AI threats seen as the biggest cloud security risk

Aqua Security has published the results of a new study which reveals that 50% of UK firms consider AI-powered threats to be the top cloud security threat to their business, yet less than half (38.5%) are confident in their ability to tackle those threats. Cloud misconfigurations (34.6%), zero-day attacks (34.6%) and software supply chain attacks (31.7%) were also cited as significant threats to cloud security.

The survey was conducted at Cloud & Cyber Security Expo at Tech Show London earlier this month and gathered insights from 100+ cloud professionals at the event. When compared with a similar survey conducted 12 months ago, the results indicate a need for further education on Cloud Native Security. This latest study showed a 24% increase in respondents citing a lack of understanding as their most significant barrier to effective cloud security.

Key results included:

50% of respondents perceived AI-powered threats to be the biggest cloud security threat to their business, and 38.55% rated AI-driven security measures as their key priority for the next 12 months.

Zero-day attacks have become a key concern, with 34.6% rating them a top threat.

Lack of understanding remains the biggest barrier to effective Cloud Native Security (52.9%) alongside limited budget (42.3%) and integrating new tools with existing security solutions (43.3%).

“AI-driven attacks represent a new threat that are becoming increasingly common,” explained Michal Lewy-Harush, Chief Information Officer, Aqua Security. “The cybersecurity industry will have to innovate rapidly to stay ahead in the AI race, focusing on building resilience and developing new standards and best practises. Positively, these results indicate that organisations are prioritising AI security, which will hopefully lead to action.”