GenAI has potential to enhance cybersecurity practices, says chief security strategist

Generative AI tools, if understood fully, can be utilized in cybersecurity, says Nathan Wenzler, Chief Security Strategist at US-based cybersecurity firm Tenable.

“GenAI is good at iterating data. It takes data in its raw format and transforms it into an output. In the security world, this is a huge benefit, because practitioners are constantly looking at complicated sets of data - security findings from our firewalls, our vulnerability scanners, and our web pen tests,” he added.

The technology can assess elaborate security data, vulnerabilities, and misconfigurations, all of which are typically very technical, and relay information in a comprehensive format.

“As an analyst, I don’t have to spend time researching the problem. Instead, I can use GenAI to take a call on how to fix it and alert the right people. This will ensure my organization is at less risk,” said Wenzler.

However, this integration must be accompanied by an understanding of its potential, he added. “GenAI is a tool like any other technology. There needs to be purpose and intent behind how we implement it. It has gathered attention because it sounds promising.”

• Also read: GenAI has emerged as a game-changer: L&T’s SN Subrahmanyan

“This is driving organizations to adopt AI and integrate it into their workflows and processes,” stated the cybersecurity expert. Because every company aims to increase workforce efficiency in competitive markets, the sooner they bring in new products will give them a competitive edge.

GenAI will augment existing tasks by automating routine processes, enabling employees to focus on meaningful tasks requiring expertise, thought, and human analysis capability that AI tools still cannot do.

Stating that the GenAI market will witness a split, he said, “Major players like Microsoft, Apple, and Google, will drive large projects like OpenAI. They will still leverage publicly accessible data sets.”

Wenzler mentioned that organizations in the public and private sectors will use their AI models to focus on controlled, limited data sets, to help with a specific purpose. These purpose-driven AI tools will be more beneficial, and easier to secure, reinforcing the trust that the information is from a well-known data source.

Commenting on cybersecurity challenges Indian firms face, he said, “Companies are adopting cloud platforms and services, and that allows you to scale fast. This means the scope of the problem can also grow fast. Indian organizations are becoming more technologically savvy and advanced, and are embracing modern technologies to gain competitive edges.”

However, this comes with additional challenges in understanding what is being deployed, what services are utilized on these public cloud platforms, and the credentials and identities used to manage them.

Wenzler also noted that organizations competing in a global market must prioritize proactive cybersecurity practices by understanding cloud environments, entitlements, and privileges.

“With the right controls, organizations can be built at scale safely. You can expand quickly if you know you have the right strategies to protect your organization,” he said.

• Also read: Tenable launches venture capital arm, to invest in cybersecurity start-ups