Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024. Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Building cyber strategies to ensure success
By Neil Jones, Director of Cybersecurity Evangelism at Egnyte
Ransom payments are expected to approach $1 billion in 2023, which doesn’t include ransom payments that go unreported. In 2024, I expect ransomware to continue to increase in scope and sophistication since even the U.S. government has reminded us that no company is safe from ransomware, regardless of size or industry. The good news is that more organizations are likely to face the stark business reality that ransomware is here to stay and formally incorporate ransomware prevention and mitigation strategies into their incident response plans.
Bigger picture, despite cyberattacks reaching an all-time high, we unfortunately still see organizations not taking cyberthreats seriously enough. This is usually driven by complacency and/or thinking that a particular company is too small to be impacted. To combat cybersecurity complacency and to address the rising tide of cyberattacks, I see user education taking a rare forefront in 2024, along with the expanded usage of secure data enclaves by organizations to protect their ultra-sensitive information.
In 2024, businesses will increasingly center their cybersecurity strategies around secure data enclaves to address evolving regulations and cybersecurity certifications, such as CMMC 2.0, new U.S. and global data privacy laws, and even ISO 27001. That’s because secure data enclaves provide a controlled environment where companies can store their most sensitive (and valuable) data, but users can also easily collaborate in the environments based upon their “Business Need to Know.” And as we see more scrutiny for companies that do not take cybersecurity seriously, organizations are likely to elevate the importance of securing unstructured data in specialized enclaves as the year unfolds.
Finally, as organizations develop security programs for 2024, I foresee them doing a much more effective job in aligning cybersecurity priorities with what is most strategically valuable for their businesses. A simple example would be confirming that business partners demonstrate effective cyber-hygiene practices to prevent a potential breach that involves the company and a third-party vendor. Focusing beyond the technological bits and bytes will provide long-term benefits for the company and their employees, as well as for their customers and business partners.
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil Jones is the Director of Cybersecurity Evangelism at Egnyte. Jones has worked in a variety of roles in the field, including product marketing, sales and even product pricing. He is a designated Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) since 2008.
