Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

It’s mid-morning, and I’m making good progress when an email from a department head pops into my inbox. They’re thrilled about a new plugin that promises to streamline workflows for one of our most critical platforms. Naturally, they need me to sign off on the vendor’s security posture before they can move forward. I get it—business efficiency is important, but so is ensuring we don’t invite unnecessary risk into our environment.

A widespread phishing campaign is attempting to steal credentials from employees working at dozens of organizations around the world, according to researchers at Group-IB. The campaign has targeted organizations across twelve industries, including government, aerospace, finance, energy, telecommunications, and fashion. “The campaign begins with phishing links crafted to mimic trusted platforms commonly used for document management and electronic signatures, such as DocuSign,” Group-IB says.

A new report makes it clear that U.K. organizations need to do more security awareness training to ensure their employees don’t fall victim to the evolving use of AI. Here at KnowBe4, we’ve long known that AI is going to be a growing problem, with phishing attacks and the social engineering they employ far more believable and effective.

2024 has proved historic for technology and cybersecurity—and we still have some distance from the finish line. We’ve witnessed everything from advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) to brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and humanoid robots. Alongside these innovations, new attack vectors like AI model jailbreaking and prompt hacking have emerged. And we also experienced the single largest IT outage the world has ever seen.

The growing complexity of IT environments—across cloud, IoT, and hybrid settings—has ushered in new opportunities for innovation but also expanded the threat landscape for cyber vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities, now known as blind spots, serve as areas within an organization’s security posture that are ignored or poorly monitored.

As we look ahead to 2025, the cybersecurity landscape is poised for significant shifts and challenges. Here are some key predictions that I believe will take place or start to happen in the coming year.

In the process of securing a business and achieving a full certification with ISO 27001, there are many different tasks that need to be accomplished, and many different people who need to be working towards achieving those tasks. In fact, a key part of a successful certification and a passing audit is accountability. Different people will need to take on different roles and responsibilities, some of which are for the purposes of the audit, and others for ongoing security.

The ‘consent or pay’ model, essentially offers a choice between pay with your data, or pay with your money. Meta became the most notable company to use this tactic and were immediately met with questions as to how they could justify such an arrangement, and more importantly, how they could do so lawfully.

Cyber insurance and compliance are a golden opportunity for MSPs. Businesses turn to your services and solutions to deliver adequate protection, avoid hefty compliance fines and get help with insurance coverage. As data protection and security requirements intensify, your services play a critical role in mitigating your clients’ cyber risk.

As 2024 wraps up, we’re feeling reflective (and a little proud!). It’s been a whirlwind year here at Xalient, packed with milestones, achievements, and more awards than we could fit on a shelf (not that we’re complaining!). From industry accolades to workplace recognitions, we’ve been celebrating non-stop and it’s all thanks to our amazing team and the unique culture we’ve built together.