The cyberthreat landscape is constantly evolving as threat actors devise new and more sophisticated methods of attacking organizations’ IT systems. In some cases, the cybersecurity measures a company has in place are not sufficient to effectively combat these new threats. This problem often affects small businesses with limited funds or a lack of experienced IT professionals.
Businesses may need to reevaluate their cybersecurity posture to protect their valuable systems and data resources. Companies need to ensure they have adequate data protection in place to safeguard their valuable information. Having a new set of eyes assess the existing security posture can be instrumental in identifying vulnerabilities that need to be resolved.
This post is going to look at some of the emerging cyberthreats that companies need to watch out for in 2024. We’ll also discuss the many ways that VAST IT Services can help address gaps in data protection and cybersecurity.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence by Threat Actors
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been incorporated into a wide variety of IT solutions over the past several years. Tools like ChatGPT have brought the power of AI to anyone with a computer. Unfortunately, threat actors are also taking advantage of some of the benefits of AI to create more deceptive and sophisticated ways to attack your systems.
AI can be used for a variety of malicious purposes. Hackers can use AI tools to create malware without possessing any coding skills themselves, opening the door to a large increase in the number of attacks a company must defend against. More effective phishing campaigns can be developed using the capabilities of AI tools to scrape data and incorporate it into deceptive messages.
Social Engineering Attacks
Social engineering attacks will continue to be a problem as hostile entities attempt to deceive recipients into divulging login credentials or clicking on malicious links. These attacks will become more difficult to address due to the previously discussed use of AI technology. Successful attacks may deliver ransomware or other types of malware into the environment or put sensitive data assets at risk.
Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware will continue to present a major threat to companies of all sizes. Threat actors have discovered that smaller companies also often have valuable data resources and may not have the same level of cybersecurity protection as that found in larger corporations. This makes them prime targets for ransomware attacks.
The most effective defense against ransomware is to keep malicious entities out of your environment. It is virtually impossible to ensure complete security, meaning that a company may have to rely on data protection solutions to recover from a successful attack. These solutions include comprehensive backup and recovery that encompasses all infrastructure components. Companies also need to develop and test disaster recovery plans to address worst-case scenarios following a ransomware attack.
Threats Presented by Remote Work Environments
Remote work environments present new and significant cybersecurity threats that require fresh techniques to address effectively. Every mobile device or endpoint used by mobile workers introduces new threat vectors that pose a risk to a company’s IT environment.
It can be very challenging to protect mobile devices from hackers for a variety of reasons. Users may be attempting to access sensitive information using unsecured networks. IT teams may find it difficult to promptly install security patches and fixes for remote employees. There is also always a risk that a device can be lost or stolen, resulting in the loss of valuable data resources.
Threats on Cloud Environments
In today’s business environment, a majority of companies have a cloud presence. Whether it’s a company’s complete infrastructure or select components, some systems and data resources need additional monitoring and protective measures. Information stored in the cloud is accessible from anywhere, negating some traditional defensive measures such as firewalls
Implementing cloud security can be complicated by the shared responsibility models followed by most cloud service providers (CSPs). In these models, such as this example from AWS, the CSP and customer have distinct responsibilities associated with protecting the cloud environment. Customers must completely understand their role in protecting their data in the cloud or risk misconfigurations that may expose sensitive information to threat actors.
Supply Chain Attacks
Software supply chain attacks on third-party providers will present new threats that may be difficult for companies to address. As seen in the SolarWinds attack, a large number of organizations can be impacted by a successful attack on a weak link in the software supply chain. In some cases, a supply chain attack may necessitate the widespread recovery of affected systems to a point in time before the incursion occurred. This type of recovery requires an efficient backup and recovery solution.
IoT Vulnerabilities
Many organizations have implemented Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to address a wide range of business objectives and requirements. IoT devices pose many of the same problems as the mobile equipment used by remote employees. Each IoT device presents threat actors with a potential entry point into an organization’s IT infrastructure. The devices may not be capable of the same level of security as other infrastructure components and represent a weak link in cybersecurity defenses.
How VAST Can Help Protect Your IT Environment
VAST has your back with an extensive portfolio of services designed to protect your systems and valuable data. Our experts understand the challenges in securing your IT environment and will work with you to implement advanced solutions to address vulnerabilities and safeguard your data. The following are some of the services we provide to protect your business from emerging cyberthreats.
- Data protection – We offer a wide range of backup and recovery solutions including our Cloud Backup-as-a-Service (CBaaS) offering built on Druva’s advanced technology.
- Disaster recovery – Our Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) solution leverages the capabilities of AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery for increased resilience to protect your business.
- Security lifecycle review – Our team can review your existing security posture and identify gaps that need to be addressed to protect your IT environment.
- Cloud access security – We support the Bitglass cloud access security broker (CASB) to help identify and protect data in the cloud.
Get in touch with VAST today and start protecting your environment from the cyber threats that can hurt your business.
