From high-profile data breaches to regulatory changes and law enforcement victories, this year demonstrated the critical need for heightened awareness and innovation in the face of cyber threats.

To close out the year, we’ve curated some of the top cybersecurity stories from 2024. Whether you’re reflecting on past challenges or gearing up for what’s ahead, this recap offers valuable lessons to inform and strengthen your approach in the year to come.

A CISO’s Take on the CrowdStrike Outage

Between July 18th and 19th, 2024, a failed CrowdStrike Falcon update caused global outages and sent systems into a blue screen of death. Critical industries, including healthcare, travel, and emergency services, experienced significant disruptions, highlighting the fragility of modern IT infrastructure. The incident revealed a glaring need for improved testing processes and contingency planning. Contributing CISO Lee Vorthman provided his perspective, drawing on his expertise to highlight the strategic lessons for cybersecurity leaders.

Key takeaway: Businesses must invest in sturdy site reliability engineering and business continuity planning to minimize the fallout from failed updates. [Dive Deeper…]

A Record-Breaking Data Breach

A massive data leak this year exposed nearly 900 million Social Security numbers, leaving individuals vulnerable to identity theft and fraud. The breach crippled National Public Data, a leading data broker, driving it into bankruptcy and sparking debates about the industry’s cybersecurity practices, and served as a brutal reminder of the financial and reputational costs of inadequate security.

Key takeaway: Strengthening data broker accountability, implementing rigorous security audits, and establishing enforceable breach protocols are essential to prevent incidents of this magnitude in the future. [Dive Deeper…]

New Cyber Rules for Critical Infrastructure

In response to escalating threats, CISA introduced draft regulations under the 2022 Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, requiring critical infrastructure organizations to report significant cyber incidents within 72 hours and ransomware payments within 24 hours. These rules aim to improve national defenses by enabling the rapid analysis of threats and coordinated responses, while covering 16 critical infrastructure sectors, including healthcare, energy, transportation, and water utilities.

Key takeaway: Proactive reporting frameworks are actively transforming incident response timeframes and increasing resilience. [Dive Deeper…]

Telecom Giants Targeted by Cyber Espionage

Chinese cyber espionage group Salt Typhoon launched a sophisticated attack, compromising Verizon and AT&T networks. The breach exposed sensitive data for millions of Americans and highlighted vulnerabilities in global communications infrastructure. This event followed similar attacks on T-Mobile and emphasized the urgent need for enhanced security measures in the telecom sector.

Key takeaway: Encrypting messaging communications and fortifying telecom infrastructure are essential to counter advanced and ongoing cyber espionage threats. [Dive Deeper…]

The Need for Effective Cybersecurity Insurance

As cyber threats grow more complex, cybersecurity insurance has become an essential tool for risk management. Tailored policies now address direct losses and third-party claims, helping businesses recover from breaches while mitigating financial exposure. Contributing CISO Jason Edwards shares his insights on the evolving field, emphasizing the strategic importance of aligning dynamic insurance policies with emerging threats.

Key takeaway: Periodic risk assessments and bespoke policies are essential to stay ahead of today’s threat actors. [Dive Deeper…]

Ransomware Risks from Human Error

A phishing link clicked by an Ascension healthcare employee triggered a devastating ransomware attack, halting patient care and disrupting critical operations across 140 hospitals. The incident forced the healthcare system to revert to manual processes, highlighting both the resilience of healthcare providers during crises and the vulnerability of human error to cyberattacks.

Key takeaway: Empowering employees with continuous, hands-on cybersecurity training and internal safeguards is critical to reducing the risk of human error leading to major cyber incidents. [Dive Deeper…]

Making Cybersecurity Awareness Fun

October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month brought creative approaches to training, with organizations using gamified activities to engage employees. Password challenges, phishing games, and interactive lessons replaced traditional training methods, fostering a stronger culture of cybersecurity awareness. Contributing CISO Erik Boemanns shared his perspective on how these innovative methods not only make learning enjoyable but also drive meaningful behavioral change, demonstrating that fun and effective training can go hand in hand.

Key takeaway: Creative, fun training methods foster stronger security cultures. [Dive Deeper…]

Snowflake Credential Theft Highlights a Lack of MFA

Snowflake’s data systems became a prime target for cybercriminals exploiting weak passwords and inadequate multi-factor authentication. The attack linked back to other significant breaches affecting millions of Americans, such as the Ticketmaster and AT&T incidents. The eventual arrests of two hackers involved also highlighted the value of collaborative law enforcement efforts.

Key takeaway: Enforcing strong password policies, mandating MFA, and proactively monitoring for unauthorized access are critical measures to protect cloud environments from the cascading impacts of credential theft. [Dive Deeper…]

Ransomware Leader Taken Down

The arrest of ‘LockBitSupp,’ the leader of the infamous LockBit ransomware group known to taunt global law enforcement, marked a significant win for global law enforcement. This high-profile takedown disrupted one of the most prolific cybercrime organizations and sent a strong message to cybercriminals worldwide.

Key takeaway: Global investigative efforts and cooperation are fundamental for dismantling ransomware networks and holding cybercriminals accountable. [Dive Deeper…]

Staying Cyber Safe During the Holidays

The holiday season always brings an increase in cyber threats, from phishing scams to ransomware attacks. Organizations can prepare for this surge by enhancing access controls, conducting employee training, and preparing contingency plans. These proactive measures are particularly crucial as cybercriminals exploit periods of reduced staffing, such as holidays and weekends, when response times are slower, and identity systems like Active Directory are more vulnerable.

Key takeaway: Cybersecurity is a year-round effort that intensifies during peak seasons, and businesses that succeed are the ones that properly prepare. [Dive Deeper…]

The Wrap

From high-profile breaches to regulatory breakthroughs and law enforcement victories, 2024 has been a year of defining moments in cybersecurity. These stories illustrate both the resilience of organizations and the unrelenting ingenuity of adversaries.

As we look ahead to 2025, The National CIO Review remains committed to equipping technology leaders with insights to tackle the shifting demands of a digitally driven world. Here’s to another year of innovation, growth, and resilience.