Cybersecurity in the AI Era: What Leaders Should Do

Digital transformation gives businesses enormous opportunities: process automation, remote work, and new services.

But convenience also brings risks.

Attackers use artificial intelligence to create convincing phishing emails and fake calls, and one careless employee can leave a company without its customer base. In the AI era, securing information systems is no longer the IT department's responsibility alone.

The resilience of the entire organization depends on how owners and directors view this task.

Even large companies often respond to threats only after an incident: a database is exposed publicly, and the logistics system is unavailable.

To understand the scale of the problem, you do not need to dive into technical details.

It is enough to remember a few key reasons why security must be a board-level issue.

Any serious incident leads to system recovery costs and payouts to customers.

Plus downtime: while you restore ERP operations, production is at a standstill.

A data breach or extended downtime damages customer trust.

They leave for competitors, and winning them back later is much harder than keeping them.

Regulators increasingly fine and hold accountable not only IT specialists but also top executives if they failed to provide an adequate level of protection.

Dependence on information systems.

Almost every critical process, from sales to procurement, depends on digital services.

One attack can freeze the entire chain.

These facts highlight that security is not an extra budget item, but an investment in resilience. A leader who thinks about risks in advance protects money, the brand, and peace of mind.

The list of possible threats is huge, and you do not need to study every one in detail.

But it is important to understand which areas need attention first.

Most incidents happen not because of super-hackers, but because of employee haste or mistakes.

Attackers also use artificial intelligence to strike faster and more accurately.

Fraudsters send emails that look like messages from accounting, use fake executive voices, and even video.

More than three quarters of surveyed companies see voice spoofing as the top threat, and say messengers are the most vulnerable channel.

With information obtained through such channels, attackers can steal money or access credentials.

Ransomware and malware.

Ransomware locks files and demands a ransom.

Criminal groups constantly upgrade their tools and disguise malware as popular services, so the number of such trojans is rising sharply.

Even after payment, data cannot always be recovered.

Sometimes the target is not you directly, but your vendor or IT contractor.

Attackers get into your network through a weakness in the supply chain.

That is why it is important to verify partners' security and include requirements in contracts.

A cloud service misconfiguration or a weak password on an employee's home laptop, and the data ends up publicly exposed.

The cloud security market is growing, but for many companies this remains a weak spot.

The human factor. Rushing, stress, and low digital literacy lead to leaks.

Employees upload reports to public services or open a "message from a colleague."

According to experts, most incidents stem from internal mistakes.

Every threat carries its own unique risks.

Security is not about a single product, but about a set of measures that covers different scenarios.

Just a few years ago, attacks were simpler: viruses encrypted data, and phishing looked like a letter from the "kingdom of Nigeria." With the rise of generative models, criminals gained the ability to fake voices, videos, and documents, deceiving even experienced employees.

Attackers use deepfakes to fake executives' video calls and convince employees to transfer money. In

In Hong Kong, a company lost funds after a video conference where generated doppelgangers replaced real colleagues.

The technology can create realistic images and voices, so it is important to verify any requests for transfers through independent channels.

Fraudsters hack Telegram accounts, download voice messages, and use AI to create new ones.

Victims are asked to lend money or forward an access code. The Ministry of Internal Affairs

People in CIS have already been warned about such schemes, when even parents could not recognize a fake of their child's voice.

Cybercriminals combine social engineering and technical vulnerabilities. For example, they pair a fake CEO call with a simultaneous attack on a supplier to intercept documents.

These scenarios are hard to anticipate without monitoring and a clear division of responsibilities.

Artificial intelligence in the hands of attackers. AI helps automatically gather information about employees, create personalized emails, and conceal malicious code.

Experts note that attackers use machine learning to generate phishing emails and mutate malware, increasing the speed and scale of attacks.

It is important to remember that every new tool that makes users' lives easier can become a tool for attackers.

That is why any new features (voice assistants, video services, chatbots) must be assessed for security.

Protecting information systems is not a one-time effort, but an ongoing process.

To make the work easier, break it down into clear steps.

The following plan will help you move in the right direction without missing important details. Understand what you have and what risks you face.

Take inventory: which systems are critical, where sensitive data is stored, and who has access to it.

A risk assessment will show which processes to protect first.

Restrict access and enable multi-factor authentication. Each employee should have only the role needed for their work.

A password plus a one-time code sent to a phone sharply reduces the chance of compromise.

Segment the network and choose reliable security tools.

Separate production services, office applications, and guest Wi-Fi networks.

Use certified firewalls and web application firewalls from the CIS registry to avoid dependence on foreign vendors.

Implement monitoring and automation. A system that collects and analyzes events from different sources (server logs, workstations, clouds) will help detect suspicious activity in time.

Machine learning tools detect anomalies faster than a person, and automated response workflows reduce downtime.

Regular phishing drills, short online courses, and tests increase vigilance.

Internal checks show how people respond to fake emails and help reveal weak points.

Control the use of cloud services and personal devices.

Check service settings, use corporate VPNs, and prohibit copying data to external media.

Establish a BYOD policy: if an employee uses a personal laptop, it should have basic security controls.

Decide in advance who will be responsible for system recovery, who should be informed, and how to notify customers and regulators.

Regularly check that your backups work and that you can restore operations quickly.

Together, they create a culture where people and processes support technology rather than undermine it.

The key is to start with the first steps and gradually expand the program.

A major bank deployed a user behavior analytics system that tracks unusual employee activity.

Once, it detected that an employee had started mass-copying customer data on a day off.

The alert triggered immediately, and security blocked the transaction.

This automation cut the number of successful phishing attacks at the bank by two thirds and allowed the security team to handle more incidents without adding staff. Conclusion: behavior-based systems help spot anomalies in time and reduce the burden on staff.

Even if you do not have your own security team, you can deploy a ready-made solution.

One holding company decided to test how prepared its staff was for social engineering.

The experts compiled emails from "Accounting," fake calls from "management," and even left USB drives in the hallways.

The result was alarming: most employees opened the emails without checking them and disclosed confidential information.

After the test, the company ran a series of short training sessions and began repeating the checks regularly.

After six months, the number of mistakes decreased, and employees found it easier to recognize fakes.

The key is to train people regularly, not once a year.

A gas company that operates a multi-kilometer network is required to comply with critical information protection laws.

Together with an integrator, it implemented the Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity platform.

The system lets you control program launches, media connections, and network traffic without stopping the production process.

Deployment was gradual, and now the company plans to extend protection to new sites. Conclusion: even manufacturing plants can implement security without stopping the production line.

The key is to choose a solution that accounts for your infrastructure.

Criminals use AI to create fake emails, voices, and malware.

But the same technologies also help defenders.

Several areas where machine learning and neural networks make security teams' work easier:

Specialized services detect photos, videos, and audio created by generative algorithms. For example, the MTS AI platform can identify all types of deepfakes, from face swaps to fully generated clips, and verifies speech by voice with about 99% accuracy.

Such solutions are needed to verify video calls, protect internal communications, and fight fraud.

Monitoring systems collect data on user and device activity, compare it with the baseline, and trigger alerts immediately when deviations occur.

This helps stop suspicious activity before it turns into a serious incident. In large banks, behavioral analysis made it possible to detect attempts to copy data and reduced the number of successful phishing attacks.

AI-based tools can take the first incident response steps on their own: isolate an infected computer, block an account, or cut off the transmission channel.

This reduces the burden on staff and speeds up recovery.

Neural networks cannot be configured once and forgotten.

They are retrained on new attack types to keep pace with attackers. In MTS AI deepfake detectors, the algorithms regularly update the models, so accuracy does not decline over time.

These tools do not replace people, but they allow them to work faster and more accurately.

A leader's key task is to choose the right solutions and integrate them into processes so they help the business rather than slow it down.

Sometimes leaders make decisions that seem rational but actually weaken security.

To avoid these mistakes, it is important to know which steps are best avoided. "If we make it more expensive, it will be more reliable."

Buying the most expensive equipment does not guarantee security if processes are not in place.

Without basic configuration, updates, and training, even the best products will not help. "We set it up once, so we can forget about it."

Security is not a project, but a process.

The situation changes: new threats emerge, employees leave and join, and systems are updated.

If you do not test and adjust security measures, vulnerabilities are inevitable. "We have our own jack-of-all-trades."

Relying on a single talented administrator is risky: they may leave or make a mistake.

Build a team and document processes so knowledge is not trapped in one person. "It is better to hide problems than admit them."

Covering up incidents leads to the same mistakes being repeated.

Timely disclosure and analysis of issues help improve the system and prevent repeat incidents.

Rejecting these misconceptions will make it possible to build a resilient system in which technology and people work in harmony, not against each other.

In the digital world, everything changes quickly.

Leaders must not only solve current tasks but also look ahead to avoid missing new risks and opportunities.

Several trends to keep in mind when planning strategy for the coming years:

Regulations are becoming stricter: new standards for secure software development are being introduced, and fines are increasing for personal data breaches and violations of critical infrastructure requirements.

This means that protection responsibilities will only grow.

Hybrid teams will remain the norm.

Companies will continue using cloud services and allowing employees to work from different locations.

This increases the risk of leaks through home devices and requires more flexible security policies.

Quantum computing technologies may make traditional encryption obsolete.

Leaders should track the emergence of quantum-resistant algorithms and plan updates to cryptographic tools.

Convergence of IT and OT. In manufacturing and logistics, information systems are becoming increasingly tied to technological processes.

Protecting industrial networks (ICS/SCADA) is becoming a priority - as the gas company example shows, action must be taken without stopping production.

This requires specialized products and expertise.

Customers are increasingly interested in how companies protect data.

This means a greater role for public reporting, certifications, and compliance. Organizations that can demonstrate transparency and process maturity gain a competitive advantage.

Understanding these trends helps you make strategic investments instead of guessing.

The sooner you factor them into your development plans, the easier it will be to adapt to new conditions.

Artificial intelligence is not only a weapon for criminals.

It also helps defenders: it analyzes events, flags anomalies, and shortens response time.

Invest in solutions that use machine learning, but do not forget about people and processes.

The sooner you start strengthening a security culture, the easier it will be to withstand new threats and the more confidently you will face the future.