Cybersecurity Teams Require New Skills to Manage AI and Legacy Systems

The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning is raising the demand for new cybersecurity skills. Organizations are struggling to find enough cybersecurity talent, and the skills gap continues to widen.

AI tools like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion can be manipulated by attackers to generate more convincing phishing emails and malware, creating new challenges for cybersecurity teams. They need to develop skills to secure AI systems and the data used to train them.

Legacy systems that are hard to retire pose risks as they continue operating with new systems and technologies. This expands the complexity and attack surface that cybersecurity teams must monitor and defend.

Automation, orchestration and managed security services can help address skills and resource gaps. But organizations need to stay involved and maintain visibility across their entire tech environment.

Streamlining tech stacks by reducing the number of tools used can ease the burden on cybersecurity teams. However, many struggle to retire legacy systems due to a lack of understanding of how they are still being used.

The cybersecurity workforce shortage is particularly acute in Asia-Pacific, which needs over 2 million more professionals to adequately protect digital assets according to a study. Worldwide, the gap is nearly 4 million.

New technologies like cloud and IoT expand the attack surface, while a mix of modern and legacy systems increases vulnerabilities. Limited visibility into legacy infrastructure hampers the ability to identify associated risks and shut systems down.

To strengthen your cyber defenses, focus on gaining visibility into your entire IT environment, retiring legacy systems and simplifying your tech stack. Equip your teams with skills to handle AI and cloud security. Consider managed security services but stay actively involved in oversight and risk management. The future may be more automated, but human cybersecurity professionals remain crucial.

Act now to boost your cybersecurity posture. The skills gap will only widen as technology becomes more advanced, and threats more sophisticated. But with the right strategy and talent, you can get ahead of cybercriminals and protect your organization.