Barracuda, a leading provider of cloud-first security solutions, released a new research report titled “SMB Cyber Resilience in Japan: Navigating through Doubt to an AI-Powered Future.” Views, concerns, and uses of AI among small and medium-sized businesses in Japan are discussed in the report, trying to unravel mixed optimism and caution over the potential of AI.

This survey was conducted in late 2023 among 500 IT professionals who work in Japanese organizations with 50 to 200 employees. 47% of the respondents were working at the C-suite level. The research findings give a relatively positive outlook toward AI, with 76% of the respondents believing that AI will substantially improve operational efficiency, particularly in regards to the speed of collection of customer insight data—a key component for business growth and market research.

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Though all this is done amidst a lot of optimism, important concerns with respect to the implementation of AI were raised in the report. Sixty-two percent of the surveyed respondents are concerned about the unofficial use of generative AI within their businesses because there is apparently a lack of regulation and oversight. Besides, 69% of them have qualms over the risks associated with AI deployments and underline that there are robust security measures and risk management in place.

The report also focused on the duality in AI when it comes to cybersecurity. Although 55% of those surveyed said that they were hazy about how attackers would use AI in e-mail-based attacks, 36% believe that AI is going to strengthen defenses against those threats. It underlines the fact that, on the one hand, AI can empower attackers for even more efficient and targeted attacks; on the other hand, it can provide advanced threat prevention, detection, and response.

This research illustrates one major point: 63% of those who responded believe that they don’t have sufficient skills in countering AI-driven cyberattacks, pointing to an acute need for upskilling and education. Moreover, 77% wanted external partners who would help support the implementation and management of AI solutions.

Makoto Suzuki, Regional Sales Director for Japan at Barracuda, said about the findings: “Japanese SMBs consider AI as a productivity enhancer but lack understanding and ways of responding to the cybersecurity risks it poses. That may very well hold businesses from realizing full value out of AI in relation to performance and competitiveness transformation. On the other hand, it is possible to be completely assured about the benefits of AI while mitigating its risks.”.

On this front, Barracuda opines that AI-powered security—designed to improve cyber resiliency to counter attackers using generative AI and machine learning in cyber threats—should form part of the strategies. This should be followed up by periodic security awareness training and enforcement of basic security practices such as patching and backing up to secure businesses well in the detection, prevention, responding, and recovery from these attacks.

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