A Gartner survey of 274 senior enterprise risk executives highlights the top five emerging risks in the second quarter of 2024. Concern about artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced malicious attacks topped the list.
The top five emerging risks were as follows:
Three of the top five most cited emerging risks are in the technology category and concerns regarding soft ransomware targets enter the tracker for the first time. Escalating political polarization, which first entered the tracker in 4Q23, held steady as the third most cited concern, while misaligned organizational talent profile moved up from the fifth to fourth most cited risk.
Causes of soft ransomware targets
Soft ransomware targets include the types of systems that may be especially vulnerable to ransomware due to underinvestment or technical debt, leading to longer disruptions in business operations when attacks occur. The ease of carrying out such attacks, via what’s known as ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), allows cybercriminals with even minimal experience and technical skill to deploy attacks at low cost.
The potential impacts of soft ransomware targets range from operational disruptions and delay of services, to increased exposure to multi-extortion (e.g., ransom demand follows threats of selling, publishing or permanently deleting data), to increased financial burden in the form of direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include ransoms, remediation, litigation, and public relations, while indirect costs, such as reputational damage and loss of intellectual property, also create burden on the organization.
Gartner clients can read more in 2Q24 Emerging Risk Report. Nonclients can read: Top Emerging Risk Trends
