AI Cyber Threats Force 75% of Firms to Change Security Strategies

Cybersecurity teams are revamping their strategies to keep pace with emerging AI-based threats targeting businesses, according to a report from cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct.

Deep Instinct’s Voice of SecOps report surveyed 500 senior cybersecurity experts from companies with more than 1,000 U.S.-based employees.

The report found that 75% of respondents changed their cybersecurity strategy in the past 12 months to combat AI-powered cyber threats.

Almost all (97%) of those surveyed security professionals expressed concern their organization will suffer a breach stemming from AI.

A further 61% admitted to seeing an increase in deepfakes in the past 12 months. Three-quarters (75%) of respondents said they had seen deepfakes attempting to impersonate a CEO or C-suite executive.

Despite the rising concerns about AI, Deep Instinct found that 41% of businesses rely on outdated endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to protect their organizations.

EDRs monitor end-user devices to detect potential cyber threats. However, the report likens using EDR to combat AI as “equivalent to fighting a five-alarm fire with a garden hose.”

Some 31% of respondents said they were planning to increase their EDR investments to combat AI.

Away from EDR, 42% of surveyed cybersecurity professionals said their organization is using preventative technologies to combat AI attacks, including predictive prevention platforms.

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Nearly half (45%) of the respondents admitted that they think their employers are wasting their cybersecurity investments.

Other major concerns security professionals highlighted included a lack of experience concerning AI, aging infrastructure and systems, as well as poor risk assessments.

Credit: Deep Instinct

"AI-generated cyberattacks continue to increase exponentially, and organizations can no longer defend against them by relying on legacy, reactive cybersecurity tools,” said Lane Bess, Deep Instinct’s CEO. “Here’s my challenge for chief information security officers, boards and security teams: prioritize prevention before it’s too late. Deep Learning is the only way to combat these AI-powered threats by predicting and preventing the next cyber threat before it happens, bolstering cybersecurity resilience and alleviating burnout.”

Deep Instinct’s report also suggests generative AI is taking its toll on security professionals.

More than half (53%) of the surveyed professionals said their teams were under increased boardroom pressure, while 56% said their stress levels were worse and 66% said AI is “causing feelings of burnout and stress.”

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The report found that C-suite staff are concerned about their business's readiness to handle AI attacks with one-third (33%) concerned they lack the necessary visibility into AI systems and tools.

Credit: Deep Instinct

Some 35% of respondents said AI tools improve their productivity and automate routine tasks. The same amount said that adopting a proactive cybersecurity approach helps relieve role-related stress.

This article first appeared in IoT World Today's sister publication AI Business.