Posted by London, England: GenAI adoption is on the rise across industries globally. CEOs and business leaders value business benefits from GenAI, with their commitments to GenAI adoption, reveals a new research report from NTT DATA.
However, the findings from the research report titled ‘The AI Security Balancing Act: From Risk to Innovation’ show a misalignment among C-suite leaders ( particularly CEOs and CISOs) when it comes to business goals and operational readiness for GenAI deployment.
CEOs vs CISOs
CEOs and business leaders have expressed their commitments to GenAI adoption, as per the report. But, CISOs and operational leaders lack the necessary guidance, clarity and resources to fully address security risks and infrastructure challenges linked with deployment. The findings are based on a survey of more than 2,300 senior GenAI decision makers, comprising 1,500 C-suite leaders across 34 countries.
Nearly half of CISOs (45%) hold negative sentiments about GenAI rollouts, despite CEO optimism, the report states. While, more than half (54%) of CISOs say internal guidelines or policies on GenAI responsibility are unclear, only 20% of CEOs share the same concern – revealing a stark gap in executive alignment.
Nearly all (99%) C-suite executives are planning further GenAI investments over the next two years, with 67% of CEOs planning significant commitments. The report findings reflect the old CEO vs CISO hostility or disconnect when it comes to GenAI adoption in today’s emerging AI era.
Despite feeling cautious about the deployment of GenAI, security teams still acknowledge its business value. 81% of senior IT security leaders with negative sentiments still agree GenAI will boost efficiency and impact the bottom line.
Interestingly, 95% of CIOs and CTOs say that GenAI has already driven, or will drive, greater cybersecurity investments. And organisations ranking improved security as one of the top three business benefits realised from GenAI deployment in the last 12 months.
The research report further reveals a critical gap between leadership’s vision and the capabilities of their teams. While 97% of CISOs identify as decision-makers on GenAI, 69% admit that their teams lack the necessary skills to work with the technology.
Only 38% of CISOs compared to 51% of CEOs, say their GenAI and cybersecurity strategies are aligned.
Adding to the complexity, 72% of organisations surveyed still lack a formal GenAI usage policy. And just 24% of CISOs strongly agree that their organisation has a robust framework for balancing risk with value creation.
Legacy tech limiting GenAI adoption
Beyond internal misalignment, 88% of security leaders said legacy infrastructure is vastly affecting business agility and GenAI readiness. To navigate these obstacles, 64% of CISOs are prioritising co-innovation with strategic IT partners rather than relying on standalone AI solutions, according to the report. Notably, security leaders‘ number one criterion when assessing GenAI technology partners is end-to-end GenAI service offerings.
“As organisations accelerate GenAI adoption, cybersecurity must be embedded from the outset to reinforce resilience,” said Sheetal Mehta, SVP and Global Head of Cybersecurity – NTT DATA, Inc. ” While CEOs champion innovation, ensuring seamless collaboration between cybersecurity and business strategy is critical to mitigating emerging risks.”
“Collaboration is highly valued by line-of-business leaders in their relationships with CISOs. However, disconnects remain, with gaps between the organisation’s desired risk posture and its current cybersecurity capabilities,” said Craig Robinson, Research VP of Security Services – IDC.
“While the use of GenAI clearly provides benefits to the enterprise, CISOs and global risk and compliance leaders struggle to communicate the need for proper governance and guardrails, making alignment with business leaders essential for implementation,” added Robinson.