Latin America. Oscar Chavez-Arrieta, Executive Vice President for Latin America and Juan Alejandro Aguirre, Director of Engineering Solutions for Latin America at SonicWall, shared their cybersecurity predictions for 2024.
The professionals highlighted that technologies such as Artificial Intelligence will continue to take greater relevance in cybersecurity issues and will be part of the daily use by partners and end customers, they will also be adopted by cyberattackers and defenders, even the use of Generative AI will be closer in the thinking of CIOs. New changes in regulatory issues and the reactivation of Log4j are also among the most prominent vulnerabilities.
Partners and customers will turn to Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools as part of their end-to-end security strategy, giving them advantages and some tricky hurdles
As AI continues to advance, AI-enabled attacks will become more frequent as less skilled threat actors adopt the technology. Traditional cyberattacks will become obsolete and technology as well as artificial intelligence tools will become more available and affordable. These attacks will become more sophisticated, adaptable, and difficult to detect, posing new challenges for cybersecurity professionals. As a result, there will be a demand for tools that can harness the power of AI to detect and respond to threats in real-time.
AI and Machine Learning in Cyberattacks and Defense
Both attackers and defenders are likely to leverage AI and machine learning tools to automate and improve their operations. On the offensive side, AI algorithms could be used to automate vulnerability scanning, phishing attacks, and data exfiltration, making them more effective and harder to detect.
On the defensive side, AI-powered solutions could be deployed to monitor networks for anomalous behavior, automatically update security protocols, and even take immediate action to neutralize threats. This tug-of-war between the offensive and defensive uses of AI could intensify and lead to a kind of 'arms race' in cybersecurity.
Businesses and governments will need to invest heavily in cutting-edge technologies to keep up, and cybersecurity strategy may need to increasingly focus on strengthening AI and AI-powered threat detection and response.
Generative AI will be incorporated into most enterprise solutions and applications that will require CIOs to evolve their digital transformation strategies
Companies looking to boost productivity and efficiency will invest in AI technology, providing them with opportunities to develop business models and generate short-term operational impacts. But with the explosion of the AI landscape, companies will need to mitigate emerging risks by implementing a governance model that monitors sensitive data and is aware of potential misinformation.
Early adopters will help shape generative AI tools to deliver real value to customers and the bottom line, but the question remains: will there be enough mass adoption to overcome the chasm of the adoption curve, or will generative AI be another emerging and hyped tech fad like blockchain and virtual reality?
Regulatory changes will start to become more robust
Digital Trust is one of the main important 'movements' worldwide, the impact on a brand is a big issue that in some cases can be irreversible. The loss of brand equity is also a huge component in the valuation of every company, but some organizations simply don't understand this threat and how the CISO/CTO needs to be seriously heard.
Some governments such as Brazil and Chile have already begun to be more serious in their regulations and penalties on the information of the end customer and their constituents. Latin American countries will begin to introduce stricter data protection regulations, similar to Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This would lead to an increased need for compliant cybersecurity solutions.
Both large and small businesses will see a continued increase in Log4j attacks in 2024
Security professionals prefer to forget about vulnerabilities from the past, such as Log4j, as they are often tied to a traumatic time, however, this is exactly the mindset that threat actors will take advantage of.
While there are many patches from reputable vendors and security vendors have issued a wide range of signatures to cover Log4j, it remains one of the largest supply chain vulnerabilities discovered to date. Because of its position in the supply chain, its continuous discovery in new places, and its unfortunate continuous deployment in new code, attackers are well worth the time.
SonicWall threat data tends to demonstrate a potential 10% year-over-year increase from 2022 to 2023 in Log4j-related attacks. By the end of 2024, it is predicted that the increase in this type of cyberattack will be higher than what was seen in 2023.
