AI has been around a while now and is a central topic in discussions around business and consumer technology, as well as in popular media. However, the conversation received a significant boost following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and laterly Deepseek. With AI becoming increasingly accessible, user-friendly, and sophisticated, it is rapidly being woven into daily life, presenting nearly as many serious dangers as it offers benefits.
Indeed, early AI adoption can be seen as a double-edged sword from various perspectives, and cybersecurity is no exception. On the positive side, AI technologies are assisting security experts in streamlining various workflows, including threat identification and security event management. Consequently, they are improving productivity and freeing up valuable time for these experts to focus on more labour-intensive aspects of their jobs, which necessitate creative and critical human thought.
Being mere humans, we sometimes expect the rhetoric to match the potential, but often new phenomena such as hyper-personalisation, whilst advocated by universities and global research companies, don’t feature with entire verticals such as ecommerce retailers. What is it, and what does it do? These are still everyday questions asked on first introduction. Imagine any other walk of life where something that would complement activity to the tune of the aggregate of everything else currently achieved being delivered on a plate, but for the sake of investigating it. And completely off the radar to the very people who need it most.
Nonetheless, the rising demand for AI proficiency among cyber professionals is intensifying pressure on both organisations and individuals, significantly widening the already considerable cyber skills gap. In other words, AI is revealing the unrealistic expectations that many companies hold. Recruiters often seek candidates who are not only familiar with common cybersecurity tools but also well-versed in the latest threat landscape.
Furthermore, they sometimes expect several years of experience with it, despite the fact that this tool has only been available for the last 2 years! It is also crucial to keep in mind that the same AI tools utilised by security professionals are equally accessible to malicious actors. Always seeking more elusive and resilient strategies, cybercriminals leverage AI to evade detection and bypass security measures.
The use of generative AI for phishing attacks is a notable and concerning example. By employing AI, cybercriminals can more easily identify and exploit weaknesses within an organisation’s infrastructure, gaining access to sensitive information or otherwise jeopardising the business. This ongoing battle between defenders and attackers is poised to become even more challenging as time progresses and AI continues to evolve.
We have witnessed how artificial intelligence is transforming the cyber landscape in numerous profound ways. Its evolution is occurring at a pace unmatched by any other technological trend. For instance, ChatGPT astonishingly reached the milestone of one million users in just five days. In contrast, Facebook took ten months, while Twitter required two years to reach the same milestone.
The only way to keep pace with this rapidly advancing technology is to actively engage with it. There is no alternative to addressing the issue other than employing AI itself. Sophisticated threats fueled by AI are emerging, making it increasingly challenging to identify and mitigate them without its assistance. The complexity of critical thinking and decision-making involved in these new strategies is continuously escalating.
Organisations that fail to combat these challenges with equivalent AI solutions will find themselves increasingly exposed to a variety of attacks. AI presents both significant opportunities for advancement and potential risks that cannot be overlooked. For businesses to thrive, or even just to survive, in today’s technological environment, they must adapt to AI in a manner that is both quick and thorough.
Early AI adoption conclusion
While concerns about AI are valid, many are often unfounded. It is improbable that this technology could ever completely replace humans, particularly given its generative and predictive attributes, which still depend heavily on human input. However, with the rapid development of AI, businesses lacking AI expertise risk becoming obsolete. Humans will always hold a role in the cyber domain, and they will not be entirely supplanted by AI.
However, they may be outmatched by those who can leverage AI more effectively. This is a competition for the most advanced AI and the most skilled AI professionals, and the sooner your organisation recognises this reality, the more advantageous it will be.
