According to the State of Security 2024: The Race to Harness AI, published by Splunk, a cybersecurity and observability player, in collaboration with Enterprise Strategy Group, cybersecurity defenders now face a race against adversaries to harness generative AI (GenAI).
While organisations heavily adopt GenAI tools within their teams, many lack a clear GenAI policy or a full grasp of the technology’s broader implications. Furthermore, cybersecurity leaders are divided on who will gain the upper hand in leveraging GenAI tools: cybersecurity defenders or threat actors.
“We are in an AI gold rush, with bad actors and security professionals both trying to seize the advantage,” said Patrick Coughlin, SVP of Global Technical Sales, Splunk.
“The introduction of GenAI creates new opportunities for organisations to streamline processes, increase productivity, and limit staff burnout. Unfortunately, GenAI also presents unprecedented advantages for threat actors. To combat this new threat landscape, defenders must outpace threat actors in the race to harness and securely deploy the power of GenAI,” added Coughlin.
Nearly 93 per cent of security leaders said GenAI was in use across their respective organisations, and 91 per cent reported using GenAI specifically for cybersecurity operations.
Despite high adoption, 34 per cent of surveyed organizations say they do not have a Gen AI policy in place, and 65 per cent of respondents admit to not fully understanding the implications of GenAI.
Close to 44 per cent of respondents rank generative AI as a top initiative in 2024, surpassing cloud security as the top initiative.
Cybersecurity leaders are split over who has the advantage regarding GenAI. While 45 per cent of respondents believe Gen AI will be a net win for threat actors, 43 per cent said Gen AI will give cybersecurity defenders the edge.
