15 Ways To Leverage And Supplement AI In Your Cybersecurity Efforts

There have been more widespread cybersecurity breaches in recent years than ever before. With more and more companies moving to permanent remote or hybrid work models, more company data endpoints are available for hackers to take advantage of.

Leaders need to ensure that sensitive information cannot be breached and that important data remain protected. Artificial intelligence can be an incredibly helpful tool in a company’s arsenal for warding off cyber threats. Below, a panel of Forbes Business Council members named 15 things a business leader can do to leverage and supplement AI capabilities for cyber security.

1. Use An Endpoint Protection System

Select an endpoint protection system with AI capabilities that will not only check for antivirus and antimalware, but will also analyze the behavior of the user logged in and of the applications. This is critical today. Your good old antivirus is not enough anymore. – Brian Edelman, FCI

2. Implement Two-Factor Authentication

There are multiple proven methods to secure your digital business from cyber threats like using strong passwords and reporting suspicious emails. From my experience, however, in addition to the standard ways to safeguard your online accounts, it’s imperative to set up two-factor authentication (2FA), as it has proven itself to be the silver bullet solution against potential cyberattacks. – Joseph Edgar, TenantCloud

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3. Don’t Rely On Just AI

There are so many attack vectors in a company that AI is just a tiny piece of the puzzle. AI isn’t a thing either—it’s really called machine learning. This means learning over time what to detect, so by its definition, this means it’s reactive. Hackers are proactive. I’m worried that some companies will say, “We are fine, we have AI protecting us.” Hackers would smile at that. – David Perry, Carro

4. Educate Your Team About Cyber Threats

Technology is advancing so rapidly that people might simply not know about certain new threats and how to avoid them. The company should take the responsibility of keeping the staff updated on security issues, teaching them the necessary protection mechanisms and including security in the onboarding plans of all new hires. – Tytus Gołas, Tidio

5. Leverage AI Capabilities

Any business using digital mediums to reach customers or deliver services to them is under constant threat of viruses, ransomware and phishing attacks. The advantage of using AI for online protection is that it enables the firewalls to differentiate between the normal incoming traffic and any unusual difference in its patterns and takes timely action to protect the host by blocking the anomaly. – Beth Worthy, GMR Transcription Services, Inc

6. Focus On Changing Your Passwords

The greater the digital evolution, the more intensive the e-crimes or cyber threats. Undoubtedly, AI cybersecurity has become the new age O2 (oxygen) to protect businesses from malware menaces. Every organization should cling to controlled use of passwords, switching passwords to paraphrases (machines cannot crack them easily) and using a password manager to dodge phishing cyber attacks. – Saikiran Chandha, Typeset

7. Protect Operational Technology With AI

Humans simply cannot properly protect all assets within an organization without the help of AI, especially when there is operational technology (OT) involved. OT is highly vulnerable, hard to protect and vastly different from traditional IT, so AI is the only way to efficiently ingest, analyze and translate its data to create meaningful insights and protect an organization. – Francis Cianfrocca, InsightCyber

8. Learn How To Detect Threats Earlier

Create an environment that is security-focused. Educate your staff on the dangers of cyber threats and the capabilities of AI in cybersecurity, including earlier detection of threats, allowing for a quicker team response and more seamless endpoint protection. Start early when the network is small and data is simple. This way, the AI will be able to grow with the company and its complexities. – Chase Flashman, ShipSigma

9. Hire Experts To Manage AI

Learn what AI is capable of in cybersecurity. Invest in the training and employ the experts to help manage the system and defend your business. Each day the world of AI changes, and so do the threats. Be nimble by allowing the AI to grow with your company and data needs. – Deyman Doolittle, ShipSigma

10. Take The Right Steps Before Involving AI

Make sure you do the cybersecurity basics right first before asking about what AI can do. Regularly scan and patch your entire estate, and make sure you have up to date protection on all endpoints. Filter email attachments, segment your network, use MFA on key assets and train your all staff—senior execs included—regularly and relevantly. All this will protect you more than any AI could. – JC Gaillard, Corix Partners

11. Have Proper DevOps And SecOps

Almost all attacks are coming from hackers. There isn’t any AI that can still protect you from hacker attacks. A lot of server providers install different protective software, and fintech, crypto exchanges and banks are full of protocols, anti-fraud systems and more, but even then, all of them still have trouble with cyber threats. Protection will be best with 3D secure, KYC, normal secured protocols of data exchange and proper DevOps and SecOps. – Alex Borisov, ROCKETECH

12. Ensure Protection 24/7

Use AI to ensure your company has around-the-clock protection. This does not replace your skilled IT team but offers an additional layer of data screening. It also allows them to keep a regular work schedule without compromising your cybersecurity. – Kelley Higney, Bug Bite Thing

13. Analyze The Value Of Digital Assets

First, analyze the value of your digital assets so you’ll know the limit for spending on security and in identifying the type of security to adopt with the help of an IT professional specializing in IT securities. The basic and foremost thing is to keep the system with important things from being accessed by unauthorized persons or utilizing it for personal work or to access third-party files. – Kiara Streater, Extraordinary Headhunters LLC

14. Limit Access To Sensitive Materials

The most effective thing a business can do before implementing AI is to take a step back and chart out who should have access to what. As an AI company, we limit access to key programs only to trusted developers, data scientists and engineers. In addition to this, we constantly train new employees on the fundamentals like email phishing as we onboard them. My advice is starting with the basics. – Susan Sly, RadiusAI, Inc.

15. Implement Tools For Password Sharing

Cybersecurity is more important than ever with many companies relying on remote workforces. With that in mind, it is imperative to provide employees with the necessary tools and knowledge to be able to recognize threats. Implementing special tools for password sharing, internal communications and more can also help to minimize the risks. – Johan Hajji, UpperKey