Over the past few years, significant focus has been placed on the developmental stage of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its influence on cybersecurity. The potential risks associated with AI-generated attacks remain prevalent and worrisome in numerous sectors, particularly with the global average of data breach expenses witnessing a 10% rise from the previous year.
Nonetheless, as per the most recent Cloud Threat Landscape Report by IBM’s X-Force team, the immediate threat of an AI-generated attack targeting cloud computing environments is presently moderately limited. However, forecasts from X-Force suggest a potential rise in these sophisticated attack techniques in the future.
Present condition of the cloud computing market
The realm of cloud computing is continuously expanding, with experts anticipating its value to exceed $675 billion by the conclusion of 2024. As organizations broaden their operational capacities beyond on-premise constraints and leverage public and private cloud infrastructure and services, the adoption of AI technology is steadily increasing across various industry verticals.
The rapid integration of Generative AI into cloud computing platforms has generated numerous possibilities for enterprises, particularly in enhancing automation and efficiency in the deployment, provisioning, and scalability of IT services and SaaS applications.
However, with more businesses relying on new disruptive technologies to optimize the returns on their cloud investments, the potential security threat posed by Generative AI remains a closely monitored concern for several cybersecurity entities.
Explore the Cloud Threat Landscape Report
What attributes to the current perception of lower risk for AI-generated attacks in the cloud?
Despite AI-generated attacks still being among the prominent emerging risks for senior risk and assurance executives, as per a recent Gartner report, the current vulnerability of AI technologies being exploited in cloud infrastructure assaults remains moderately low, as per X-Force’s investigations.
This does not imply that AI technology is not regularly utilized in crafting and disseminating highly sophisticated phishing schemes at scale. This pattern has already been noted among active malware distributors like Hive0137, who employ large language models (LLMs) in developing new dark web tools. Rather, the current lowered risk assessments are pertinent to the probability of AI platforms being directly targeted in both cloud and on-premise environments.
One of the main reasons behind this reduced risk stems from the involved complexity for cyber malefactors to successfully breach and manipulate the foundational infrastructure of AI deployments. Even if attackers dedicate substantial resources to this endeavor, the relatively limited market saturation of cloud-based AI tools and solutions is likely to result in a diminished return on investment in terms of time, resources, and risks linked with executing these attacks.
Preparing for an imminent surge in AI-propelled cloud threats
While the immediacy of AI-propelled cloud threats may be lower presently, this should not signify that organizations should neglect readiness for potential fluctuations in the near future.
IBM’s X-Force team has acknowledged the correlations between the market share percentages of new technologies in various sectors and the corresponding trigger points for their affiliated cybersecurity threats. According to the recent X-Force analysis, once Generative AI reaches maturity and approaches a 50% market saturation, it’s probable that its attack surface will draw greater interest from cybercriminals.
For enterprises currently leveraging AI technologies and venturing into cloud adoption, formulating more fortified AI strategies is imperative. This encompasses establishing robust identity security postures, embedding security throughout their cloud development procedures, and safeguarding the integrity of their data and quantum computation models.