A report from a cybersecurity company Dark Trace reveals that 71% of businesses across the UK have been affected by AI-related cyber incidents.
Although the country faces the third highest number of attacks in the world, Darktrace State of AI Cybersecurity Report highlights that 95% of security leaders currently lack confidence to defend against any type of threat. However, almost all (98%) of respondents believe that AI-based solutions can help significantly improve defensive capabilities.
In today’s UK cybersecurity landscape, businesses are faced with the reality of imminent cyber attackscoupled with a lack of preparedness. As a result, Darktrace says organizations are prioritizing AI tools in their security stacks to improve their overall cybersecurity readiness.
The UK is currently highly exposed to cyber attacks
The Darktrace report found that 92% of respondents expect cyber threats to continue to impact their organizations in the near future. Respondents are particularly concerned that these threats will eventually increase the volume and sophistication of exploits targeting known vulnerabilities.
Despite such awareness of these threats, Darktrace notes that respondents lack confidence in their organization’s ability to defend against AI-powered attacks. Similarly, 48% feel they themselves are unprepared.
AI-powered cyberattacks have increased in frequency in recent months, with malicious actors’ tactics becoming increasingly sophisticated. This leaves businesses with more exposed vulnerabilities, which can have catastrophic consequences for day-to-day operations as these actors can compromise sensitive data.
In addition, the growth of Internet of Things (IoT) and interconnected devices bring increased risks, as they may be more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Such a lack of preparedness felt by UK businesses is a challenge, especially as the country has faced significant data breaches in recent months, including high-profile attacks on businesses. the NHS and the BBCThe UK is currently one of the most targeted countries, behind the US and Ukraine, with half of UK businesses having suffered some form of breach in 2023.
Looking more broadly, Darktrace found that other countries feel even less prepared to defend against AI-powered threats. Based on current security capabilities, Japan feels the least prepared (90%), followed by Australia (78%), Germany (78%), the Netherlands (73%), Singapore (72%), the United Arab Emirates (71%), Spain (59%), France (54%), and the United States (54%).
Businesses must be proactive in their approach to cybersecurity
To counter AI-driven threats, Darktrace advises businesses to harness the power of AI to defend their operations – with most respondents optimistic that this will help reduce their attack surface.
According to the report, 64% of enterprises plan to add AI-based security tools to complement their existing solutions as a priority, hoping that this technology will improve their ability to defend against malicious AI activity.
Overall, more than three-quarters (79%) of respondents view reducing the cost and complexity of their cybersecurity stack as a key objective for their organization.
According to Darktrace, AI-powered solutions can be the key to improving cyber preparedness, as they enable security teams to take a more proactive approach to cybersecurity. Security teams and AI can work in tandem to protect businesses and improve resilience. With this in mind, 65% of UK-based security professionals surveyed are confident that AI-powered solutions will be able to automatically stop AI-powered threats, reducing alert fatigue and freeing up time for security teams to think. their broader security strategy.
Some of the benefits AI can offer businesses include automating time-consuming tasks, encouraging security teams to think more strategically, and planning their line of defense to better deal with threat activity.
