Fieldfisher research shows Irish business leaders feel unprepared for the cybersecurity challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
The company's survey of corporate general counsel and senior executives found that 54% believe Ireland's cybersecurity infrastructure is not secure from bad actor threats, while 45% are unsure No one said they believed their cybersecurity infrastructure was secure.
The survey also revealed that cybersecurity leaders in Irish businesses are concerned about the threats posed by the rapid development of the field of generative AI in recent years, with 45% saying their organization is prepared to meet the challenges posed by AI. The respondents answered that they have not been able to do so. AI and the remaining 54 percent said they did not know or refused to answer.
Organizations say they are prepared for a cyber breach, although they are not completely confident in their legal obligations.
Despite feeling more pessimistic about the threat posed by AI and the current state of Ireland's infrastructure security, respondents were otherwise generally positive about their companies' preparedness for cybersecurity breaches. 82% say their organization is prepared for a cybersecurity breach.
Less than a fifth (18%) said they were completely prepared, 64% said they were somewhat prepared, and a smaller number (18%) felt unprepared. was.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents said their organization has a cybersecurity incident response plan (IRP) in place. The remaining respondents were split between those who did not have an IRP in place (18 percent) and those who were unsure whether they had an IRP in place (18 percent).
However, only 45 percent rated themselves confident in their ability to accurately identify legal obligations following a breach, while 36 percent of respondents were neutral on the matter and 18 percent said they were not confident .
A slight majority (55%) said they received training on how to communicate with regulators and affected individuals after a breach, 36% had no training and 9% received “some” training. It was just that.
Ciara Burke, partner and head of data protection and privacy group at Fieldfisher Ireland, said: “It is very positive that most organizations feel prepared for a cybersecurity breach. However, many are concerned about the potential for more sophisticated attacks than those seen to date. It is understandable that we are concerned about the threat of new developments in AI technology.
“With cyber security incidents becoming increasingly sophisticated, anyone working in this sector is understandably concerned about the security of Ireland’s infrastructure against attacks from malicious parties. It will be interesting to see how the country prepares to meet these challenges in an ever-evolving regulatory environment.”
