CRN asked CEOs of major tech companies, including Palo Alto Networks and Splunk, what impact they think AI will have on cybersecurity in 2024. Here’s what they think.
Artificial intelligence is currently one of the buzzwords in technology, and for good reason. AI and generative AI are reshaping the IT landscape by simplifying once-tedious tasks, such as network management. This even carries over to everyday work responsibilities, like writing emails.
One major area of IT that AI is starting to infiltrate is cybersecurity. AI and generative AI tools promise to automate specific security functions and detect attacks before the network can be breached. This technology could also prove useful in filling security talent gaps that companies may face, while freeing up their teams and the individuals they need to work on more strategic security functions. But not everything is promising or positive. Using large language models begins to introduce data privacy concerns. At the same time, it’s not just businesses that are turning to AI to help them become more efficient. Cybercriminals are also leveraging AI and launching new types of sophisticated, less obvious attacks.
Tech CEOs see both the potential and problems in AI. As AI increases targeted threats against businesses, the demand for different types of security tools will only increase this year.
In CRN’s annual CEO Outlook reportWe asked IT leaders what impact AI will have on cybersecurity in 2024. Here’s a sample of some of their answers and how solution providers can be part of the solution.
Evan Reiser, Co-Founder, CEO, Abnormal Security
AI business capabilities will only improve, which means AI threats will become even more serious in the coming year. We’ve already seen bad actors create their own platforms like WormGPT and FraudGPT, and I hope they continue to use them in the coming year. Unfortunately, email is one of the easiest ways to access an organization, and generative AI makes it easier than ever. Cybercriminals will likely use AI in greater numbers, leading not only to more email attacks, but also to more sophisticated email attacks. For example, malicious actors will not only leverage generative AI to create attacks, but will also likely leverage it to profile their victims, allowing them to launch highly targeted attacks. We may also see an increase in other types of AI attack delivery mechanisms, including a continued increase in vishing (voice phishing), smishing (SMS phishing), and quishing (QR code phishing) attacks. All of this means that organizations will need to be increasingly diligent about their email security, especially as advanced attacks begin to outpace the capabilities of traditional email security tools. As a result, I expect demand for more modern email security solutions to increase in 2024, and Abnormal and our partners are in a strong position to help customers improve their security posture in a data-driven world. ‘AI.
Matthew Prince, Co-Founder, CEO, Cloudflare
Last year we saw record DDoS attacks and security breaches, and AI will make these threats increasingly threatening to businesses. At the same time, we see organizations evaluating how to optimize their IT spend. Organizations will carefully consider what is actually needed to strengthen security, while driving innovation and controlling costs. Security platforms that offer cloud flexibility and reduced complexity will be a priority for customers as they evaluate their data, teams, and devices.
Nikesh Arora, President and CEO of Palo Alto Networks
AI adoption is about to reach an inflection point and will prove crucial to addressing the cybersecurity challenges our customers face and delivering real-time security outcomes. In this environment, with our large customer base of over 60,000 active customers, our data-first approach across our three platforms will help us better (deliver) AI-based solutions to our customers to both protect the responsible deployment of AI. and also to protect against bad actors using AI. Our partners must invest and understand the profound influence AI has on cybersecurity. Many organizations rely on our partner ecosystem for insightful advice, particularly in areas where technological advancements like AI are an integral part of their overall security posture. By honing their expertise in this area and understanding the benefits and risks associated with AI, our partners will be better equipped to provide the advice our clients need.
Bob VanKirk, President and CEO, SonicWall
With the volume of cyber threats, AI already plays a huge role for SonicWall, and we expect 2024 to be another pivotal year as we expand the use of AI across the enterprise. Our use of AI will continue to focus on automation, increasing our security effectiveness through predictive analytics, real-time threat detection and prevention, and providing better service and world-class support to our partners and customers.
Gary Steele, President and CEO, Splunk
Looking to 2024 and beyond, we believe AI will transform the way organizations keep their digital systems secure and reliable. Splunk’s flexible, highly scalable data architecture and security and observability solutions position us to help businesses build resilience by leveraging AI across our product portfolio. AI does not replace human decision-making. Rather, we view it as an accelerator that can help understaffed security, IT, and engineering teams become more efficient. We believe AI will deliver value by automatically detecting anomalies, recommending actions and assessing risks. With advances in AI, Splunk and our partners are helping our joint customers drive more value, make Splunk easier to use, and accelerate security and observability outcomes.
Jay Chaudhry, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Zscaler
AI presents both the biggest opportunity and biggest challenge for customers. A recent Zscaler survey found that although 95% of organizations use generative AI tools in some form, 89% of organizations view them as a potential security risk (Source: All Eyes on Study towards securing GenAI”). Combine this with the fact that threat actors are also using AI to carry out increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, and it becomes clear that organizations must act quickly to close the gap between the use of AI and security. Given the rapid evolution and adoption of AI-based applications, it is crucial to establish and follow best practices to ensure responsible and secure use of these transformative technologies.
