May 2, 2024

The Impact of IoT and AI Development on Cyber Security

The Internet of Things (IoT) has changed the cyber security threat landscape forever. Suddenly devices that have little, or no inbuilt security are connected to the internet, and are increasingly being connected to corporate IT systems. This creates a relatively easy access path for potential attackers. What’s more, these systems often control industrial processes where health and safety is a real concern. Therefore, any cyber security failings in the IoT systems might not just ruin a reputation and be costly, but fatal.

Due to this shift, industries previously overlooking most cyber risks are now prioritizing them. Organisations are upgrading identity management platforms to handle increased access control demands for IoT, integrating analytics for monitoring OT networks, and enhancing governance over IT/OT converged systems. The convergence of physical security and cyber security is more prevalent now than ever before.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has two main impacts on cyber security:

The cyber risk of AI-enabled processes: In terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability of systems and data. Cyber security can’t be an afterthought – security by design is paramount. There must be as much focus on securing the AI as developing it in the first place.
Securing the organisation: Just as an organisation should be looking to secure their AI, AI should be used to secure the organisation. AI is being utilised more and more in performing cyber security tasks.

The prime threat to your company may not be what you think.

The biggest threat today is not outside your organisation. It might not even be an attack. It instead comes from the careless actions of insiders – an employee accidentally emails confidential customer information outside of the organisation, a contractor promotes defective code to the live environment, or a supplier stores sensitive corporate information on a hard drive that is lost or stolen.

In response, companies are focusing on:

Cyber awareness: Always the best (and cheapest) form of prevention.
Data identification, protection, and identity management: This helps to get an understanding of where critical data and systems are and who can access them.
Stepping up monitoring capability: Perhaps implementing a security operations capability for the first time or improving the existing one through automation and analytics.
Incident response: What’s the best thing to do if you can’t prevent a cyber incident? Making sure you handle it well and get back on your feet as quickly as possible.

The skills and training that will prepare cybersecurity specialists for the future.

The cyber security profession is gravitating around two main skill sets.

Cyber risk management is all about extending traditional risk management processes and systems to the realm of cyber – a more managerial discipline. Technical cyber security is more like mainstream IT, requiring a good understanding of networks, applications, and data, but with a lens of ‘what could go wrong?’ or ‘where are the vulnerabilities?’

Condensing the broad and complex subject of cyber security trends into a few key takeaways will never tell the full story. But by understanding the significance of the threat, an organisation can at the very least devote the appropriate attention and resources to mitigating the risks that digital breaches pose.

You may not be able to completely fireproof your organisation. But the strength and effectiveness of your firefighting force is well within your control.