Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- Quorum Cyber, a UK-based cybersecurity firm, has released a report predicting major cyber threats for 2024.
- The report focuses on the “Big Four” nation-state groups and discusses malware trends, cybercriminal capabilities, and industry-specific risks associated with Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
- A significant trend highlighted in the report is the weaponization of artificial intelligence, with automated phishing and social engineering operations, as well as the use of deepfake technologies to manipulate public opinion and exploit organizations.
- Attacks on the US Presidential Election and an upsurge in cyber aggression from Moscow to obstruct support for Ukraine are also anticipated.
- The report predicts an increase in cyber aggression from China, coinciding with their accelerated artificial intelligence capabilities and the high number of democratic elections scheduled worldwide in 2024-2025.
Quorum Cyber, a UK-based cybersecurity firm, has released its “Threat Intelligence Outlook 2024” report, which provides a strategic analysis of the emerging cyber threats for 2024. The report specifically focuses on Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, the so-called “Big Four” nation-state groups. It details malware trends, cybercriminal capabilities, and industry-specific risks associated with these countries, along with their geopolitical objectives. One major trend highlighted in the report is the weaponization of artificial intelligence (AI). This involves automated phishing and social engineering operations as well as the use of deepfake technologies to manipulate public opinion and exploit organizations. The report indicates the probability of these technologies being offered for purchase to threat actors on dark web forums and other covert platforms.
The report also predicts attacks on the US Presidential Election, with state-level cyberespionage, impersonation attempts, and information operations targeted at both voting systems and civilian voters. Moscow is expected to attempt to buoy candidates aligning with Russian foreign policy goals, particularly with regard to destabilizing US support for Ukraine’s current President, Volodymyr Zelensky. The analysis further reveals that the technology and construction sectors bore the brunt of ransomware attacks in 2023, accounting for 28% and 24% of all actions respectively. The report forecasts that Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) units will devise stealth techniques to attack mobile and smart devices, similar to the “Operation Triangulation” espionage campaign against Apple devices in the third quarter of 2023.
The report predicts an upsurge in cyber aggression from Moscow to obstruct cooperation between entities providing support to Ukraine. It also expects a surge in Chinese information operations coinciding with their accelerated artificial intelligence capabilities and the high number of democratic elections scheduled worldwide in 2024-2025. Federico Charoksy, CEO & Founder of Quorum Cyber, stated that the report provides a clear picture of the threat landscape for the months ahead. The top industries attacked from January 2023 through to November 2023 included Government, Transport, IT, Education, and Banking, in that order.
