One in two (50%) people believe artificial intelligence (AI) will enable hackers to launch more attacks, a new report says.

According to data from cloud security solutions provider Barracuda Network, about 71% of respondents experienced a ransomware attack in the last year, and 61% paid a ransom.

“Proactive monitoring and attack detection to prevent progression to more serious stages like data breaches or ransomware is key. By preparing for these scenarios today, organizations can significantly reduce the impact and cost of these incidents.” Chief Technology Officer, Barracuda Fleming Shi said.

The report surveyed 1,917 IT security practitioners in September 2023 in the United States (522), the United Kingdom (372), France (329), Germany (425) and Australia (269).

The final sample of respondents represented businesses with between 100 and 5,000 employees.

Additionally, the report states that the average annual cost of responding to a compromise is $5.34 million.

The majority (57%) of respondents said their organization had suffered one or more cyberattacks in the past 12 months.

About 48% of respondents said their organization had suffered a data breach in the past 12 months, with an average of 340,267 personal records lost.

Respondents said that among various attack types, the three most common attacks their organizations experienced were denial of service (52%), phishing/social engineering (48%), and credential theft (41%).

“Hackers follow a similar path, but instead of starting by researching a potential purchase, they start by discovering thousands of potential targets. They then move down the funnel, identifying those targets that can exploit vulnerabilities, launch attacks, and It pays off in the end,” the report said.

While more than half (54%) of respondents said increased use of AI or GenAI by attackers will require new ways to secure organizations, only 39% believe their security infrastructure is adequate to protect against GenAI-driven attacks. security attacks.

(This article has not been edited by News18 staff and is published by IANS, the associated news agency)