Crime has always existed. For as long as we have had rules, there have been those who have broken them. With digital technologies, however, the face-to-face threat, and, as a result, the will to carry out the crime, has become null and void. Crime, digital crime, at least, is as far from passion as you can get, which only makes it more prevalent and endless. Add in a dash of genAI and a splash of AI agents, and everyone, from the average Joe down the street to the biggest businesses to you, is at risk.
In the world of digital security, it can feel like fighting fire with fire. They use AI, we use AI. They use agentic solutions; we use agentic solutions. The only good news is that AI crime has to respond to existing cybersecurity solutions. They can’t pre-empt how we’ll go about protecting ourselves, because a penetration model that can’t even interact with our existing security solutions is useless.
Combating the Dread of Cyber Crime
Even with security solutions available, the ongoing, never-ending attempts at hacking your accounts or trying to put your business in the ground with a ransomware attack have taken their toll. It’s why 38% of companies today have no cybersecurity budget, or are at a minimum not planning on increasing their investment. We’ve hit a point where it can feel like every step we take forward is two steps in their favor.
That’s thankfully not the case.
We’re seeing a drop both in the average data breach lifecycle and in the global cost of a data breach. While these figures are minimal, they do show a turning point, meaning we can also turn that mounting dread into real hope for change.
· Proactive Threat Hunting
Taking on a proactive approach towards security has changed the playing field, allowing more businesses to detect and stop threats faster than ever. Threat hunting, which combines tools like managed detection and response software with other proactive, 24/7 monitoring tools and protocols, has allowed businesses to go on the offensive. The entire process works to weed out evolving threats, investigate your system, and then use analysis to improve again and again.
· Regular Penetration Testing
Boost your confidence in your own system with exploratory threat detection and penetration testing. By testing the limits of your own system in a controlled environment, you can increase not only your own peace of mind, but also the confidence your staff have in responding to threats quickly and decisively.
· Data Governance to Rule Them All
Data is at the heart of everything. It’s what you’re working so hard to protect; it’s what hackers are ultimately trying to steal. Even ransomware is, ultimately, about data – in that instance, it’s pay the ransom or see your data deleted.
That’s why data governance is at the heart of it all. By implementing strong data governance principles and protocols, and, better yet, by ingesting all disparate sources of data into a single source, you can reduce shadow data and its risks, all while improving every security investment’s return.
· Start at the Source
Finally, remember you always need to start at the source of all threats – people. Train your staff, ensure you are using identity and access management tools, and enforce strong password requirements. The simplest of investments starts with training, because the biggest weak point in any business is its people.
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