AI Shrinks Window For Cyberattacks UAE Businesses Must Act Faster, Experts Warn

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly shortening the time between the discovery of software vulnerabilities and their exploitation, putting businesses under growing pressure to boost their cyber defences, experts underscored at the third edition of FutureSec, an annual conference organised by Khaleej Times, on Thursday.

The panel discussion, 'Cyber Resilience and Compliance Across the Digital Supply Chain', moderated by Michel Tannous, manager – sales engineering at CrowdStrike, highlighted how the rapid adoption of AI poses increasing challenges for organisations and companies across the UAE and beyond.

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The panelists – Ali Khalid, head of data quality, enterprise data & analytics at a leading airline company; Phil Lea, vice president & dead, privacy & cyber security at Landmark Group; Siham Benhamidouche, VP cybersecurity and data risk at Schneider Electric; and Sreedhar Suragouni, group chief operations & technology officer, Sukoon Insurance – all agreed that cybersecurity can no longer be treated as a protective layer but must be built, a the start, into business practices and corporate culture.

The discussion also highlighted concerns around AI agents being granted access to corporate systems, data and credentials. They warned giving an AI agent access without proper controls could significantly increase an organisation's exposure, particularly where security practices are already weak.

To address the challenge, companies are advised to boost security controls based on rigid regulations and international benchmark. The experts reiterated a vulnerability at one point can potentially create risks elsewhere.

As they push for a more robust deployment of digital security, the panelist also stressed the importance of responsible AI use, particularly when sensitive customer information is involved.

They underscored transparency is likewise increasingly important when AI is used to make decisions that could significantly affect customers.

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