According to a new Metomic survey, Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in the US and the UK are rather concerned about the possibility of security breaches caused by generative AI technologies. The research found that an increasing number of data breaches are occurring in different industries, and 72% of the respondents expressed concern about this new threat.
An increase in data breaches and CISOs’ growing concerns about AI security
The survey, in which views of about 400 CISOs were obtained, demonstrates that data breaches are still the topmost security issue, and the number of these issues has been booming over the past 12 months.
The data breach facts in the US posted in 2023 are at an all-time high, recording 3,205 breaches compared to 1,802 in the previous year. The financial influence, too, is exceptionally huge, with an average health data breach in the US costing about $9.48 million, according to the present estimates.
The risks of data leakage are dropping amid worries about the influence of AI and other evolving technologies on corporate security. After data breaches, the United States and British information security managers combined their concerns about AI development and tech innovations. At the same time, the UK respondents are more focused on phishing schemes.
CISOs prioritize security operations and training
According to the CISOs’ survey results, almost all of them indicate their desire to increase their capabilities for security operations; the statistics show that most respondents (up to 84 percent) come to this conclusion, highlighting it as a priority task for 2024.
The strategies planning initiatives are also the highest priority for CISOs, emphasizing the importance of strengthening these operations activities. In addition, roughly 79 percent are leaning towards a plan providing a safety upgrade and staff training on security measures.
Survey results state that most applications are supported by SaaS, with approximately 36% of U.S. CISOs managing 200 or more business processes with us. The recent trend proves that blocking SaaS platforms with proper security and monitoring policies has to be the way many businesses rely on such platforms.
Finding answers to maintain a strong security culture
One of the things CISOs target is maintaining a strong security culture, while they face numerous difficulties in formulating and sustaining an effective security culture. Particularly notable is that more than 50% of survey respondents have savored malware or phishing attacks, either sporadically or regularly.
Aside from that, continuous security awareness and training is also overwhelmingly seen by the US 41% and UK CISOs 34% as a major challenge.
Overall, 59 percent of covering officers in both areas think they will spend more time on security operations, risk management, and training activities to overcome these difficulties.
Rich Vibert, Metomic’s co-founder and CEO, discussed the intricacy of modern CSOs’ positions. According to him, the study’s results point out that new-age CISOs are facing quite stiff and critical situations. The main objective of the study seems clear, and it is apparent that the survey was there to help security leaders form policies.
The report sheds new light on CISOs’ concerns about the augmenting risk that generative AI provides to security issues. They must strengthen information security in all the operational processes, strategic planning, and education. Therefore, they must use various approaches and enhance their competence to protect against developing cyber security using modern technologies and SaaS.
