Trends in the digital transformation and cybersecurity sector for 2024

Cybersecurity: a challenge for 2024

• 63% of Spanish SMEs doubt their capacity to mitigate the risks of a cyber attack
• Investing in cybersecurity will be a priority for 51% of Spanish SMEs in 2024
• Cyber resilience, hybrid cloud, cyber insurance, global management of cybersecurity infrastructures and Zero Trust are among the trends for the coming year, says Ikusi

As the technological innovations of companies and users are becoming more advanced, so too are cybersecurity threats. 2023 saw a multitude of cyber attacks on large companies and organisations which, in addition to undermining these entities, has made the need for increased cybersecurity a challenge for 2024.

In fact, according to the latest survey by Sharp, investing in security in 2024 is a priority for 51% of Spanish SMEs. The survey also reveals that 40% of Spanish SMEs are more concerned this year than last about their vulnerability in terms of cybersecurity. In addition, more than a third said they had experienced some kind of security breach, which was malware in 40% of the cases. This was followed by computer virus attacks (39%), phishing (33%) and loss of data (31%). The survey, carried out among 5,770 technology mangers in 11 European countries, also shows that 63% of Spanish SMEs doubt their capacity to mitigate the risks of a cyber attack or deal with the impact of an attack on their reputation, profits and customer trust.

We will see significant changes in cybersecurity in 2024, since new threats are constantly emerging and with them the need for innovative solutions to protect the data and systems of organisations and individuals.

Cybersecurity in 2024

Ikusi emphasises that, faced with new cyber threats in the form of phishing, vishing, virtual environments, conversations with Generative AI, etc., organisations will need to develop greater cyber resilience to adapt to different challenges. Cyber resilience, or the capacity of an organisation to resist, adapt to and recover from cyber attacks, has become essential in an ever-changing digital panorama.

As explained by Javier Aguilera, general director of Ikusi in Spain, “the reality is that we are all susceptible to a cyber attack; any company, organisation or individual. The best tools for combating these attacks are training and prevention. Awareness actions and training of experts form the basis of a good prevention plan, in addition to the regular maintenance of equipment, constantly updated software, protection of all existing devices and good asset and vulnerability management.”

Increased attacks have given rise to new tools for detecting security threats. One of these tools is XDR, which protects the business from any attack vector by collecting and automatically correlating data across multiple security layers or platforms. It allows for faster detection of threats and significantly improves investigation and response time by automating these processes. It differs from other security tools in that it centralises, normalises and correlates data from multiple sources.

Another trend, explains Ikusi, will be to protect data in hybrid cloud environments by means of identifying hidden data, encryption, and early detection of data breaches. In fact, Ikusi predicts that cloud investment will be a key differentiator. In this way, companies adopt a proactive approach, not only to prevent attacks but also to ensure that they can recover quickly in the event of a security breach. Strategies such as network segmentation, data backups and continuous employee training are integrated into the security architecture, thereby enhancing the resilience of organisations against persistent threats.

Other trends are cyber insurance, insurance policies that cover damage caused by cyber attacks, and real-time global threat monitoring platforms. The latter is a tool that allows organisations to monitor, analyse and respond to cyber attacks, by providing information about risks and vulnerabilities and proposing corrective actions. Real-time threat monitoring platforms offer a way to prevent and contain attacks, as well as to learn from them and to improve the organisation’s defence.

The Zero Trust security model, which distrusts all users and devices, even those within the company network, is set to gain ground in 2024. Continuous authentication, network segmentation and constant monitoring are key elements in this approach. As threats continue to evolve, adopting a Zero Trust mentality is becoming an essential strategy for protecting digital assets and mitigating the risk of non-authorised access.