AI Magazine October 2021 | Page 61

AI APPLICATIONS
all industries , companies need to start doing cyber security risk assessments , which are also important to plan .
These assessments help organisations understand , control and mitigate all forms of cyber risk . As organisations rely more and more on IT and their systems to do business , the digital risk landscape expands and , in turn , exposes ecosystems to new critical vulnerabilities .
Abi Tyas Upguard from Upguard explains the primary purpose is to help inform decision-makers and support proper risk responses . This is by asking questions and putting the answers into an executive summary to help directors make informed decisions about what security measures to put in place .
“ And ideally , organisations should have dedicated in-house teams processing these risk assessments , meaning they will need IT staff with an understanding of the businesses ’ digital and network infrastructure , how its information flows and any proprietary organisational knowledge that may be useful during the assessment . Organisational transparency is key to a thorough cyber assessment risk ,” he says .
When it comes to SMEs and start-ups , which are in many cases the foothold and way into cyber-attacks because by nature they are less protected , this planning is especially important , and its benefits could outweigh the costs in the long term .
The rapid and ongoing escalation in the range of threats has become almost overwhelming . SMEs who rarely have the internal resources to grapple with the challenge , are especially at risk .
A report by Forbes said 2020 broke all records when it came to data lost in breaches and the sheer numbers of cyber-attacks on companies , government , and individuals . In addition , it says , the sophistication of such threats with the application of technologies such as machine learning , AI and 5G .
Meanwhile , according to ASPI , the reality is that most SMEs don ’ t understand the cybersecurity risks and how the risk can easily translate into a critical or even fatal business failure . On top of this , there is a massive knowledge gap , so the challenge SMEs face is the security landscape is rapidly changing . Old ways of tackling security , such as perimeter defences and security at the endpoint , are no longer effective when businesses are embracing the cloud and business-critical , internet-based applications . aimagazine . com 61