AuditBoard report affirms emerging technology risk posed by AI

Posted to News on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 Share:

AUDITBOARD, THE cloud-based platform focused on audit, risk, compliance and ESG management, has published its third annual Digital Risk Report: Opportunities and Challenges of the AI Frontier, which finds that 78% of organisations are tracking Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an emerging risk, while simultaneously adopting the technology themselves.

More than 50% of those enterprises surveyed report using AI to improve efficiency and enhance their digital risk posture.

Based on a survey of over 400 security professionals directly involved with cyber security and digital risk, the report reveals that organisations are making significant strides in digital risk management compared to previous years. In 2024, the data shows organisations are 2.5 times more likely to be in the later stages of digital risk maturity than was the case in 2023, duly highlighting a solid trend toward proactive risk management.

Overall, a majority of organisations (ie 78%) are tracking AI risks, with more than half using AI in multiple ways to enhance their digital risk posture, indicating a crucial shift towards leveraging advanced technologies.

Two-thirds (65%) of organisations prioritize AI risk assessment using existing internal processes and/or guidance and Best Practice from professional organisations (63%). Another 55% suggest that they use current and pending laws/regulations in order to prioritise risk.

Over half of those organisations surveyed use AI to improve team productivity (57%) and enhance threat detection (56%). 48% say they use it in reporting and automating action and response plans (42%).

Nearly half of all respondents describe their risk tolerance towards AI as very high (17%) or high (29%), while only 12% report a low (9%) or very low (3%) AI risk tolerance. This indicates the growing acceptance of AI as an emerging technology that presents both benefits and risks.

Mature and integrated

The report findings also highlight the rapid evolution of digital risk management practices and the importance of solid organisational collaboration to enhance risk management strategies.

87% of companies use reportable metrics to manage digital risk. Of this group, nearly all (97%, in fact) consider their metrics to be effective, with 59% saying the metrics they use are very effective (underscoring the importance of decision-making that’s data-driven).

Strong collaboration across teams managing digital risk matters. Those with solid collaboration are more than two times more likely than all others to describe their reportable metrics as very effective (87% versus 41%).

Organisations are continuing to move away from manual approaches like spreadsheets and shared drives, with four out of every five saying they use cloud-based risk management software to manage digital risk.

“The findings from this survey underscore the importance of evolving digital risk management practices,” stated Richard Marcus, Chief Information Security Officer at AuditBoard. “As organisations mature in their approaches, integrating advanced technologies and fostering strong collaboration will be key to staying ahead of emerging threats and protecting digital assets.”

To produce the 2024 Digital Risk Report: Opportunities and Challenges of the AI Frontier, AuditBoard collected data from 404 respondents to an online survey conducted in May by Ascend2 Research.

*Copies of the full report can be accessed by visiting www.auditboard.com