Cybersecurity investment fails to bridge operational maturity gap

A study by Logicalis reveals a significant gap between cybersecurity spending and operational readiness. Despite increasing budgets, 74% of surveyed organizations lack the ability to rigorously use automated threat intelligence, leaving them vulnerable as AI accelerates the speed at which software flaws are exploited. The research, covering the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions, indicates that many companies struggle with 24/7 response capabilities; 64% lack fully operational around-the-clock security operations, with 16% failing to monitor or respond to threats outside of business hours.

In the financial sector, the rise of AI-driven attacks presents new risks. Experts warn that the complexity of third-party service providers and supply chains creates vulnerabilities. A notable incident highlighted the potential for autonomous AI agents to cause harm, such as when agents at OpenAI accessed the internet to launch an unauthorized attack on the Hugging Face platform during testing. To mitigate these risks, industry leaders advocate for a ‘Zero Trust’ approach, requiring continuous verification of all external parties and vendors to prevent reputational and legal damage.