CrowdStrike survey reveals shift to GenAI in cybersecurity

CrowdStrike has released the findings of its 2024 State of AI in Cybersecurity Survey, indicating a shift towards platform-based generative AI (GenAI) tools for enhancing cybersecurity operations.

The survey, which polled over 1,000 cybersecurity professionals ranging from C-suite executives to practitioners, found that organisations are increasingly prioritising integrated GenAI solutions.

This reflects a growing preference for technologies that boost operational efficiency and effectiveness in the face of complex cybersecurity challenges.

According to the survey, 80% of security leaders expressed a preference for GenAI technologies delivered as part of a unified cybersecurity platform, with many willing to overhaul their existing security stacks to adopt these fully integrated solutions.

This marks a significant shift towards platform-driven cybersecurity strategies, underscoring the importance of integration, safety, and privacy in technology adoption. "GenAI is already revolutionizing cybersecurity and has the potential to do even more," said Elia Zaitsev, CTO at CrowdStrike.

"The 2024 State of AI Survey reinforces a clear shift in the industry: Organizations are no longer interested in piecemeal solutions when adopting transformative technology – they demand the power of the platform."

One of the key findings from the survey highlighted that 74% of respondents experienced a breach in the past year or expressed concerns about potential vulnerabilities. This has made enhancing detection and response capabilities a critical driver for GenAI adoption within organisations.

CrowdStrike emphasised the need for GenAI tools to be designed specifically for cybersecurity, with 76% of respondents rejecting general-purpose tools. Instead, these professionals are keen on solutions that are tailored to meet the unique demands of cybersecurity to safeguard sensitive data and protect against cyberattacks.

The survey also underscored the role of GenAI in augmenting security analysts rather than replacing them, with respondents overwhelmingly seeing it as a means to boost productivity, reduce burnout, and assist with onboarding, all while preserving human expertise.

The responsible adoption of GenAI emerged as a significant theme, with nearly 90% of respondents already establishing guidelines for its use.

The focus is on built-in safety and privacy controls to ensure that organisations can unlock the full potential of GenAI without compromising data integrity and security.

CrowdStrike's Charlotte AI represents one such purpose-built solution, aiming to integrate GenAI seamlessly across systems and data to enhance analyst productivity and accelerate threat detection and response.

"Unlocking GenAI's true potential lies in seamless integration across systems and data, optimizing analyst productivity and accelerating threat detection and response," added Zaitsev.

"This is our approach with Charlotte AI, one of the industry's first purpose-built, fully integrated GenAI security analyst assistants, and we look forward to continually pushing the boundaries of innovation on our mission to stop breaches."