Black Hat 2024: results and trends

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The conference results are changing the usual paradigm in the industry.

At the annual Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, which attracts the attention of cybersecurity experts from around the world, key trends that will shape the future of the industry in the coming years were presented.

The focus was on such topics as identity and access management, the use of artificial intelligence and strengthening security measures in cloud technologies. These areas provide clear guidance for security leaders seeking to strengthen the protection of their organizations.

Identity management comes to the fore

For a long time, experts predicted major changes in identity and Access Management (IAM). In 2024, expectations began to turn into reality. Previously, companies focused on the basic aspects of security, and now IAM is becoming a priority. With the active use of cloud technologies and an increasing number of attacks involving compromised credentials, more and more organizations are realizing the need to strengthen security in this area.

At the Black Hat conference, many experts emphasized the importance of strong IAM practices to protect sensitive data and restrict access only to authorized users. The year 2024 marks a turning point when identity management has become one of the main tasks for many companies.

Security as a common cause

One of the most noticeable trends at the event was the increase in the number of participants from various fields of activity, in addition to information security specialists. Engineers, IT professionals and technology leaders actively participated in the discussions, confirming the importance of shared responsibility for cybersecurity. During the conference, it was obvious that many companies are already implementing cross-functional initiatives aimed at reducing risks and improving operational efficiency.

Security leaders are increasingly realizing that effective cybersecurity requires close collaboration across departments. By building a culture of shared responsibility, organizations can integrate security measures at all levels of their operations. This approach not only increases the level of protection, but also strengthens the overall sustainability of companies.

Normalization of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence continues to be one of the hottest topics in the information security community. However, if earlier the discussion of AI was conducted around new revolutionary technologies, now attention has shifted to practical applications. At the Black Hat conference, it became clear that experts are looking for ways to integrate generative AI and large language models (LLMs) into existing security systems.

Security leaders now see AI not just as a concept of the future, but as a tool that can be used today to improve security. The transition from abstract discussions to concrete solutions was an important step in the development of cybersecurity.

Cloud security as a key priority

With the development of cloud technologies that began during the pandemic, ensuring security in the cloud has become a critical issue for all levels of the organization. The influence of cloud security pioneers like Wiz was evident at Black Hat: many sessions and new offerings focused on cloud security best practices.

With more and more organizations relying on cloud services, the need for strong security measures such as Zero Trust and the principle of least privilege is becoming an integral part of ensuring the business continuum. Black Hat showed that while significant progress has already been made, there is still a lot of work ahead to fully secure cloud environments.

Organizational sustainability and data protection come first

Many companies, especially those that have experienced the consequences of the CrowdStrike outage, are now evaluating how resilient and adaptable their current security systems are in the face of future threats.

Data protection has also come to the forefront, especially in the face of the growing use of external data warehouses such as Snowflake and MongoDB, which play a key role in adapting AI and continue to accumulate more and more sensitive information. Security teams need to meet new customer and regulatory requirements, which requires a dynamic and flexible approach to access management.

The results of the Black Hat conference highlight the importance of adapting to new cybersecurity challenges. From the critical importance of identity management to the normalization of AI and cloud technologies, trends provide valuable guidance for security leaders. Embracing new trends and building a culture of shared responsibility will help organizations improve their defenses and better deal with emerging threats.

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