AI threats dictate a return to Human intelligence

Human input on the cybersecurity battlefield is still at the core amid increasing AI-driven cyber threats.

Even though generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still in its early stages, technology abuse has become a new battlefield for cybersecurity experts.

The rising threat of AI-dictated cyberattacks is causing concerns among businesses and different industries. In 2023, more than half of all Fortune 500 companies cited AI as a risk factor.

Cybersecurity experts are suggesting fighting AI attacks with more AI. However, a new report from security firm HackerOne, released on November 7th, points out that human expertise is still just as essential on the matter.

“Even the most sophisticated automation can’t match the ingenuity of human intelligence,” said Chris Evans, HackerOne CISO and Chief Hacking Officer.

The report draws on data compiled between June 2023 and August 2024. It includes aggregated and anonymized data from over 500,000 validated vulnerability reports, input from 500 security leaders worldwide, and data from over 2,000 white hackers on the HackerOne platform.

Nearly half (48%) of security leaders identified generative AI as a significant risk to their organization, with data integrity as a top security priority.

On the other hand, AI also plays a critical role in security, saving organizations an average of $2.2 million per breach by speeding up the detection and containment of incidents, thus minimizing their impact. 20% of security researchers now view AI as essential to their work, an increase from 14% in 2023.

The results laid in the report showed, that the most resilient organizations have partnered with human cybersecurity researchers, with more than two-thirds (68%) of security professionals saying an external and unbiased review of AI implementations is the most effective way to mitigate AI safety and security risks overall.