AI in cybersecurity: use cases, risks, and how to help your company thrive

Despite some wariness towards AI among the general public, IT professionals are largely on board.

According to a report by Cloud Security Alliance, 63% of security professionals believe AI in cybersecurity is helpful, and only 12% believe it will entirely replace their jobs.

At the same time, only 11% of security employees say they’re familiar with AI technologies.

IT teams are eager to implement AI in their cybersecurity activities, yet the gap between ‘wanting’ and ‘doing’ is still wide.

If you want to become proactive with AI in cybersecurity but need to get your team up to speed, the following guide is a good place to start.

What is AI in cybersecurity and why does it matter?

Essentially, AI in cybersecurity amplifies your team’s capabilities to protect your company from cyber threats. It does this in two key ways.

1. AI automates rote manual tasks that are critical to maintain a strong cybersecurity posture, such as:

• Updating software
• Patching vulnerabilities
• Managing user access

2. AI collects, analyzes, and implements data insights for cybersecurity at a scale that would otherwise be impossible. For example, AI:

• Monitors your baseline security operations
• Analyzes changes to the baseline
• Priorities their risk and severity
• Detects threats
• Alerts your team in real time
• Resolves some issues on its own

Let’s take a closer look at how this works on the real battlefield of cybersecurity.

Key beneficial use cases for AI in cybersecurity

AI-based systems enable IT teams to take an effective proactive approach to cybersecurity. Here are some of the ways our customers leverage AI in cybersecurity. 

Monitor and detect threats better in a constantly changing environment

AI provides a more comprehensive, always up-to-date vulnerability scan of end user networks and devices, open ports, and digital assets — even as new ones are added, and across hybrid cloud environments.

Without AI, it is much harder to stay on top of that. Security breaches and errors, such as overlooking a new device added to the network, are far more likely to occur.

AI recognizes suspicious network patterns, changes, and activities faster than humans, and reduces false positives. It instantly detects and mitigates threats, from unpatched spots, outdated antivirus software, and aging operating systems, to full-blown hacking attempts that may fall under the human radar.

Proactively ensure an airtight security environment

Ultimately, using AI in cybersecurity means you stop being reactive and start focusing on proactive prevention, at least most of the time.

For example, use insights from AI reports to simulate team training. Or initiate and automate changes to dangerous assets. Standard processes and workflows can be transformed to a proactive stance.

With AI, you can also automate routine security monitoring and patching procedures, ensuring your company is less vulnerable on an ongoing basis.

Take meaningful action faster

According to the Atera experts, almost half of system vulnerabilities remain unpatched for two months after patches are available. AI helps you move faster on this critical cybersecurity action.

AI flags threats, such as suspicious emails or unpatched vulnerabilities, and alerts you in real time. It also prioritizes threat urgency, and uses historical and contextual data to provide automated suggestions for efficient solutions. This helps you take action faster, before a threat becomes an attack, or before an initial attack scales up.

Often, AI saves you time by just doing the work itself. With your decided rule set, for instance, it can automatically run patch management or update vulnerable software.

Challenges of AI in cybersecurity

While AI has many benefits for cybersecurity management, ironically, it can also make IT security threats even more challenging. According to a 2023 survey by Riversafe, “80% of security leaders feel that AI is the biggest cyber threat to their business,” and “61% have seen an increase in cyber attack complexity due to AI.” 

Here are a few reasons this could be happening (and how AI can help remedy the problems).

Overcome common cybersecurity challenges with AI

A false sense of security

AI plays a big role in making IT organizations more secure, but there’s no room for complacency.

Organizations that do not constantly monitor and improve their security operations, while also training their teams on the latest industry developments, increase their cybersecurity risk.

Added vulnerability

AI systems are trained on massive amounts of data, and no system is ever fully immune. If hackers succeed, they might gain access to sensitive information, or even take over the system and use it in a malicious way. AI in cybersecurity provides extra protection with functions such as real-time alerts and automated fixes, mitigating the added risk that AI can bring.

Hackers use AI to improve their capabilities, too

Just like IT departments get more efficient and deliver better results, so do hackers. Just like you’re keeping up with software vulnerability announcements, so are hackers. While it’s becoming increasingly challenging to stay ahead of the game, AI is a powerful tool in the hands of IT teams to continually strengthen their security posture in the ongoing cyber struggle.

Minimize the risks and enjoy the benefits of AI in cybersecurity

While you can never fully eliminate all the cybersecurity risks, AI brings good news for IT professionals!

• You can gain control over your hardware, software, and OS assets by combining best cybersecurity practices with advanced and constantly improving AI capabilities.
• Automating system monitoring, maintenance, updating, and patching can expand your safety measures beyond human ability.
• Comprehensive, real-time visibility and notifications, plus automatic resolution, make it easier to catch threats before they escalate.
• You can significantly minimize your vulnerability by partnering with an AI system that’s been battle tested and proven in the real world.

Atera is an all-in-one IT management platform powered by AI and recommended by companies all over the world. Its robust AI capabilities for cybersecurity are amplified with new and improved features, released on a regular basis. The result? You always remain smarter and more agile than hackers. That’s how you win the game, and keep your organization cyber safe. Start your free Atera trial today.