Telecom organizations are further along than companies in other industries in overseeing employee use of AI tools, according to new research from cybersecurity services firm Cyber Defense Group (CDG).

Among telecom IT leaders surveyed, 85% said the security and data exposure risks tied to the AI tools their employees used were fully assessed and monitored. Across all seven industries included in the research, the figure was 65%.

Compliance was also a stronger priority for the telecom sector. Three-quarters of telecom survey respondents named meeting compliance requirements as a primary outcome for their security and AI budgets, compared with 61% of all respondents.

Telecom organizations were also more likely to involve IT teams and outside experts in AI governance, with 82% assigning responsibility to IT and 47% to a virtual chief information security officer (vCISO) or external advisor. The overall figures were 69% and 33%, respectively.

In addition, 64% of telecom respondents said their organization had a structured, ongoing cybersecurity program with defined outcomes, compared with 47% of the full sample. Telecom respondents also reported the highest satisfaction with vCISO services of any industry broken out in the report, at 80%, although 19% reported gaps in alignment or results.

Broader findings

Overall, respondents were more confident in stopping a security incident than in managing its aftermath. While 94% expressed at least some confidence they could contain an incident within 24 hours, 60% were very confident. Just 48% were very confident they could communicate effectively with stakeholders, and 37% were very confident they could preserve the evidence needed to determine how an incident occurred.

In a press release about the AI cybersecurity survey, CDG Founder and CEO Lou Rabon said that establishing structures and strategies was only part of the job and that companies need to test their systems and address weaknesses before an incident occurs.