In 2024, the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with increasingly sophisticated attacks emerging thanks to the use of new technologies. Companies need to act now to prepare themselves adequately or risk falling victim to scams.
One of the most rapidly developing threats is due to new AI technology which can be used for malicious purposes such as the creation of deepfakes to perpetrate scams. Founder of the National Security Centre, Michael Marcotte, claims that this has caused the cybersecurity landscape to undergo a seismic shift, meaning that businesses must quickly reconsider their current assumptions and regulations around cybersecurity. Staying ahead of these changes is crucial for businesses so they can protect sensitive data, maintain customer trust, and ensure compliance with legal requirements.
Forbes reports that the COVID pandemic has also had an impact on cybersecurity. Evidence suggests that hackers took advantage of business vulnerabilities which arose when adjusting to changing work practices.
Here are some top tips from the experts on how businesses can step up their cybersecurity in the current climate.
1. Conduct a cybersecurity assessment
This will allow businesses to examine their current security measures to note any vulnerabilities, especially in light of recent AI developments.
Businesses should:
- Identify any specific weaknesses so these can be addressed as soon as possible.
- Prioritise risks so the highest risk factors can be addressed first, ensuring these don’t lead to security breaches.
- Ensure security standards are meeting compliance regulation compliance.
2. Strengthen employee training and awareness
Human error is still one of the leading causes of security breaches. Educating employees on cybersecurity best practices can significantly reduce this risk.
Businesses should:
- Develop and communicate clear security policies and procedures for employees to follow. It’s vital that the reasons behind these are explained and that everyone understands what is expected of them.
- Run regular cybersecurity training sessions covering everything from phishing, secure password practices, and how to detect AI-created deepfakes.
- Perform scam simulations to test employees’ ability to recognise and respond appropriately to phishing and deepfake attacks.
3. Develop a robust response plan
Mapping out a comprehensive incident response plan and having regular drills to practise can minimise the impact of a security breach and help businesses recover quickly.
Businesses should:
- Define roles and responsibilities for individual team members.
- Establish communication protocols for internal and external communication.
- Hold regular drills to test and refine the response plan.
4. Engage new technologies to fight against scammers
New technologies such as AI and machine intelligence can be used by cyber-defenders as well as hackers.
Michael F. Marcotte, founder of artius.ID, argues that CEOs should take a proactive approach to detect and prevent cyber threats, and they must do so by using innovative technologies. To do this, they must double their investment in new technologies.
Businesses should:
- Integrate enhanced authentication standards, which require users to provide additional verification. This adds a layer of protection to sensitive information, reducing the chance of scammers reaching it.
- Deploy AI tools that can detect evidence of tampering or compare deepfakes against genuine employee biometric data.
- Businesses that hold sensitive customer data need to relinquish control of KYC data and use decentralised storage providers.
- Supercharge security with automation
- According to KPMG, businesses should also use new technologies to automate cybersecurity processes and scam detection. This is the only way that companies can constantly detect threats without missing anything.
Conclusion
In today’s world of continuous technological development, cyber attackers are utilising AI to wage increasingly sophisticated and dangerous scams. To protect themselves and their customers, businesses must become proactive in their defences and deploy innovative technologies in the fight.
