AI Set To Replace Humans In Cybersecurity By 2030, Says Trend Micro

What do IT leaders believe the future of the profession will be, and what kind of threats will be most pervasive down the line?

Dallas, TX-based cloud security firm Trend Micro recently carried out new research which reveals that over two-fifths (41%) of IT leaders believe that AI will replace their role by 2030.

Its predictions report, Turning the Tide, forecasts that remote and cloud-based systems will be ruthlessly targeted in 2021.

The research was compiled from interviews with 500 IT directors and managers, CIOs and CTOs and does not look good for their career prospects.

Only 9% of respondents were confident that AI would definitely not replace their job within the next decade. In fact, nearly a third (32%) said they thought the technology would eventually work to completely automate all cybersecurity, with little need for human intervention.

Almost one in five (19%) believe that attackers using AI to enhance their arsenal will be commonplace by 2025

Around a quarter (24%) of IT leaders polled also claimed that by 2030, data access will be tied to biometric or DNA data, making unauthorised access impossible.

In the shorter term, respondents also predicted the following outcomes would happen by 2025. They predict that most organisations will have significantly reduced investment in property as remote working becomes the norm (22%)

Nationwide 5G will have entirely transformed network and security infrastructure (21%), and security will be self-managing and automated using AI (15%).

However, attackers using AI to enhance their arsenal will be commonplace (19%)

Bharat Mistry, Technical Director, Trend Micro. "We need to be realistic about the future. While AI is a useful tool in helping us to defend against threats, its value can only be harnessed in combination with human expertise."

Cybercriminals will continue to go where the money is -- seeking the greatest financial returns on their attacks. Organizations and security teams must remain nimble and vigilant to stay ahead of criminals.

So how can businesses mitigate the current threats? Trend Micro recommends that companies double down on best practice security and patch management programs and augment threat detection with round-the-clock security expertise to protect cloud workloads, emails, endpoints, networks, and servers. 

It also recommends user education and training to extend corporate security best practices to the home, including advice against the use of personal devices whilst maintaining strict access controls for both corporate networks and the home office, including zero trust.

Although tech bosses believe automation will do away with many roles within a decade, they should not spend time worrying about jobs becoming obsolete for a while.

IT will adapt to accommodate the new ways or working and companies will evolve to use automation to ease the challenges caused by skills shortages.