At its Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region Kaspersky shared the results of the global study conducted by its internal research center which surveyed 1,800 IT and cybersecurity decision-makers and specialists from organizations across 18 countries and multiple industries. The report shows that the pace of AI integration across organizations is rapid, despite associated risks. The company's experts stressed that while AI adoption delivers clear efficiency gains, it must be accompanied by robust cybersecurity solutions, well-defined internal procedures, and comprehensive employee education programs.
The report highlights a clear organizational preference for AI-enhanced technology: 68% of respondents said they would recommend a solution with AI features built in, while a mere 5% indicated they would prefer to avoid AI-enabled tools. This overwhelming endorsement underscores how deeply AI has embedded itself as a value driver across the modern enterprise.
AI has become a mainstream productivity tool spanning many business functions. The survey findings confirm that employees across departments are already relying on AI tools for a wide range of everyday tasks, including: data analysis & visualization (54%), project management (49%), search for information (47%), department-specific tasks (46%), text generation and editing (41%).
While organizations recognize the tangible benefits AI tools bring - including improved process efficiency and enhanced quality of deliverables - they also see the associated dangers. 82% of respondents voiced concerns about the risks AI poses to their organization. These concerns are grounded in real-world experience. Among the 87% of organizations worldwide that faced a cyber incident in the past year, 13% reported that they had experienced threats stemming specifically from AI-related vulnerabilities. Notably, 74% of respondents believe that these risks can be effectively mitigated through employees' responsible behavior — pointing to the critical importance of security awareness and training in the AI era.
“The speed at which organizations are embracing AI is remarkable, but it must be matched with an equally strong commitment to security. We are already seeing a growing range of threats directly tied to AI adoption - whether it's malware camouflaged as popular AI tools, vulnerabilities introduced through unsecure vibecoding, or leaked access credentials to corporate AI platforms and malicious skills by AI agents. Managing these risks requires a holistic approach: the right technology, well-defined procedures, and a security-aware workforce,” comments Brandon Muller, senior security consultant for the META region at Kaspersky.
To harness the full potential of AI while minimizing the associated cybersecurity risks, Kaspersky recommends the following:
· Develop and enforce clear internal guidelines that define acceptable use, restrict the sharing of sensitive data with external AI services, and ensure compliance across all departments.
· Apply cybersecurity solutions such as from the Kaspersky Next product line that provide real-time protection, threat visibility, investigation and response capabilities of EDR and XDR. Generative AI models within the offering enable rapidly convert collected data into structured, actionable information for security teams and decision-makers. Solutions from this product line also help reduce vulnerabilities and safeguard data by monitoring shadow IT - a critical capability in an era when employees adopt third-party AI tools without the security team's knowledge.
· Invest in employee cybersecurity education. Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform can help with this, it includes various training courses covering topics from e-mail and phishing to safe use of AI tools.
