A recent report from Okta reveals that executives have a high level of confidence in the positive impact artificial intelligence (AI) will have on the business world. However, many are aware of the associated risks and vulnerabilities their companies may have. Surveying C-level executives across industries, geographies, and company sizes, the AI at Work 2024 report found that 89% of executives view the impact of AI as positive or very positive. This sentiment is especially high in the EMEA region, where 39% of respondents have a very positive outlook for AI.
Despite the overall optimistic outlook, the survey highlighted gaps in AI expertise among leadership teams: 43% of executives report an intermediate level of understanding of AI, and 37% an advanced level, yet only 14% consider themselves AI experts. Chief technology officers (CTOs) are the most confident in their AI capabilities, with 51% expressing strong confidence in their ability to make AI decisions.
The report also found that executives perceive their employees to be more knowledgeable about security threats posed by AI: 67% say their employees are very or somewhat aware of these risks. However, privacy and security remain major concerns for executives when it comes to AI adoption: 74% of respondents identified data privacy as their top concern, followed by security risks at 71%.
Executives varied in their level of concern about the impact of AI on their organization's security: only 11% were very concerned about the potential security impacts of AI, 28% were moderately concerned, and 34% were slightly concerned. Just over half of respondents (54%) believed their organization was somewhat prepared to defend against AI-enabled attacks, while 17% felt they were not.
Commenting on the report, Ben Goodman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Okta APJ, said, “AI is the biggest technological change of our generation, bringing great benefits but also great risks. AI is expanding the threat surface and one of the biggest threats from AI today is compromised credentials – creating emails, SMS and videos that look real but are very hard to tell are legitimate.”
Goodman also pointed out the disconnect between executive concerns and real-world threats: “11% of executives say they are very concerned about the potential impact of AI on their organization's security, creating a clear disconnect between executive concerns about the security impact of AI and the real threats their organizations face.”
Addressing the issue of compromised credentials, Goodman highlighted Okta's efforts: “Okta stops more than 2 billion cyber attacks every month, up from 600 million a year ago, and with 86% of data breaches being the result of stolen credentials, having the right security in place helps protect your users. Identity is the foundation of any modern security strategy. Embracing modern identity technologies like phishing-resistant MFA and passwordless is the most effective thing organizations can do to protect their employees and customers.”
Goodman explained the benefits of a passwordless system: “Passwordless prevents passwords from being stolen and accidentally put at risk. For example, the devices you use can be linked to your identity management.”
Key findings from the report include widespread optimism about AI, with 89% of executives viewing AI's impact as positive or very positive. A balanced view was presented, with 46% of executives expressing equal amounts of concern and excitement about AI's expanding role in everyday life. Data privacy (74%) and security risks (71%) emerged as the main concerns about AI implementation.
The importance of identity and access management (IAM) was also highlighted, with 79% of respondents seeing IAM as essential to adopting and integrating AI. Proper identity management mitigates security risks associated with AI by ensuring the right people have access to the right resources at the right time.
