With sophisticated AI, threats
will become highly personalized, both for
individuals and small businesses
TEMPE,
Ariz., and PRAGUE,
Dec. 7,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), a global
leader dedicated to powering Digital Freedom through its family of
Cyber Safety brands' cybersecurity solutions, today
released its top cyberthreat predictions for 2024. Gen experts
stress the need for consumers to be on the lookout for highly
individualized threats. From cybercriminals using deepfakes to
mimic the voice and appearance of family or colleagues to spyware
apps delivered via believable ads or direct messages, this year it
will be more critical than ever to double check that what you think
you see, hear, read and click in 2024 is what it appears to be.
"In 2024, cybersecurity will become even more engrained in the
average person's daily life. Long gone are the days when
cybersecurity issues were only for companies or the 'most digital'
people. Our team of experts foresees AI will play a huge role in
how threats will be created, allowing criminals to create even more
sophisticated and believable scams," said Michal Pechoucek, Chief
Technology Officer at Gen. "Every email, text, advertisement and
phone call should be considered carefully to ensure there isn't a
scammer on the other side."
Gen Top Predictions for 2024:
- Advancements in AI will fuel a surge in cybercrime – Gen
experts expect 2024 to be a landmark year for the diversification
of AI capabilities. Cybercriminals will no longer be limited to
text generation, they will now have text-to-video and other
multi-media creation tools. These advancements will make it
progressively harder to tell a true recorded video from a generated
one, especially when videos are frequently cut, such as with TV
news.
- Social engineering will become more pronounced – Threat
actors know the best way to get what they want is through
manipulating people's emotions and vulnerabilities – also known as
social engineering. In 2024, Gen experts say cybercriminals will
use AI-generated content on social media to disseminate fake
news, deceptive advertisements, deepfakes of public figures, or
even direct messages that appear to come from trusted contacts.
Beyond social media, these types of social engineering attacks will
become more profound in businesses with the evolution of Business
Communication Compromise (BCC) attacks (formerly referred to as
Business Email Compromise or BEC attacks), in which threat
actors use AI to mimic the voice or appearance of senior
executives.
- Digital blackmail – for people and businesses – will become
more targeted: Cybercriminals commonly hold stolen data for
ransom; in 2024, Gen experts expect blackmail to become more
insidious with data being bought on the dark web or stolen through
the exploitation of VPN infrastructure. Further, attacks on the
cloud infrastructure will increase significantly, creating
significant challenges for remote working and cloud-based
organizational structures. Extortion methods will also evolve
beyond traditional encryption to include criminals extorting people
and businesses through methods like sextortion.
- More mobile apps will spy and extort: As financial
technology continues to advance, there is a growing concern about
the rise in malicious practices within the instant loan app
industry. With the increasing popularity of quick and easy access
to loans through mobile applications, some unscrupulous lenders
resort to unethical tactics to ensure repayment. Gen experts say we
may witness a surge in the creation and distribution of fake chat
applications targeting mobile devices, concealing
crypto-stealing or spyware modules within their
seemingly innocent interfaces.
- Rising threats in cryptocurrency: The quickly
evolving cryptocurrency landscape will breed new
opportunities for cybercriminals. With the
decentralized nature of crypto, the
opportunity to reverse fraud and flag scams is almost
impossible. Gen experts believe cybercriminals will target
crypto owners through a number of avenues, from
breaching cryptocurrency exchanges or cross-currency
exchange protocols, using rapidly developing malware-as-a-service
stealers to exploitation of smart contracts.
As cyberthreats become more sophisticated, targeted and harder
to spot in 2024, Gen aims to arm consumers with tools, knowledge
and tips to help protect themselves and their Digital Freedom. To
protect against evolving threats, Cyber Safety experts at Gen
recommend:
- Be skeptical: Cybercriminals often pose as popular companies,
organizations or people in your network. Never directly click on
buttons or links without digging deeper and verifying who is
actually sending them to you. If you are not sure whether a text,
email or social media is a scam, use the free Norton Genie scam
detection tool to help guide you on how to react.
- Manage your passwords: Make sure your password is unique and
avoid using the same one across different accounts. Use
multi-factor authentication where available. Tools such as Norton
Password Manager generate and manage secure and complex passwords,
allowing users to ensure each account has a distinct password to
prevent multiple account compromise when passwords are reused.
- Get privacy, security and identity protection: With the
increasing volume and sophistication of identity theft, tools that
alert you when your data has been compromised are vital. Norton™
360 with LifeLock offers all-in-one protection for up to 10 PCs,
Macs, mobile devices, and tablets, Cloud Backup for Windows, Secure
VPN to help keep your internet browsing private. It also not only
detects when data has been exposed, but can help you remediate the
issues.
- Protect more than just your computer: With malicious mobile
apps on the rise allowing cybercriminals to track your online
activity, make sure you keep an updated mobile security on your
phone such as Avast Mobile Security, available for iOS and
Android.
Gen is a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom
through its trusted Cyber Safety brands, Norton, Avast, LifeLock,
Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner. To learn more about
Gen's 2024 Predictions, visit
https://www.gendigital.com/blog/news/innovation/cybersecurity-predictions-2024
About Gen
Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global company dedicated to powering
Digital Freedom through its trusted Cyber Safety brands, Norton,
Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender and CCleaner. The
Gen family of consumer brands is rooted in providing safety for the
first digital generations. Now, Gen empowers people to live their
digital lives safely, privately, and confidently today and for
generations to come. Gen brings award-winning products and services
in cybersecurity, online privacy and identity protection to nearly
500 million users in more than 150 countries. Learn more at
www.GenDigital.com.
Brittany
Posey
|
Courtney
Rowles
|
Gen
|
Edelman for
Gen
|
Press@GenDigital.com
|
Courtney.Rowles@edelman.com
|
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SOURCE Gen Digital Inc.