We live in a world of heightened geopolitical risks, from the conflicts in Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas to precarious US-China relations and widespread economic slowdown. Against this backdrop, cyber attacks have become more sophisticated, severe and frequent, threatening the daily working of governments and their agencies, vital infrastructure such as healthcare services and corporations of all sizes. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has reported that more than 7 million suspicious emails and websites alone were reported to authorities last year, equivalent to one every five seconds.
At the same time, more and more of our daily services and processes are being digitised, increasing their potential exposure to risk and demands for cyber resilience. More vital data and information is being gathered by more organisations and stored in the cloud. The growth in hybrid and flexible working in the wake of the pandemic is creating fresh challenges for organisations in maintaining cyber vigilance remotely.
The chief information security officer (CISO) has to respond to the challenges of this complex and fast-evolving environment, maintaining the security of nations, organisations and citizens. They are working within a technological environment that is itself changing dramatically, with this year notably bringing the leap forward in artificial intelligence (AI) in the launch and uptake of Generative AI powered language model, ChatGPT. This field of innovation is bringing both opportunities and new cyber risks.
How can CISOs rise to the challenge that generative AI will bring? What will new regulations in AI and data protection bring? What can be done to understand and manage risks? How can defence be prioritised?
For the first time, Gemserv has commissioned a survey of CISOs to gauge their perceptions and experiences. Our survey looks at how well equipped CISOs felt to address their challenges – specifically those arising from AI innovation – and seeks to understand their expectations for the future.
Our new report, The Evolving Future of Cyber Security, will be available to read from Wednesday 25th October. Register your interest below.