Prasad Sabbineni, the Co-Chief Executive Officer at MetricStream, acknowledged that 2023 was a significant year for generative AI in various business sectors, particularly in governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), with a focus on cyber risk management. AI is highly valued for its ability to continuously operate, analyze complex datasets, and turn risks into opportunities. Generative AI, a subset of AI, is particularly appealing to risk leaders as it can enhance the agility of GRC programs, enabling quicker adaptation to risks. Organizations are increasingly investing in AI and generative AI programs to protect themselves against cyberattacks and keep up with evolving regulations.
Organizations adopting new technologies to stay competitive are facing new risks, with AI being one of them. The integration of generative AI into daily operations is a hot topic in boardrooms, with organizations eager to leverage predictive modeling and machine-powered conversational tools to enhance the customer experience. However, the adoption of AI also brings specific risks, including data integrity issues and potential data leakage. Cyber teams must fully understand these risks before implementation, and compliance officers must establish a framework for risk assessment.
Boards are becoming aware of the increased workload on cyber teams due to the rising threat of cyberattacks, changes in data privacy regulations, and the use of AI tools to prevent data leaks. Cyber risk leaders often find themselves presenting these findings to the board, emphasizing project performance and ROI to demonstrate the impact of their investments. To meet these objectives, it is essential to measure project outcomes using familiar metrics such as KPIs and quantify potential losses, enabling leaders to disclose an organization’s cyber risk posture regularly.
Cyber risk leaders face the challenge of optimizing GRC programs for more cost-effective planning and reporting. By leveraging existing GRC solutions and incorporating AI technology, organizations can improve their GRC programs without the need to purchase new platforms. AI-powered GRC supports advanced threat detection, predictive analytics, and real-time monitoring of regulations and controls, allowing organizations to make more data-driven decisions. Setting cyber risk objectives requires effective governance to manage risks and ensure they are properly documented, controlled, monitored, and treated.
Generative AI is transforming GRC by automating tasks, analyzing regulations, predicting risks, and enhancing compliance strategies. While it offers significant benefits, generative AI also presents challenges such as bias mitigation, ethical use, data privacy, regulatory compliance, transparency, and security. Organizations with a unified GRC approach are better positioned to lay the groundwork for compliance, as these programs feature continuous monitoring to identify and prioritize risks. Balancing human supervision and automation is crucial to successfully harnessing the potential of generative AI for more effective and responsible GRC practices. Regulators are also working on establishing guidelines for the ethical and lawful use of AI technology, such as the EU’s AI Act, to ensure responsible deployment of generative AI in GRC practices.
