SECURE horizons
By Jess Abell , our Director of Strategic Content
In this column , we ’ ll be discussing key issues for CISOs and their teams – from AI to wellbeing and from Zero Trust to communication . If you ’ d like to get in touch , email jess @ lynchpinmedia . com
The organisation ’ s CEO Survey , published at the World Economic Forum in Davos , found that Chief Executives in the UK are adopting GenAI at a much faster rate than their peers .
According to the research , 42 % stated they had implemented the technology in the last year compared with 32 % of CEOs globally .
A total of 4,702 CEOs in 105 countries were surveyed , with the UK at the front of the pack both in Europe and beyond . The only countries that have adopted GenAI faster than the UK are Japan , where 50 % of CEOs say they have done so , along with Norway ( 53 %) and Finland ( 49 %).
However , UK CEOs are also more mindful of the risks – 73 % cite cybersecurity risks as the top unintended consequence of GenAI compared to 64 % global CEOs . A total of 59 % of UK CEOs say that GenAI could increase the spread of misinformation , compared to 52 % of Global CEOs . However , the US remains more concerned about this particular risk ( 63 % of CEOs ), whereas those in China are much less concerned ( 25 % of CEOs ).
It ’ s clear from the research that AI is impacting organisations across all industries and geographies , and the benefits will be transformational , though the risks are visible .
But there is a silver lining because , just as attackers are leveraging this technology , so too are the defenders . Avkash Kathiriya , Sr . VP – Research and Innovation at Cyware , noted how one vendor is providing new tools to help defenders .
He highlighted that Microsoft is changing the AI game for the security industry , introducing
strategic AI features which will enhance the analyst experience and increase the cohesive nature of the security ecosystem . Advances like this are crucial to help incident response times and accuracy , he said .
Mike Hanley , CSO and SVP of Engineering , GitHub , also recently told Intelligent CIO APAC that , used effectively , AI can help prevent vulnerabilities from being written in the first place – radically transforming the security experience .
And Fortinet , a global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security , recently added Fortinet Advisor , a generative AI ( GenAI ) assistant , to its portfolio of more than 40 AI-powered offerings .
AI has served as the backbone of the Fortinet Security Fabric and FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence and security services for more than a decade , and the implementation of GenAI is Fortinet ’ s latest innovation designed to protect customers and keep business operations online .
These are just some examples of how AI is being leveraged by the cybersecurity community to get ahead of attackers – and there will be doubtless more examples to emerge throughout the year .
And so , just as our Christmas panto blended tradition and innovation , this year it will be crucial for the cybersecurity landscape to adapt and embrace the changes we ’ re seeing in the digital world . In an ever-evolving security landscape , this approach will be key to ensuring a safer future .
Many industry experts are calling AI a ‘ double-edged sword ’ for the cybersecurity community .
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