In their 2024 cybersecurity outlook, WatchGuard researchers predict that next year will see headline-grabbing developments involving LLMs, AI-based voice chatbots, the latest VR/MR headsets, and more. We predict that hacking will occur.
Companies and individuals are experimenting with LLMs to increase operational efficiency. However, threat actors are also learning how to exploit his LLM for their own malicious purposes. WatchGuard Threat Lab predicts that sometime in 2024, a clever engineer, whether a criminal attacker or a researcher, will crack the code and manipulate LLM to leak personal data.
AI-based vishing will take off in 2024
With approximately 3.4 million cybersecurity job openings and intense competition for available talent, more small and medium-sized businesses will turn to trusted managed and security service providers, known as MSPs and MSSPs, in 2024. will protect businesses. Increasing demand and scarcity of personnel resources will prompt MSPs and MSSPs to double down on unified security platforms with advanced automation using AI and ML.
Cybercriminals are already developing underground tools to send spam emails, automatically craft persuasive text, and scrape the internet and social media for information and connections on specific targets. However, many of these tools are still manual and require attackers to target a single user. group at once. Well-formatted procedural tasks like these are perfect for automation with artificial intelligence and machine learning, and AI-powered tools could emerge as dark web bestsellers in 2024.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and automation technology have made it easy to dial thousands of numbers, but once a potential victim is lured into the phone, human scammers We need to involve them. This system limits the size of our visitors. operation. But things could change in 2024. WatchGuard predicts that the combination of convincing deepfake audio and LLM’s ability to carry on a conversation with unsuspecting victims will significantly increase the scale and volume of threatening calls. Additionally, it may not require the participation of human threat actors.
Proliferation of QR codes raises concerns
Virtual reality and mixed reality (VR/MR) headsets are finally starting to capture the attention of the masses. But with every new and useful technology, criminals and malicious hackers follow suit. Threat Lab researchers believe that by 2024, technology will be developed that allows a researcher or a malicious hacker to collect some of the sensor data from her VR/MR headset to recreate the environment the user is playing in. We predict that we will discover.
Quick response (QR) codes have been around for decades, providing a convenient way to follow links with devices such as mobile phones, but their mainstream usage has exploded in recent years. Threat Lab analysts predict that in 2024 we will see a major hack caused by an employee following her QR code to a malicious destination.
“Every new technology trend opens up new attack vectors for cybercriminals.” Corey Nahaliner, Chief Security Officer at WatchGuard Technologies. “In 2024, new threats targeting businesses and individuals will become even more powerful, complex, and difficult to manage. A continuing shortage of cybersecurity skills means we need to strengthen and evolve our cybersecurity. The need for MSPs, integrated security, and automation platforms to protect organizations from the ever-evolving threat landscape has never been greater.”