Report: 56% of business leaders are incorporating AI into cybersecurity

According to new data, AI’s greatest impact outside of automation and remedial duties may be within the cybersecurity realm. In the advisory firm’ Kroll’s 2023 fraud and financial crime report, surveyors report that over half (56%) of business leaders use AI in their latest cybersecurity efforts.  

Data shows nearly 69% of business leaders believe financial crime will rise over the next 12 months.  

“The survey results show that firms face a perfect storm as financial crime risks increase and get more complex,” David Lewis, global head of anti-money laundering (AML) advisory for Kroll, said in a statement. “[Business leaders] are not fully confident in the effectiveness of their defenses and will undoubtedly rush to embrace technology to solve all their problems.” 

AI-inspired products within the cybersecurity space, still early in their rollout, may be in high demand in the data protection community. According to the findings, over two-thirds (67%) of business leaders plan on investing in new technologies within these areas.  

Tools being integrated include fraud monitoring technology (91%), customer identification and verification databases (87%), and AML transaction monitoring (86%). 

Customer onboarding, which can be overlooked when analyzing cybersecurity impacts, is a crucial point for AI’s role in cybersecurity. Using AI to detect abnormalities in onboarding processes proactively means a breach can be halted before it begins. Proactive AI-inspired initiatives like it can help detect potential scammers.