Many UK businesses unprepared for AI risks

A new survey has shown that there are a number of UK businesses not prepared when it comes to AI risks.

This is despite an acknowledgement of the threat it poses – 30% of UK organisations say it’s one of their top three risks.

The survey, conducted by CyXcel, found that nearly a third of firms (29%) have only just created their first AI risk strategy, while 31% don’t have any AI governance policy at all.

Not having one in place puts an organisation at risk of:

• data breaches
• regulatory fines
• reputational harm
• critical operational disruptions

Worryingly, 18% of UK and US firms are still not prepared for AI data poisoning – this is a type of cyberattack that targets the training datasets of AI and machine learning (ML) models, or for a deepfake or cloning security incident (16%).

Megha Kumar, Chief Product Officer and Head of Geopolitical Risk at CyXcel, said, “Organisations want to use AI but are worried about risks – especially as many do not have a policy and governance process in place.”

Edward Lewis, CEO, added, “The cybersecurity regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving and becoming more complex, especially for multinational organisations.

“Governments worldwide are enhancing protections for critical infrastructure and sensitive data through legislation like the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act, which mandates security measures such as automatic updates and incident reporting.

“Similarly, new laws are likely to arrive in the UK next year which introduce mandatory ransomware reporting and stronger regulatory powers. With new standards and controls continually emerging, staying current is essential. CyXcel’s Digital Risk Management solutions are vital to helping organisations navigate and comply with these changes.”

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