A new Sophos report has revealed that despite 65% of organizations adopting generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) capabilities, 89% of IT leaders across the globe are worried that vulnerabilities in AI-powered cybersecurity tools could expose their companies to risks.
The report, “Beyond the Hype: The Business Reality of AI for Cybersecurity,“ surveyed 400 IT leaders on the use of AI-driven security solutions.
Findings suggest that while AI is widely embedded in cybersecurity infrastructure as 98% of organizations surveyed confirmed its use, the concerns about over-reliance on AI remain high.
In addition to this report, new research from Sophos X-Ops, titled “Cybercriminals Still Not Getting on Board the AI Train (Yet),” found a growing but cautious adoption of AI by cybercriminals.
Chester Wisniewski, Global Field CTO at Sophos, emphasized the importance of human oversight:
“The potential of GenAI to accelerate security workloads is amazing, but it still requires human oversight to ensure its effectiveness. We haven’t taught machines to think; we’ve just given them the ability to process large amounts of data faster.”
According to the report, one of the biggest concerns raised in the survey is the potential reduction in cybersecurity jobs due to misplaced confidence in AI’s capabilities.
The report further shows that the size of an organization influences its AI priorities:
While 80% of IT leaders believe GenAI will increase the cost of cybersecurity tools, many see long-term financial benefits.
According to the report, 75% agree that GenAI’s costs are difficult to quantify, however, 87% believe that GenAI savings will offset these costs, making cybersecurity more cost-efficient over time.