Cyber security trends for 2024

In the opening to the 2023 edition of their Digital Defence Report¹, Microsoft refers to cyber security as the defining challenge of our time.

A quick scroll through some of the stats makes it easy to see why:

Not to mention the continued industrialisation of global cybercrime (like DDoS-for-hire or phishing-as-a service), the continued rise of state-sponsored cyber attacks, and the explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

I recently had the good fortune to speak with Microsoft’s Chief Security Advisor, Lesley Kipling, and Paul Kelly, Director at Microsoft’s Business Security Group. They offered their thoughts on the trends, challenges, and technology developments we can expect to see in the next twelve months.

Highlights include:

Watch the full video↓↓

Key talking points

The cyber trends that will shape the year ahead (and beyond).

Understanding today to prepare for tomorrow

Reflecting on the cyber security picture over the past year, Lesley and Paul both agreed that by understanding the recent trends helps identify what we need to be aware of in the year ahead.

Such as:

Cybercrime’s continued industrialisation

Cybercrime is big business.

And it’s an ‘industry’ that’s continuing to expand.

Paul highlighted the split in the cybercrime ‘community’.

On the one side, the activity of nation state actors, increasingly pinpointing attacks towards critical national infrastructure (CNI). On the other, the cybercriminals, who take a more opportunistic approach.

Something that organisations of all sizes need to be aware of when considering their own cyber resilience.

The transformative impact of AI

It’s no secret, of course, that looming large over the landscape is artificial intelligence (AI), with 2023 feeling like a pivotal moment in technology development.

However, it’s the opportunities presented by AI that both Lesley and Paul were keen to highlight.

Pointing to Microsoft’s work with machine learning and large language models over the years, and the “phenomenal power they can leverage to tip the balance in the favour of defenders.”

Strengthening posture and closing the skills gap with Security Copilot

Microsoft Security Copilot was officially unveiled at the Ignite event in November 2023, and is due to be made generally available in 2024.

Both Lesley and Paul were eager to point out the possibilities.

“Security Copilot is going to help us hugely in terms of Security Operations (SOC),” Lesley said. “Instead of focusing on all of the little events and alerts that slow us down from a defender perspective, we can now pull this information together and look at just one incident.”

Lesley was also very keen to point to the opportunities Security Copilot will offer in bridging the skills gap in IT and cyber security.

“We can democratise skills down to people who potentially haven’t been in the industry for as long as I have. It means not having to use KQL to query for signals, but instead ask in a natural language to find a specific piece of malware, or query what a signal means.”

Challenges for organisations in 2024 and beyond

Both agreed that the challenges organisations face today around balancing security with productivity will continue into the foreseeable future.

Namely, maintaining cyber resilience in the face of:

But while it’s easy to be drawn down the rabbit-hole of negativity, there is a much more positive side to this cyber-coin.

Meeting the challenges head-on

Lesley talked about Microsoft’s announced plans for organisations to be able to tap into its vast scale of machine learning and threat intelligence and empower SOCs to offload as much work as possible.

Relieving the strain on under-resourced teams.

Adding to this, Paul highlighted the release of Microsoft’s automatic attack disruption feature to business premium licence holders.

They also reemphasised the mantra of doing more with less and the benefits of unified security systems.

A recognition that many organisations have too many disparate solutions across their estate. Which sends costs spiralling; creating gaps and vulnerabilities in their security posture.

The Secure Future Initiative (SFI)

Announced at Ignite, SFI reflects Microsoft’s culture of a security-first mindset in the software development lifecycle, refreshed for the AI age.

It comprises three steps:

1. Deploy AI in defence of customers, citizens, organisations, and nation states.
2. Double down on security across every stage of the development lifecycle.
3. Cooperation with public sector, private sector, and across the industry.

Why it’s still vital to get your basics right

With the right approach to cyber hygiene, and applying the fundamentals of good security, organisations can protect themselves against 99% of attacks.

Robust security remains vital to mitigate the devastating costs that come with a poor attack response.

But this is heightened further with the emergence of AI, as organisations look at ways to leverage its potential in their sectors.

Clearly, 2023 will be remembered as a breakthrough for AI into popular use. And it’s a breakthrough that promises to have significant ramifications for the year ahead, and the years to follow.

Find out more about what Lesley and Paul have to say about the trends and predictions for 2024 by watching the full video. ↑↑

Next steps

1/ Microsoft Digital Defence Report 2023

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