International. WatchGuard researchers predict high-profile attacks involving LLMs, AI-based voice chatbots, and VR/MR headsets for the coming year.
WatchGuard's latest annual series of predictions addresses the attacks and security trends the team believes will emerge in 2024.
"Every new technology trend opens up avenues of attack for cybercriminals. By 2024, threats targeting businesses and individuals will be even more intense, complicated, and difficult to manage. With a cybersecurity skills shortage, the need for managed service providers (MSPs), unified security, and automated platforms to protect organizations has never been greater," said Corey Nachreiner, Chief Security Officer, WatchGuard Technologies.
Below is a summary of the WatchGuard Threat Lab team's top cybersecurity predictions for 2024.
Command Engineering Tricks in LLMs
Businesses and individuals are experimenting with LLMs to increase operational efficiency. However, threat actors are learning how to exploit LLMs for malicious purposes. During 2024, WatchGuard's Threat Lab predicts that an intelligent command engineer, whether a criminal attacker or a researcher, will crack code and manipulate an LLM to leak private data.
MSPs Strengthen Security with Automated Platforms
With approximately 3.4 million cybersecurity jobs open and fierce competition for available talent, more small and medium-sized businesses will turn to trusted managed service providers (MSPs and MSSPs) to protect themselves in 2024. To meet growing demand and scarce staffing resources, MSPs and MSSPs will intensify the use of unified security platforms with intensive automation using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Boom in Spear Phishing Tool Sales
Cybercriminals can already buy tools on the dark web that send emails, automatically create compelling texts, and collect information and connections from a target on the internet. Many of these tools are manual and require attackers to target one user at a time. Procedural tasks like these are perfect for automation using Artificial Intelligence.
AI-based Vishing takes off in 2024
While Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and automation make it easy to dial thousands of numbers, it still takes a human scammer to trick victims. This system limits the scale of vishing operations. WatchGuard predicts that the combination of convincing deepfake audio and LLMs capable of holding conversations with unsuspecting victims will increase vishing calls.
VR/MR headsets allow you to recreate user environments
Virtual and mixed reality (VR/MR) headsets are finally starting to gain mass popularity. However, wherever new and useful technologies emerge, malicious hackers appear. In 2024, researchers predict that a malicious hacker will find a technique to collect some of the sensor data from VR/MR headsets to recreate the environment in which users are gaming.
Rampant use of QR codes
While quick response (QR) codes, which provide a convenient way to follow a link with a device such as a mobile phone, have been around for decades, their widespread use has exploded in recent years. Analysts expect to see a major and eye-catching hack in 2024 caused by an employee following a QR code to a malicious destination.
