New data from Pymnts show that the share of COOs reporting their firm has implemented AI-powered cybersecurity systems has tripled since early 2024. — Image by freepik
Keeping up with criminal hackers is a constant struggle, especially for small businesses, but many are now turning to artificial intelligence to boost their cybersecurity measures, even if they don’t have experts in their own companies.
New data from financial news site Pymnts show that the share of chief operating officers reporting their firm has implemented AI-powered cybersecurity systems has tripled since early 2024.
In May, about 17% of COOs surveyed reported they had deployed AI cybersecurity management, but that total rose to 55% by the end of 2024. The increased adoption rate is a reminder that even as malicious hackers are using brand-new AI tools to break into systems, AI itself can help defend against hacks.
While the Pymnts COO survey was for bigger companies, it’s worth noting that just as AI can add new office skills to small teams at smaller firms, it can also boost your ability to defend against cyberattacks.
Pymnts’s survey explains that COOs are switching to AI-powered solutions at a time when “companies face the threat of cyberattacks that are growing more sophisticated”, which tallies with other reports that cybercriminals now find it’s even easier to hack into networks and computer systems thanks to generative AI-powered tools.
During 2024, reports said that big tech names Google and Microsoft were rolling out AI-powered cybersecurity tools to help combat this increased threat. Back in February, Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke at the Munich Security Conference and addressed worries that the AI revolution could boost cybersecurity problems.
Though everyone was “right to be worried about the impact on cybersecurity”, Pichai said he felt AI tools can yield positive cybersecurity benefits.
The Pymnts data supports Pichai’s premise, reflecting a growing belief among COOs who say AI is now an “essential tool for protecting organisations from security breaches and fraud”. Those respondents are confident that AI can help with immediate challenges, as well as boosting long-term security innovations.
It’s not only the fact that AI cybersecurity tools bring new weapons to the fight against malicious hackers: Pymnts’s data also show that COOs in companies that implemented AI tools think they’ve saved an average of 5.9% of annual revenue in the past 12 months. Among those reporting the most positive return on investment, that estimated share of annual revenue saved is 7.7%. Where AI is used for vital tasks like keeping company data secure, COO respondents said they expect AI will be “fully embedded” in their companies inside the next seven years.
Why are companies turning to AI, though?
The answer is that the technology is actually changing how company IT departments fight cyberthreats. Pymnts notes that AI can automate the first responses when a cyberattack begins by analysing huge amounts of data, which can then speed up the response time to issue a fix.
Beyond the first-line data crunching, AI tools can change IT strategies from being reactive, in response to cyberattacks, to being proactive and preventative. For example, AI cybersecurity by analysing incoming Internet traffic to detect and block phishing attempts before they can reach employees and start causing worry or harm.
Smarter cybersecurity is urgently needed because AI is also democratising the ability to carry out cyberattacks – which previously required coding expertise. Pymnts quotes Amazon chief information security officer CJ Moses, who explained Amazon had seen hacking attempts increase more than sevenfold over the past six months, most of which came from AI tools.
Though Pymnts data came from larger companies and startups (firms that generate more than US$1bil/RM4.51bil annually in revenue), this democratising power of AI also means that smaller companies – with much smaller workforces that lack cybersecurity experts – can deploy sophisticated AI tools without having to understand complex internet technology or code. – Inc./Tribune News Service
