The majority of security professionals believe that genAI will benefit their own security teams as much as, if not more than, it benefits threat actors, according to the latest research from Ivanti.

In a new report, Gen AI and Cybersecurity: Risk and Reward, Ivanti found that 90% of the 14,500 executives, office workers, and IT and security professionals surveyed believed in the value of genAI for security teams, but despite this positive outlook, accessibility challenges are preventing organisations from fully leveraging AI, with 72% saying their IT data and security data remains siloed.

Elsewhere, when asked which threats are becoming more dangerous due to genAI, phishing was the top response (45%), followed by software vulnerabilities (38%), ransomware attacks (37%), and API vulnerabilities (34%).

Although training is recognised as a crucial part of a multi-layered cyber defence, the study shows that organisations are not adapting their training strategies to address AI-powered threats. 

For example, 57% of organisations say they use anti-phishing training to protect themselves from sophisticated social-engineering attacks, but only 32% believe that such training is “very effective.”   

The problem is compounded by the global lack of experienced security professionals, with a study from ISC2 this year finding a shortfall of 4.8 million cyber professionals worldwide for security roles.

Ivanti’s research backs up this concern, showing that 1 in 3 security professionals cite a lack of skill and talent as a major challenge, though notes that genAI might help to close this gap by making teams more productive if companies begin to invest in skills training for their cybersecurity teams.

With 85% of respondents reporting they believe AI tools will improve their productivity, Invanti claims that organisations are ripe for AI training to be rolled out to more employees across business areas, and should encourage more self-directed learning about AI security trends and threats.

Among the top barriers preventing firms from prioritising their employee’s digital training and experience are a lack of skills (36%), tech complexity (34%), security vulnerabilities (32%), siloed operations (30%), and insufficient budgets (29%).

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“As genAI continues to evolve, so must the understanding of its implications for cybersecurity,” said Robert Grazioli, chief information officer at Ivanti.

“Undoubtedly, genAI equips cybersecurity professionals with powerful tools, but it also provides attackers with advanced capabilities. To counter this, new strategies are needed to prevent malicious AI from becoming a dominant threat.”

In order to leverage genAI for cyber defence, Ivanti recommends that organisations modernise their security tools, incorporate cybersecurity further into business decision making, update training to keep up with the latest observed threats, and ensure that AI is not left without human supervision when it comes to critical security areas.