How to harness the potential — and reduce the risks — of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how we work — and increasing cyber-risk for many companies. Here’s how to harness its power and still protect your business.
5 minute read
Key takeaways
- Many businesses deploy generative and agentic AI tools without sufficient control over these technologies’ security and use.
- Malicious actors can use these same AI tools to exploit security vulnerabilities whether it comes from vendors, customers or employees.
- Instilling and reinforcing companywide cybersecurity fundamentals, including continued threat awareness and employee training, can help prevent many emerging threats from AI tools.
Generative AI tools, which can create software, images and written content, and agentic AI tools, which include virtual assistants, autonomous vehicles and other semi-independent functions, are already embedded in many corporate workflows.
While AI adoption is still in its early stages, in a recent survey of business leaders, 92% of respondents expected to increase their organization’s AI spend during the next three years.1 However, the same study found that AI-borne cybersecurity risk is decision-makers’ top concern as they embrace generative and agentic AI.
As the business world assesses the potential value and risks of AI adoption, corporate leaders should not discount the immediate challenges these new tools bring. Chief among them is how bad actors are using the technology to perform increasingly sophisticated attacks. These include scams that involve deepfakes and other AI-assisted social engineering tactics, which make it harder than ever to distinguish between legitimate communications and malicious fabrications.
The following general principles are a good starting point for businesses to embrace the opportunities presented by AI technologies, address associated risks and guide their organizations to be better positioned for success.
With AI’s growing potential, taking a measured, rational approach to adopting it and defending against its misuse will boost your business’s bottom line without jeopardizing a healthy security posture. Like the advent of the internet, cloud computing and mobile devices, the implementation of AI tools will demand a combination of the right security investments and a sensible, informed approach that spans the entire organization. However, companies should recognize that managing AI cyber-risk will never be a purely technological challenge. Just as humans stand to benefit from AI innovation, they must also take the lead in reducing its risks.
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