According to a Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Tenable, 41% of Asia-Pacific (APAC) organisations view generative AI (GenAI) as a bigger security threat than an opportunity. More than half (51%) believe GenAI will increase the sophistication of phishing attacks.
The study also found that 56% of APAC respondents were concerned about the potential for misuse of GenAI, which is higher than the global average of 50%. Additionally, 35% of APAC organisations agree that GenAI has the potential to significantly expand their attack surface, compared to the worldwide average of 32%.
However, only 10% of APAC respondents were extremely confident in their organisation's ability to leverage GenAI to improve cybersecurity, which is lower than the global average of 17%. This underscores APAC firms' challenges in implementing and governing AI technologies effectively.
Despite the lack of confidence, APAC respondents were still actively seeking to use AI for various cybersecurity objectives, such as cybersecurity training and upskilling (51%), automated threat detection (47%), and automated reporting/alerting (48%).
Securing the inevitable
The study emphasises that the integration of GenAI into cybersecurity is both inevitable and transformative, and organisations must manage the new complexities and risks introduced by this technology diligently.
“The integration of GenAI into cybersecurity is both inevitable and transformative. While GenAI distils insights from vulnerability management, cloud security, web application, and identity exposures, enabling organisations to comprehend their risk from the perspective of an attacker, it also introduces new complexities and risks that organisations must manage diligently,” said Nigel Ng, senior vice president, Asia Pacific and Japan at Tenable.
He adds that by leveraging GenAI for threat detection and automated responses, security teams can create a more resilient cybersecurity infrastructure that is better equipped to handle the evolving threat landscape.
“To navigate this dual reality, organisations need to adopt a balanced approach. This involves not only implementing GenAI-driven solutions but also ensuring robust governance and continuous monitoring. With a thoughtful and proactive strategy, we can harness GenAI's full potential to protect our digital assets and ensure long-term security.”
Nigel Ng