How Cyber Resilience Protects Businesses in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

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Have you thought on the results of a large cyberattack on your business? In today's environment, it is more important than ever to prepare yourself — not only to get ahead of attacks, but to recover quickly when they occur.

What Cyber Resilience Really Means​

Cyber resilience means that your organization is able to absorb the shock of a cyberattack and continue to operate. It is not only about trying to stop a hacker, but the ability to recover quickly following an attack.

Many companies will inevitably pay a substantial ransom following an attack because they do not have sufficient data backups or data recovery capabilities. Once systems cannot be restored quickly or efficiently, even a minor attack can take down an entire organization.

How AI Changes a Lot​

AI is rapidly becoming ingrained into business. But with the high-risk capabilities of AI comes significant risk — if an organization’s AI-system goes down, the organization may go down with it. Old security tools are not as competent at securing newer AI-systems. Your risk remediation plan needs to include AI security and recovery capabilities, not just traditional data backup.

Steps for Establishing Cyber Resilience​

Organizations can take four straightforward steps:

1. Protect Your Data

• Secure and immutable backups.
• Leverage encryption and two-factor formation (MFA).
• Keep crucial data in protected, distinct locations.

The quicker you can restore your data, the less you will lose.

2. Detect and Respond Quickly

• Leverage AI tools to identify suspicious activity early.
• Have a defined incident response plan, including who does what and the timing.

3. Make it a Business Priority

Cybersecurity is not just an IT issue. It is a business problem.

The company board should know:

• How long it will take to recover (RTO).
• How much data will be lost (RPO).

4. Prepare for AI systems.

AI requires special care. Given the extensive data usage and complexity of its systems, your plans should consider securing the AI models and training data, in addition to the servers.

An Obvious Illustration​

Cybersecurity used to mean "lock up the system and hope for the best," and now means: "If we get attacked, we can still operate." If you can plan for having been compromised, you will recover sooner and with less loss.

The Final Word​

Cyber resiliency is no longer a choice, but at the heart of business continuity in an AI world. You may not be able to stop every attack, but you can help ensure the business survives one.