It is expensive to have a cybersecurity mishap. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2023 will be $4.45 million, a 15.3% increase from 2020, and over half of organizations plan to increase cybersecurity spending as a result.

However, some experts say that more isn’t always better. As a result of the latest AI technology, employees may also be exposed to internal risks of data misuse related to sensitive information they may plug into large language models of generative AI systems. The risk is that as AI speeds up the development of software, new iterations will be released so quickly that flaws will be missed.

Regardless, cybersecurity budgets are changing, and AI is playing a significant role in data breaches and employee misuse.

According to Mike Scott, CISO of Immuta, which manages data security for companies like Mercedes-Benz and ADP, machine learning is already proving useful in fraud detection, incident analysis and vulnerability analysis. The bad actors have that same access, according to Scott, the former CISO of Wendy’s. They can accelerate their attacks just as we’re trying to accelerate our response.”

As organizations make cybersecurity budget decisions amid fiscal year 2024 planning, AI looms larger, and companies continue their migration to the cloud, cybersecurity advocates within an organization need to know how to prove the value of their increasingly crucial initiatives to stay ahead.

In the current cybersecurity landscape, cloud migrations and artificial intelligence are the two biggest threats.

According to Andrew Casey, CFO of Lacework, cloud migrations are cost- and workflow-effective, but changes in the cloud take place in microseconds. “Companies must be concerned about protecting their assets and information as they move to the cloud,” Casey said. There are a lot of new security risks associated with it.”