By Account Manager Corbitt Grow
We’re always looking toward the future. In businesses like Anderson Technologies that run on EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), we look forward in 90 day, one year, 3 year, and even 10 year increments. Perhaps you’ve had your eye on 2024 for a while now. Does it still look how you planned, or have you been living more week to week with no chance to catch your breath and look ahead?
Either way, the turning of a new year frequently marks the time for new ideas, fresh attitudes, and commitment to initiatives. Beyond business futures, our team stays on the cutting edge of innovation, change, and emerging trends. Here are three areas that deserve your attention, budget, and planning in 2024—if you haven’t discussed them already.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Have you used Chat GPT, Bing Chat, or Bard? It is likely that you will utilize some form of AI in 2024, even if unknowingly. If you attended our webinar on November 16th all about how AI can impact cybersecurity, you learned about some of the latest threats and protections that employ AI models today. In 2024, we can expect to see AI continuing to dominate aspects of cybercrime, security, technology, and even daily life.
While AI fully can’t compete with humans in creative arts, there are areas where AI performs tasks that would be impossible for humans. The deployment of AI in the information technology sector will only continue to grow in 2024.
- AI-augmented work will continue to be used to supplement scheduling, coding, testing, drafting, and completing specific tasks.
- Intelligent apps and algorithms powered by machine learning will continue to be employed for customer satisfaction, down to personalized user experience.
- Threat monitoring and exposure management is an AI-powered method used to detect and respond to cyber threats in real-time. These systems continuously monitor network traffic, detecting abnormalities and even predicting potential threats. The first steps of incident response can be automated, designed to isolate affected systems or block malicious activity.
Enhancing Protection
2024 is the year to invest in a robust cybersecurity profile for your organization. Cyberattacks aren’t going anywhere—in fact, they increase every year, and the financial and social impact ruins some businesses. The cyber threat landscape is complex and dangerous, and now more than ever you simply cannot afford to operate on a network with vulnerabilities. Your IT team or IT managed services provider can assist with the following services to enhance your protection.
Penetration testing, often referred to as “pen testing” or “ethical hacking,” is a simulated cyber-attack against your network, performed to evaluate its security. The test is designed to identify vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure, including the potential for unauthorized parties to gain access to the system’s features and data. Penetration testing helps businesses identify potential vulnerabilities in their systems before hackers do. By proactively addressing these vulnerabilities, you can prevent costly breaches and maintain your clients’ trust.
Phishing simulation is a proactive cybersecurity measure that involves sending fake phishing emails to staff members to test their ability to identify and avoid these deceptive messages. These simulations mimic real-life phishing attacks that aim to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers. We’ve seen businesses receive an email that appears to be from a trusted source, click on a link in the email, and open the door to a potential cyberattack. Phishing simulations lean into the human side of cybersecurity, training your team to identify these threats and report them before they click anything.
Email hardening is a vital cybersecurity measure that tightens the security of your email accounts to protect them from threats such as phishing, spam, and malware. It involves implementing advanced security protocols and settings to make it more difficult for cybercriminals to compromise your email systems. Even emails that appear to the human eye to be “safe” are quarantined by these powerful filters, protecting your company by ensuring they don’t get delivered to intended inboxes.
Cybersecurity and Insurance
Beyond your own cybersecurity, the need for cybersecurity insurance isn’t likely to disappear. Cyber insurance offers financial protection against the costs associated with cyber events. These could include costs related to data recovery, legal fees, public relations efforts, and business interruption.
However, obtaining cybersecurity insurance isn’t a simple process. Most insurance companies now require a rigorous set of standards to be met to consider your business safe to insure. You may need the help of an IT services provider to raise your network to standards and complete the necessary technical paperwork that comes with a cybersecurity insurance application. Meeting the insurance company’s technical standards is important because failure to comply with what’s written in your policy could lead to a future claim being denied.
Whether you are in a regulated industry that requires cybersecurity insurance, or simply feel that 2024 is the year to add that extra layer of financial protection for your business, the time to start the insurance process is before you need it.
What changes are in store for 2024? Are you curious about utilizing AI to protect your business? Overwhelmed by the requirements for cybersecurity insurance? There’s no better time to get these initiatives budgeted and booked—give Anderson Technologies a call. We’re ready to help protect and grow your business by employing technology as both a foundation and lever.
