Don’t Prioritise AI Speed Over Security

Any organisation that is not leveraging artificial intelligence today has perhaps already been left behind. Consider an airline—one might imagine AI would be used for demand management, customer experience, chatbots and the like. But look under the hood and you will realise that airlines may spend more on AI for predictive maintenance and operations and for optimising processes.We have reached a stage where some shady companies on the markets have transformed themselves into “AI” companies, in the hope that the excitement around AI will rub off on their stock price. So, it goes without saying that organisations of every shape and size are jumping on the AI juggernaut, which is great for them and often for customers too. However, the danger is that some of these companies may be trying to leverage AI without considering data and cybersecurity.Thanks to the increasing use of AI, more and more machine identities are being created. According to a piece we have carried this week based on a new report by CyberArk, there are 82 machine identities for every human in organisations worldwide, and although the definition of a 'privileged user' should apply solely to human identities, a shocking 42% of machine identities have such access.All of which has created a new and extremely dangerous attack surface. And when organisations rush into AI and prioritise business efficiencies or image without cybersecurity safeguards, business leaders are inadvertently inviting risk that could harm business far more than any efficiencies being created. Lest we forget, India is the second most attacked nation in the world when it comes to cyberattacks and a huge chunk of these attacks are identity-based. Anyone prioritising speed over security risks derailing their business. The CISO, or chief information security officer, is a very important part of any AI conversation and must be deeply involved in AI deployments.The critical need for organisations to focus on identity security is underlined by another opinion article we have this week for you that urges business leaders in the midst of India’s M&A surge to look closely at identity risks as they bring together two often disparate organisations with their individual complexities, people, processes and the like. The article provides a roadmap to CXOs on how to securely merge companies without letting vulnerabilities creep in because identity security has been overlooked.A report from IBM Security explains that cybercriminals are shifting to more covert methods and credential thefts are often what they are now after. Which again means identity security is crucial. Many of these attacks are linked to sophisticated threat actors who use common vulnerabilities, many of which are traded on online forums. Phishing emails are the common delivery mechanism for these info-stealers, and AI unfortunately helps these threat actors create phishing email campaigns at scale.Besides scale, generative AI can also unfortunately help cybercriminals generate grammatically accurate content in formats that can differ based on the target. This can circumvent content filters. We have more on this and other security trends that impact AI in this security-focused article this week.But, with AI, the good news often comes at a far higher flow than the bad. And we certainly have a lot of stories this week on how AI is benefiting us all and delivering transformation. Here's a look at some of them:- Can AI Really Cure All Diseases? DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis Says Yes- AI Hiring Surges In 2025; 74% Of Employers Plan To Recruit Freshers- Microsoft, Skill Development Ministry Launch AI Careers For Women To Reduce Gender Gap In Emerging Tech- Adani To Grow Data Center Investment By $10 Billion On AI Demand- Tariff Impact, AI Age, Rise Of GCCs—Indian IT Sector Braces For A Tough FY26 - TCS, Vianai To Offer Conversational AI Capabilities, Helping Decision Makers Engage With Data- Intel Launches AI-Powered Chipset For Software-Defined Vehicles, Announces New Automotive Partnerships- Google Gemini's Live Screen Sharing Feature Now Free For All Android Users- OpenAI Could Buy Chrome If Google Is Forced to Sell—What’s Next- Samsung Likely To Add Other AI Apps Apart From Gemini To Its Phones: Google- ChatGPT May Soon Enable In-Chat Shopping With Shopify Integration: What This Means For Users- Why Has Meta Barred Apple Intelligence Features In Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads On iOS?- Ola's AI Arm Krutrim Denies Media Report On $300-Million Fundraising Plan- Meta Using AI To Identify Suspected Teens On Instagram; Here's Why It Is Doing SoStay safe – see you again next week,Ivor Soans

Don’t Prioritise AI Speed Over Security

We have reached a stage where some shady companies on the markets have transformed themselves into 'AI' companies.

NDTV Profit

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