AI and cybersecurity

A few weeks ago, Bell released a new report, Navigating the Generative AI and Cybersecurity Journey [pdf, 580KB]. The study, prepared with Maru Research, surveyed a diverse group of 600 business leaders, information technology (IT) and security professionals from medium and large-scale enterprises representing a wide cross-section of industries.

The report looks at how organizations have adopted Generative AI (GenAI) in their workplaces, as well as where the technology has been found to be most beneficial.

Among the highlighted findings:

  • About 60% of Canadian organizations that have adopted AI, have limited to no AI strategy in place to guide deployment, risks and expected value.
  • Reducing and automating tasks is the top GenAI use case amongst Canadian businesses, followed by drafting and editing documents.
  • Improved quality of product (54%) and a decreased time to market (52%) have been cited as key return on investment areas for early GenAI adopters.

Bell found 71% of professionals at medium to large enterprises are using GenAI to some degree; and, 41% are using it on a regular basis, with tools like ChatGPT making the use of AI especially accessible.

While GenAI is revolutionizing workplaces, organizations are being prudent about the risks. Among early adopters, the study heard about cybersecurity concerns. A third of the organizations are anxious about bad actors tampering with their AI systems; a quarter worry about theft of sensitive data; and, about 10% expressed concern about bad actors manipulating inputs into their systems.

IT and security professionals were found to be focused on proactively mitigating the security, legal and reputational risks that GenAI may present before fully adopting. About three quarters said that concerns about potential risks slowed the adoption of GenAI fairly significantly, while other organizations have moved ahead by implementing safeguards.

A few months ago, I wrote about concerns that Canada’s Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA) could limit adoption of innovative technologies. There is currently a Code, the Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems.

While some industries are still exploring the best use for GenAI, retail was found to be leading in adopting the technology for production use, including customer-facing applications and inventory management.

There is optimism reflected in the report.

Despite the challenges, many Canadian organizations are optimistic about the future of AI – almost half expect we are just at the beginning of AI model progress and much more progress will take place over the next five years. Looking at how AI adoption influences this sentiment, early adopters expect moderate advancements over the next five years, while mainstream businesses anticipate even more significant breakthroughs. The consensus is clear: generative AI is just getting started and its role in reshaping Canadian industries will continue to expand.

My key take-aways from the report? The best outcomes for adopting GenAI in the workplace will be achieved by organizations placing a priority on governance, deploying multi-dimensional approaches to security risks, and improving threat detection using AI to manage those risks.

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