CISOs losing ground to AI threats, Darktrace warns
The threat of AI-driven cyber attacks is escalating, with 78 per cent of chief information security officers (CISOs) reporting a significant impact on their organisations.
According to Darktrace’s newly released cyber security report, this represents a five per cent increase from last year.
The findings, based on a survey of over 1,500 cyber security professionals, suggest that security teams are racing to keep up with the rapid evolution of AI driven attacks.
“The impact of AI on cyber security is clear and increasing”, said Jill Popelka, chief executive of Darktrace.
“More employees and enterprise applications are using AI, and aversaries are leveraging it to make their attacks more targeted, scalable and successful.”
The report highlights how AI is both a threat and a tool in cybersecurity.
On one hand, AI is fuelling new attack techniques, from highly personalised phishing campaigns to automated ransomware attacks.
On the other, security professionals see AI as an essential countermeasure.
Darktrace found that 95 per cent believe it can improve the speed and efficiency of threat detection and response.
Yet, only 42 per cent of respondents said they fully understand the AI technologies currently in use within their security systems, with knowledge gaps particularly pronounced among IT security analysts and administrators.
Despite growing risks, many firms are struggling with resource constraints, with insufficient talent to manage security tools remaining as the biggest challenge.
Looking ahead, security leaders expect AI to have the greatest impact in cloud security and network security, where adversaries are rapidly exploiting vulnerabilities.
“The rapid evolution of AI-powered threats is forcing security teams to rethink their defensive strategies”, said John Mendoza, CISO of Technologent.
“Traditional cyber security measures can no longer match the speed, scale and sophistication of modern attacks.”