“AI has made such leaps and bounds in just 12 months that the expectation is that we'll all go from novices to experts in that short a time. Unfortunately, that's not the case. It's just not realistic,” said Jason Magee, CEO of ConnectWise.
When it comes to the latest attack vectors, ConnectWise is focused on how AI and cybersecurity interconnect, and how the company can help MSPs get ahead of the new threats that AI brings to IT environments.
“AI is bigger than us,” ConnectWise CEO Jason McGehee said at the company's IT Nation Secure conference this week in Orlando, Fla. “AI has made such leaps in just 12 months that the expectation is that we'll all go from novices to experts in that short time. But unfortunately, that's not the case. It's just not realistic.”
[Related: ConnectWise Launches Security360 And AI-Powered Sidekick For Security]
Speaking on stage with IT Nation senior vice president and general manager Greg Rale, Magee said AI has “changed the game” and is the “ultimate companion or disruptor.”
“AI is the driving force,” Lale says, “and it's changing every day and automating every function of our lives, but it's kind of an echo chamber.”
Some companies have already implemented the necessary rules for adopting AI processes and technologies, focusing on security-centric aspects.
“AI is in the bloodstream of our businesses and it's here to stay,” Magee says. “AI is an accelerator, one that also complicates and endangers our ability to stay safe amidst the chaos. Today, we feel out of control with more blind spots and a sprawl of tools than ever before. And what lies ahead? More threats that are bigger, more sophisticated and faster. Threat actors are unhinged and unconstrained, not bound by the same processes and rules we all have.”
To combat this, he encouraged MSPs to embrace innovation, move fast and turn to communities like IT Nation to learn more.
Magee also shared a community-focused IT Nation update.
“The IT nation is expanding,” he said, “so we're aiming higher than ever with our vision to deliver best-in-class conferences and thought leadership, a platform for diverse voices and an open ecosystem.”
“We recognize we don't have all the answers,” he added. “We don't have all the solutions, products or tools, but we believe our partners need depth and breadth of options to be agile, effective and continue to grow.”
Integrating the human element with AI decision-making requires a balance, he said.
“We are in the midst of a technology renaissance where artificial intelligence has become the backbone of innovation,” he said. “Cyber threats are evolving, pervasive and powerful. They are stubborn and still in their infancy. While we cannot predict its future or what will happen next, we can say with absolute certainty that AI will impact security and that the unpredictable future is our future.”
Darren Schmidt, technical solutions manager at South Jordan, Utah-based MSP Executech, said he appreciates Magee and ConnectWise's approach because it's not doomsday when it comes to bad actors and cyber threats.
“[ConnectWise has] “It's always been very applicable and very approachable,” he told CRN. “It's, 'These threats are very real. This is becoming something you need to pay attention to, and we'll explain how we can educate you.' It's never a sales opportunity, it's an education conversation.”
