Part of being a part of the cybersecurity industry means looking ahead to the future and anticipating what’s to come. For most of us, we should expect a 2024 that is largely dominated by AI discussion. With the cybersecurity industry growing rapidly, AI is at the forefront of every organization’s cyber plans and plays an integral role in all technological advances.

In the underground cybercrime circles of the Dark Web, ransomware attacks are a particularly lucrative enterprise. These attacks are on the rise. And they’re disrupting the stalwart IT industry. The average cost of a ransom attack in 2023 was $1.54 million, almost double the previous year’s average. And research we gathered for The CISO Report show that 83% of organizations hit by a ransomware attack paid their attackers. Curious which industry is most likely to pay the ransom? Retail.

One study found that 65% of SaaS applications in use are unsanctioned. And 59% of IT professionals find SaaS sprawl challenging to manage. In other words, shadow IT risks are growing—but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hidden risks across today’s expanding attack surface. Missed software patches, outdated certificates, and stealth malware are some examples. Many security teams still struggle to keep their networks safe from ever-growing digital supply chains.

Welcome to 2024! A new year brings new change, so why not start 2024 with a rapid IT and security hygiene check? Read through the following list, keep a tally, and score your organization out of 10 on these mandatory items. If you don’t know the answer, it’s worth following up to find out.

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of physical objects – “things” – that connect and share data with the internet, other IoT devices and the cloud. IoT devices are often embedded with sensors, software and other technologies to exchange data with other devices and systems when connected to the internet. IoT devices include smart home devices like doorbell cameras and light bulbs.

Now you can get even more out of your cloud storage subscription with Internxt, as we are excited to introduce Internxt Drive's new advanced sharing feature. This new update is designed to elevate and enhance how you collaborate and share files with others. Fresh out of Internxt's most successful year yet, Internxt continues to hit the ground running in 2024 by providing you with a new feature for Drive Web, designed to optimize how you manage, share, and secure your files.

BlackCat is and has been one of the more prolific malware strains in recent years. Believed to be the successor of REvil, which has links to operators in Russia, it first was observed in the wild back in 2021, according to researchers. BlackCat is written in the Rust language, which offers better performance and efficiencies than other languages previously used. BlackCat is indiscriminate in how it targets its victims, which range from healthcare to entertainment industries.

Today’s cyber threat landscape necessitates that we, as defenders of the enterprise, place identities at the center of our detection, prevention and response efforts. Indeed, threat actor tactics and techniques observed in the wild demonstrate that credential theft presents a large risk to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems - be they on premises or in the cloud.

With personal data or business communications, our vast digital footprint is vulnerable to malefactors. Consequently, safeguarding sensitive information has become a pressing concern for companies of all sizes. The cost of cybercrime was $8 trillion globally in 2023 and is projected to hit $10.5 trillion by 2025. This alarming statistic emphasizes the escalating threat and the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures.