Nearly all businesses use gen AI in operations, cybersecurity: report

Security leaders split if gen AI is a boon or bane to cybersecurity.

The vast majority or 93% of businesses in Singapore use public generative AI, mostly for cybersecurity operations, although the city-state lags in cybersecurity maturity, according to a survey by Splunk.

Results of the survey showed 44% of security leaders in Singapore put generative AI as a top initiative this year yet, despite high adoption, 34% revealed they did not have generative AI policies in place and 65% said they do not fully understand its implications.

Local businesses still consider their cybersecurity programs less mature than the global standards with 14% of Singapore security leaders identifying their own programs as “developing,” compared to just 7% globally.

“We are in an AI gold rush, with bad actors and security professionals both trying to seize the advantage,” Patrick Coughlin, SVP of global technical sales at Splunk, said. “The introduction of Gen AI creates new opportunities for organisations to streamline processes, increase productivity, and limit staff burnout. 

However, cybersecurity leaders were split on the implications of generative AI, with 45% saying the tech gave threat actors the edge, while 43% said this was a win for cybersecurity defenders. Only 12% said they would cancel each other out.

“Unfortunately, Gen AI also presents unprecedented advantages for threat actors,” Coughlin added. “To combat this new threat landscape, defenders must outpace threat actors in the race to harness and securely deploy the power of Gen AI.”

The report surveyed 1,650 global leaders worldwide across 16 industries.

READ MORE: Singapore SMEs’ cyber risk awareness declines: report