Concerns over AI-based attacks are also driving increased security adoption among organizations: In one presentation, a senior vice president at Akamai said the company had seen a 48% increase in web attacks year-over-year, with nearly 30% of those targeting organizations' APIs.
While organizations are increasingly using AI and machine learning to detect and prevent cyber threats in real time, cybercriminals are using combative AI tools to create deep fakes, copy user access passwords, and use other devious tactics to circumvent security measures. Several discussions have focused on the need for CISOs, CTOs, and CIOs to deploy AI-driven cybersecurity solutions or the risk of being outwitted by cybercriminals who are using these technological tools to launch attacks, which aligns with the focus of my previous column. The AI cat and mouse game has begun.
Another focus was the SOC. AI-based attacks are expected to increase the frequency of attacks. Given the increase in attacks and the ease with which AI can facilitate more sophisticated attacks, enterprise security operations center professionals will be inundated with alerts. How can they filter the alerts in an automated and cost-effective manner, especially with a talent shortage? SOC incident automation, analysis, and response are very promising and necessary areas for innovation.
Focus on identity management
Identity management emerged as a major theme, with incidents like the Okta breach and the recent password reset MFA vulnerability highlighting the ongoing challenges in the security industry. It's clear that the identity market still has innovation to achieve.
AI identity solutions designed to combat AI-generated deepfakes and build user access management captured the interest of attendees. These solutions significantly enhance an organization's identity management framework by analyzing biometric data (face, voice, etc.) for much more accurate verification, which CISOs are keen to understand and implement. Another area of interest to CISOs was the management of identities in relationships with third-party vendors, which have seen a number of cyberattacks in recent months.
AI Efficiency is Key to Combating Cybersecurity Threats
The range of exhibitors and panel sessions at the RSA Conference provided insights into the innovations happening across sectors and how AI and machine learning are being widely used to detect and prevent cyber threats. To meet the requirements and demands of top enterprises, vendors are increasingly deploying generative AI. The emergence of “all-in-one” cybersecurity platforms signals a promising trend that could greatly benefit CISOs in the coming years.
