We were already seeing this in December: 2024 is shaping up to be the year of cybersecurity. Even though the generative artificial intelligence (AI) (genAI) arms race seems like it's been reported to death, the technology has only been public for about 14 months. While we've been playing with the technology to create fun images and help write stories, criminals have been testing its potential for havoc.

In our top story for the month, our security editor Nancy Liu reports on Dell Technologies' Global Data Protection Index 2024 report, which looked at the impact of genAI on cybersecurity for the first time.

Our second top story is also about security, with Zscaler entering the single-vendor secure access service edge (SASE) market. However, almost right away, some analysts expressed doubts that Zscaler's service was actually a “full-blown SD-WAN.” Which led to our fifth top story, where Zscaler lashes out at its detractors, saying the needs of the market are evolving and require a new way to think about security.

And as with every month, networking, telecom and technology company mergers and acquisitions are top of mind and on our Top 10 list. The following story rankings are based on unique visitors aggregated during the month.

Dell Technologies’ Global Data Protection Index 2024 found a vast majority (81%) of surveyed IT leaders agree that emerging technologies —such as AI, IoT and edge — pose a risk to data protection, but very few of them (8%) have fully implemented a zero-trust security architecture.

The report showed more than half (52%) of respondents said genAI will bolster their organization’s cybersecurity posture. However, this optimism is tempered by the 27% who believe that genAI might initially give an advantage to cybercriminals.

Zscaler finally launched its SD-WAN solution, stepping firmly into the growing and competitive single-vendor SASE market. The security services edge (SSE) leader has been working with almost all of the leading SD-WAN vendors for its multivendor SASE approach.

The security vendor announced the general availability of its Zero Trust SD-WAN solution and portfolio of plug-and-play appliances, designed to help customers modernize secure connectivity for branch offices, factories and data centers while also eliminating the need for ineffective firewalls and VPNs.

Cisco claims its Silicon One technology represents the first scalable networking silicon architecture — and the networking vendor’s second attempt at engaging the webscale customer base it initially missed out on.

Webscale customers drive adoption of new technologies and buy products and services on a significant scale. This group also tends to be “at the forefront of the [artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML)] AI/ML sphere.” In other words, they’re pretty important.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) pending $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks is set to bolster the ability for both to better penetrate the 5G telecommunications market — a market that remains in desperate need of network management support.

While much of the buzz around the deal has centered on Juniper boosting HPE’s networking and AI efforts to battle rival Cisco, the combined operation will also be able to piece together a more complete 5G support package for operators.

Zscaler seems to be moving toward a model where an internet-based cloud integrates various enterprise assets altogether, Mauricio Sanchez, senior research director at Dell’Oro Group, told SDxCentral. As the technology landscape evolves and the internet becomes more reliable, he suggests that the market might shift. For certain enterprises with less demanding “heavyweight” networking requirements, Zscaler’s offerings might be sufficient.

For now, though, Sanchez doesn’t think Zscaler offers a “full-blown SD-WAN” yet.

As Broadcom hastens to make changes consistent with its plan to almost double VMware’s profitability in the next three years, customers might be surprised by higher bills, longer storage payback periods, and reduced channel partner and hardware vendor investments.

The year 2024 is expected to be another pivotal year for the use of AI in cybersecurity. Google Cloud Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Phil Venables expects AI’s benefits and capabilities to surge in 2024 as cyber defenders own the technology and thus direct its development with specific use cases in mind.

As a result, this new year in cybersecurity will be characterized by a race between defenders and attackers in the realm of AI. Here are some predictions sent to SDxCentral by security vendors.

Both the SD-WAN and SASE markets expanded rapidly in 2023, and neither shows any signs of slowing down in 2024. Last year, vendors rolled out new features, set their sights on security improvements, and consolidated what were previously separate features into integrated solutions.

The Wall Street Journal reported that HPE was in “advanced talks” to buy Juniper “to better position the nearly 100-year-old technology company in the era of artificial intelligence.” Juniper’s Mist AI platform has been a significant business driver for the vendor.

The HPE news comes on the heels of Juniper moving forward on a corporate restructuring plan designed to stabilize operations. The vendor filed that $59 million plan in October, which included approximately 440 job cuts.

T-Mobile US reported mostly strong results for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2023, but management raised future-looking eyebrows by stating the carrier was potentially looking at an acquisition of a rival or 5G network-bolstering fiber assets.