This year , there was a new addition to the stage to take Hereford ’ s Dick Whittington firmly into the future – an AI robot . Central to the unconventional plot , with a nod to the classic Wizard of Oz tale , was a quest to find a ‘ heart ’ for the AI .

Pantomime might seem an unlikely starting point for a column dedicated to cybersecurity ( and we are still some way from the sophisticated AI that was in the cast line-up this year ) but we can safely say that AI really is everywhere – and cybersecurity is set to bear both the brunt and the benefits of this technology .

Many industry experts are calling AI a ‘ doubleedged sword ’ for the cybersecurity community . While it can rapidly identify threat anomalies and strengthen cyberdefences , it is also being wielded by malicious actors . The rising simplicity with which attacks can be executed poses a growing concern , as highlighted by Curtis Simpson , CISO at Armis , in his Intelligent CISO article last month .

Recent research released by Nutanix also highlighted the challenges faced by EMEA organisations in 2024 when it comes to AI data security , scale and management .

The company ’ s global research study , State of Enterprise AI Report , provided insights into enterprise decision-making around AI , highlighting that for most organisations it is a strategic priority .

Commenting on the research , Sammy Zoghlami , SVP EMEA at Nutanix , said the survey uncovered an important theme among enterprises adopting AI solutions : a growing requirement for data governance and data mobility across data centre , cloud and edge infrastructure environments making it even more important for organisations to adopt a platform to run all apps and data across clouds .

With AI firmly on the agenda , a PwC report explored regional nuances further .

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