Four ways to embrace emerging technology with a cybersecurity mindset

Knowing that employees are likely to forge ahead even without proactive security parameters, organizations that are winning the fight against cyber attacks say they are moving to adopt emerging technology quickly. Though it sounds counterintuitive, these organizations – called Secure Creators in our Global Cybersecurity Leadership Insights study – don’t wait for a new technology to be tried and tested by competitors or adjacent industries. Secure Creators set out a defined methodology and test in a safe, comprehensive way before deploying the technology throughout the enterprise. To further minimize risk and increase comfort levels, the pilot program can be designed to simulate the organization’s environment on a smaller scale.

When launching a pilot program, tech leaders should confirm that the proper guardrails are in place. For instance, generative AI has made headlines for hallucinations in which the AI model provides nonsensical or false information. That means a process for verifying outputs would be essential.

The EY Emerging Tech at Work study also found that employees are eager to adopt emerging technologies, with 23% of survey respondents claiming they currently use artificial intelligence/machine learning to automate repetitive tasks, and another 60% reporting that they are willing to use it for that purpose in the future. This high level of interest can have a positive impact on an organization, which can point to its embrace of emerging technologies as an effective recruitment and retention tool. Among the employees surveyed, roughly two out of three reported that they’ve stayed at their company because the business adopted emerging technologies (67% for digital twin and 60% for edge computing). A majority said they would even change industries to work at a company that embraces emerging technologies (66% for digital twin and 62% for quantum computing).

The appeal of these powerful technologies is undeniable. That means CIOs and CISOs must engage in discussions with their employees about what they want to use or are already using. This may even uncover new use cases and experimentation methods that would inform the goals of new training and upskilling programs. Opening the lines of communication and enabling exploration can also keep employees from the use of shadow IT, which exposes the enterprise to enormous risk. Secure Creators don’t say “No” to emerging technologies. They say, “Yes,” and, “Here’s how we’re going to do it safely.”

Human error is the leading cause of cyber breaches, according to the EY Global Cybersecurity Leadership Insights study. That’s why upskilling is the best talent strategy to prepare for future cyber threats. Since an organization can’t put the genie back in the bottle and stop employees from experimenting with emerging technologies, CISOs and CIOs need to update cyber training without hindering newfound productivity or innovation. This is an opportunity for the security and IT teams that are often behind the scenes to step out from the back office and collaborate with the rest of the enterprise in a way that helps everyone.

When upskilling employees, simplification should serve as the guiding principle. When the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau exhorted readers to “simplify, simplify,” he was addressing the general busy-ness of 19th-century American lives. Yet his advice still applies to 21st-century cybersecurity. Secure Creators reduce risk through simplification.