Thoughts for the Year Ahead

We are witnessing a strategic shift in how businesses use artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, which provides us with an incredible opportunity to do something that was previously impossible. By using AI and machine learning, companies can sift through mountains of data, identify anomalies, and detect threats faster. A service like Zscaler Breach Predictor is a great example of what is possible to turn the tide against attackers.

Unfortunately, the business world's harnessing of AI for cyber defense has been slow compared to the speed of threat actors harnessing it for attacks. Companies are held back by inertia due to the discomfort of moving away from the firewall-based castle-and-moat defense strategy that has been the norm for the last 30 years. The biggest share of enterprise security spend remains firewalls and VPNs. To overcome this inertia, the leadership team needs to play an active role in managing the change and ensuring new ideas aren't blocked simply because things have always been done a certain way.

Failure to grasp the potential of AI leaves us at a big disadvantage. We know hackers are using publicly available GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT, to speed up the reconnaissance phase of attacks by identifying organizations' attack surfaces-the public IPs hackers probe for weaknesses that allow them to break in-and create realistic phishing emails to steal employee credentials.

Hackers are exploiting AI now. Organizations must leverage Zero Trust and AI as the most effective response to stay one step ahead.