Enterprises find themselves navigating a complex web of cyber threats that grow in sophistication and scale each day. As adversaries become more adept at exploiting vulnerabilities, traditional security measures alone are no longer sufficient. It is critical that enterprises adopt a proactive and dynamic approach to cyber resilience that accounts for the hyper-connected nature of the digital environment and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful ally in this space.

Trends like hybrid work practices, use of personal devices for work, and virtualization of services are blurring traditional security boundaries and adding new challenges for the IT teams to secure the organization’s network and data. Data from Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) – the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents – showed it handled over 13.9 lakh cyber security incidents in 2022. This highlights the need for a holistic cybersecurity approach, integrating emerging technologies like AI and Machine Learning (ML) to bolster cyber resilience.

The challenge for organizations is two-fold: fortifying defenses against known threats and to anticipate and neutralize future threats. This requires them to continuously improve their defensive strategies to stay ahead of attackers. By harnessing ML algorithms, AI equips cybersecurity systems to move beyond perimeter-based approaches and learn from threats and adapt – all in real-time.

Realizing the proactive defense

Consider an employee mistakenly clicking on a phishing email — AI doesn’t merely respond to the intrusion; it learns, comprehends patterns, understands digital behavior, and anticipates potential threats before they materialize. In turn, similar phishing attempts, or new ones leveraging the same lure or related lures, are likely to fail from the outset. That’s the evolution AI brings to cybersecurity. AI turns your defense from reactive to proactive, empowering intelligent decision-making, and boosting resilience against cyber threats.

Enhancing threat intelligence

AI plays a critical role in enhancing threat detection and prevention capabilities within enterprise security. It acts as a detective, uncovering clues often invisible to the human eye. With the ability to analyze vast amounts of real-time data, AI-powered systems can identify patterns and anomalies indicative of malicious activity. This allows security teams to proactively detect potential breaches, building a strong organizational security posture.

Incident response and adaptive security

AI-enabled automation can significantly enhance incident response capabilities within the enterprise . By integrating with security information and event management (SIEM) systems, AI can automatically analyze and correlate security alerts, rapidly identifying genuine threats and filtering out false positives. For example, AI can be used to autonomously isolate compromised devices or roll back changes carried out by a malicious entity.

Risk management and compliance

By analyzing data related to user behavior, access privileges, and system configurations, AI-driven systems can identify risky activities or potential compliance violations. This enables organizations to take proactive measures to mitigate risks and ensure adherence to regulatory requirements.

Challenges and ethical considerations

While AI offers immense potential for strengthening cybersecurity, it is also important to acknowledge the challenges associated with its implementation. One concern is the potential for AI systems to be vulnerable to cyberattacks themselves. Additionally, there are concerns about the ethical implications of using AI, such as the potential for bias and discrimination. To address these challenges, organizations must adopt a responsible and ethical approach to AI implementation. Moreover, AI systems should be continuously monitored and audited to ensure that they are functioning as intended and not being used for malicious purposes.

Organizations should also train employees on the potential risks and benefits of AI. This will help to ensure that they are comfortable using AI solutions, and aware of the potential for bias and discrimination.

Navigating the AI landscape

A recent Cisco study revealed that 58% of Indian respondents lack complete readiness in detecting and thwarting attacks on AI models. To effectively capitalize on the emerging opportunities with AI, enterprises need to embrace a long-term vision, strategic adaptability, continuous learning, and robust governance practices. The good news is that organizations are taking steps to address the skills gap with 95% of respondents saying that they are investing in training for employees in this area. In addition to hiring new talent, companies are also upskilling their existing workforce to leverage the full potential of AI technologies they deploy.

AI is no longer a good thing to have, but a necessity for every organization. As AI continues to evolve, organizations embracing and implementing it responsibly will be well-positioned to defend against the dynamic threats of today and tomorrow. Combining AI technologies and human expertise is an effective approach to building a resilient cybersecurity strategy, and can enhance the organization’s capabilities, resilience, and readiness for the challenges of the digital world.

The author is Samir Kumar Mishra, Director, Security Business, Cisco India & SAARC

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCISO does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCISO shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly.