit. The more third parties a company works with, the larger and more complex its threat level becomes. When a cybersecurity incident occurs within a third-party vendor, organisations often have limited visibility into the scope of the breach and less control over remediation efforts. Organisations may also face regulatory consequences if a third-party breach results in the exposure of sensitive data and information.

Artificial Intelligence Cyber Threats

AI-driven attacks use machine learning to quickly analyse security systems, identify vulnerabilities, and exploit them. In addition, cybercriminals can now automate their attack processes, making attacks not only more sophisticated but also more frequent. Additionally, cybercriminals are now able to automate attack processes, so not only have the attacks become more sophisticated but also more frequent. The concern regarding AI cyberattacks has led to a shift towards a more proactive approach to improving systems and increasing security. Conducting regular cyber risk reviews and reports at least once a year can help proactively mitigate emerging AI driven-attacks.

DNS Tunneling

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a crucial internet protocol that translates website names (like cybercontego.com) into IP addresses. Without DNS, browsing the web would not be possible. Because DNS is so important, companies often allow DNS traffic through their firewalls, which can open the door to cyber threats like DNS tunneling. DNS tunneling is a method of secretly sending and receiving data by hiding it in normal-looking DNS requests. This technique tricks networks into thinking the data are regular internet traffic, allowing it to pass through firewalls unnoticed. DNS tunneling is a common cyberattack method because it’s relatively easy to learn and very effective. DNS filtering can help prevent DNS tunneling by blocking malicious requests, monitoring DNS traffic, and restricting access.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a crucial internet protocol that translates website names (like cybercontego.com) into IP addresses. Without DNS, browsing the web would not be possible. Because DNS is so important, companies often allow DNS traffic through their firewalls, which can open the door to cyber threats like DNS tunnelling. DNS tunnelling is a method of secretly sending and receiving data by hiding it in normal-looking DNS requests. This technique tricks networks into thinking the data is regular internet traffic, allowing it to pass through firewalls unnoticed. DNS tunnelling is a common cyberattack method because it’s relatively easy to learn and very effective. DNS filtering can help prevent DNS tunnelling by blocking malicious requests, monitoring DNS traffic, and restricting access.

Ransomware

Ransomware is among the most expensive types of cyberattacks. This malware locks you out of your software or files until a ransom is paid. Ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly expensive and frequent. In 2022, on average, Irish SMEs paid hackers a ransom of €22,773. It’s also important to consider the financial losses organisations experienced due to downtime caused by ransomware attacks. Cybercriminals are constantly improving their tools, making it easier to steal data. One of the best ways to protect against developing ransomware attacks is to conduct regular cybersecurity risk reviews, along with vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Managed endpoint detection and response (EDR) that continuously monitors your servers, PCs, and laptops to identify and respond to cyber threats such as ransomware, malware, and other suspicious activities.

Need help with your cyber threat defences?

Contact Seamus Quinn to book a free appointment to discuss how we can help protect your business.