Dive into the future of cybersecurity with insights from Doug Kersten, CISO at Appfire. Learn why collaborative and proactive approaches are essential to defending against AI-based threats in 2024.
Implementing an effective security strategy will require a proactive approach rooted in cross-functional collaboration as AI continues to evolve and sometimes generate new, sophisticated threats. This will get teams working in new and interesting ways.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm and changing the way people live and work. While these advancements provide teams with access to technology that enables more efficient and productive work, they also allow malicious actors to exploit the technology for malicious purposes. In the coming year, to defend against AI-driven threats, business and cybersecurity leaders will need to take an even more proactive approach to their organization’s security strategies, one that encourages collaboration between teams.
AI Sharpening Tools: A Growing Threat to Organizational Security
Traditional attack vectors such as business email compromise (BEC), insider threats, ransomware and phishing are taking new forms thanks to AI. For example, bad actors use extended language models (LLMs) to write phishing emails that appear so authentic that it is almost impossible to tell whether the language is coming from a colleague or a tempting bad actor. to infiltrate a company’s network.
The emergence of various AI models has introduced a level of unpredictability into several security elements that were once considered solved, making these once secure aspects more difficult to address. In 2024, security leaders must proactively address how AI is changing the threat landscape every day. They will need to consider new tactics to strengthen their organization’s cybersecurity defense strategies and focus on establishing a model of shared responsibility for security.
See more : How AI Enables Smarter Business Processes and Security
Leveraging Cross-Functional Collaboration for a Proactive Cybersecurity Approach
Cross-functional collaboration – the willingness and ability of organizational teams, whether internal or external, to share information, people, processes and systems (technology) to more effectively deliver a desired outcome – is at the heart of any robust, proactive and collaborative cybersecurity strategy to address AI threats. From a cybersecurity perspective, establishing a model of shared responsibility for security is part of maintaining effective cross-functional collaboration within an organization. This requires all parties to know their role in protecting company data from unauthorized individuals. With a clearly defined shared responsibility model, teams will be empowered to proactively identify, communicate and manage security risks.
This concept is essential in today’s cybersecurity threat environment for two reasons. First, workforces now operate in widely dispersed digital environments, requiring greater reliance on tools to accomplish their tasks. For this reason, it is much more likely that teams will unknowingly engage in shadow IT (using computer hardware or software without the knowledge of the IT or security group within the organization) or connect to a VPN insecurely. Under a shared responsibility model, knowing which apps are safe to use and how to securely connect to the company VPN is clear to all employees, not just IT and security teams. Second, as noted above, with the advent of generative AI, many aspects of security that we thought were solidly resolved have become less predictable and, therefore, more difficult to address. For example, it was widely accepted that specific regulations related to the handling of sensitive data in non-production contexts provided comprehensive security coverage. However, integrating AI into the development process has revealed the potential for unexpected exposure of protected data and intellectual property to unwanted parties.
This is where cross-functional collaboration comes in. To account for cases like this, cybersecurity professionals must work alongside business leaders to ensure their legal, privacy, and security functions collaborate closely with DevOps and product teams throughout the development process. This approach allows teams to proactively address security issues early in the process. This is a change in the way these teams worked together, where legal, privacy and security took a process integration, or even a top-down approach, and didn’t have to pay much attention. attention to the actual development of the product.
5 Key Strategies for Incorporating Effective Cross-Functional Collaboration into Your Cybersecurity Approach
Working across teams is a highly effective strategy for ensuring your organization – and every employee – is in the strongest possible position to proactively protect against a wave of new threats, especially those powered by AI. Here are five best practices that can help transition disjointed security processes to a more cross-functional and collaborative approach to cybersecurity.
- Encourage face-to-face communication, even if it is done virtually: Messages, whether instructions, requests, or otherwise, often need to be clearer in translation when communicating solely using technologies like Slack and email. Get in front of the person or team you want to collaborate with, even if the only way is via Zoom or video call. When you lay out the true purpose of your goal, you gain collaborative partners rather than facing rejection.
- Be a team player: Working with other teams requires a bit of give and take. Think about what you can do to support those you collaborate with. Can you provide them with some of your resources, such as people or budget, to make the collaboration accessible to both parties? A willingness to work together and actively share information across teams is one of the best ways to ensure that the security of your business is a priority for all parties; this is essential as technology and AI advance and contribute to a much broader threat landscape.
- Remember the importance of compromise: Bringing teams from different parts of a business together to work together on a common initiative, such as improving a security program, requires understanding their different ways of working and communicating. Two teams within the same organization may approach project management differently. However, they should take the same approach to addressing concerns about security processes and practices.
- Use training to improve collaboration between teams: Most teams want to work together to achieve certain safety standards, but don’t know how to do it or don’t feel empowered to do so. Training is a simple way to achieve this and can provide clear guidance on and encourage collaboration. One option that can help organizations and employees align with more effective cybersecurity practices is to introduce training programs – for new and existing employees – highlighting security best practices and inspiring deeper communication between teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and security awareness across the company.
- Celebrate when collaboration works: Successful collaboration means that when you win, you win together. Recognizing outcomes rooted in collaboration only reinforces that the cross-functional collaboration model works. For example, celebrate the thwarted threat attempt made possible by a member of your sales team who immediately reported a suspicious email from a potential “customer” to the security team before opening a link or responding to this person.
Beyond these five keys, trust is also important for cross-functional collaboration and establishing a safety culture. Fostering a relationship of trust between your internal teams, external stakeholders, and customers is more likely to facilitate open conversations about security. It will assure customers and partners that their data and information is protected.
And after?
In 2024, significant developments will be made in the field of AI, and they will continue to reframe the way businesses do business. While technologies such as machine learning (ML) and AI offer organizations the opportunity to develop even more effective solutions for their users, they also introduce a variety of security issues and challenges that businesses must still overcome. Transitioning to a proactive, collaborative approach to security and equipping teams and individuals with training, knowledge and open lines of communication are now even more critical requirements for operating in a secure world.
How can organizations adapt to AI-related cybersecurity threats? Let us know on Facebook, XAnd LinkedIn. We would love to hear from you!
Image source: Shutterstock
