Why cybersecurity at the speed of AI is now a business cornerstone

The AI revolution is well underway. Many industries have been investing in and creating use cases for the technology for the past several years and are now utilizing AI for the massive benefits of scale it offers. Forecasting, analysis and other essential complex processes that used to take hours and days are now trivial with the help of AI. From autofill to chatbots, the automation of simple and repetitive tasks has freed up time and resources for people to apply their talents toward more meaningful business activities.

However, AI introduces risk at the same rate as it introduces efficiencies. Users expose confidential information to public GenAI engines like ChatGPT, endangering intellectual property. Attackers now leverage AI to identify and exploit vulnerabilities at an unprecedented scale, automating their movement throughout networks, and concealing their activity as they gather sensitive information. They use GenAI to produce more and more realistic phishing lures to exploit unsuspecting employees into forfeiting credentials.

One of the larger challenges companies encounter when strategizing for cybersecurity is that it is often viewed as a hurdle to efficiency for an organization. However, if security is considered as part of the larger AI strategy, it ultimately becomes a business accelerator. The innovation and new technologies that drive growth for companies and entire industries are only as valuable as how secure they are – otherwise gains are temporary. Cybersecurity done right protects your progress and serves as a launchpad into the future.

Everyone can see the exciting potential of AI, but what takes things to the next level is confidence that those systems are private, secure and accurate. The clock isn’t turning back on AI; the challenge is to implement security that is business-enabling, a system that complements and accommodates the reach of the networks it protects, from the data centre, to the cloud, to the remote workforce. The first step for any organization is to implement a proactive security posture that delivers outcomes at the speed of AI.

A key dimension of AI is its ability to adapt over time. AI exponentially increases the rate of change for attackers and defenders alike, which means threats evolve faster. In an environment where the volume and sophistication of threats is always increasing, it’s important that security evolves in a similar way. This is the foundation for a prevention-first security posture. AI-driven security can identify and index new threats faster than humans can, and then apply the relevant policy changes throughout the network with very little bureaucratic friction.

As AI matures throughout industries, it arcs toward a common outcome: integrity and availability. In high-growth sectors like finance, the opportunities offered by new AI use cases represent a huge upside for those who are able to offer reliable, trusted service. There is a push to build global, open financial networks with strong interconnections that facilitate more efficient transactions. The goal is in reach because of AI and blockchain, but it escalates the risk for a cascading failure with widespread impact if security is not guaranteed. The progress we’ve made in these areas can only be sustained by establishing a baseline of confidence through AI-driven, proactive cybersecurity.

Modern organizations face a paradox: the need for best-in-class single solution software and the simultaneous demand that these solutions seamlessly integrate across their security ecosystems. Security strategies today must prioritize not only strength, but also adaptability, with tools that can scale, interoperate, and evolve without locking businesses into rigid architectures.

Flexibility is essential. An “open garden” approach to security enables organizations to build and customize stacks that align with their unique needs, while ensuring that technologies work together effectively. Security solutions should be context-aware, future-ready and able to integrate across hybrid environments.

So where can AI have an impact on security today? AI accelerates action throughout the threat life cycle. It amplifies threat identification, automates remediation, executes policy changes, and more, compressing an approval chain that might ordinarily take hours to a few seconds, and with greater accuracy.

AI is driving exciting growth in all sectors of the global economy. It’s supercharging digital transformation initiatives that have been maturing for years and creating a host of new opportunities, with more business-ready use cases arriving by the day.

But these gains are all at risk if security isn’t part of the strategic business roadmap from the beginning. The interconnection, interaction and communication at scale across your organization (and even outside of it) that AI facilitates means today’s security incidents have a correspondingly amplified impact. Localized breaches can turn into cascading failure. AI introduces risk at the same rate as efficiency. If not planned for and managed in a thoughtful manner, these risks can impact your brand in profound ways.

Cybersecurity at the speed of AI is the foundation for business today. It enables organizations to truly harness the technology’s power at scale to move fast, adapt, target, innovate and grow. Like any new technology, understanding the challenges and risks plays a large impact in taking full advantage of the opportunities.