As generative AI changes the way businesses around the world work, plan and evolve, it is paramount to take care of the data such platforms use and generate.
While Amazon Web Services is still primarily seen as the cloud and storage leader, it aims to play a key role in ensuring that businesses of all sizes stay safe from the myriad security threats organizations face today.
And with the increasing popularity of generative AI leading to an explosion of potential security risks, the company wants to be the ideal ally when it comes to protecting your data in the generative AI era.
Raising the bar
“There is always work to be done in security to keep raising the bar. The question is: where are the risks and how do you focus on them?” Chris Betz, AWS CISO explains Ny Breaking in an exclusive interview.
Generative AI will bring many benefits, but broken down into its simplest form, Betz notes that the platforms will require due care and attention.
“When we talk to CISOs, it’s recognized that generative AI models are code,” he laughs. “And just like with code, it’s important that you have all the protections you would normally have around any software program.”
As mentioned, AWS’s expertise in much of the technology industry means it is well-placed to provide this protection as part of an all-round offering – especially good news if your employees are already familiar with AWS technologies.
“One of the most amazing things about the infrastructure we’ve built here at AWS is that you build and secure as one consistent natural motion,” Betz notes, highlighting the importance of how generative AI fits within common security applications, such as companies don’t do that. Use generative AI not just on its own, but as part of a broader solution.
“To take full advantage of generative AI, you need to be able to get large amounts of data close to incredible processing power, and protect that data everywhere – because in some cases, some of the most sensitive data you have is what makes your business unique. the data you want to bring to your model, to train and teach it.”
“That’s part of the reason we designed the (AWS security) platform – we wanted to provide choice within, so you can have the same foundation and then offer different platforms… It’s really about builders having choice and the tools they need. ”
Betz says that generative AI must fit within a company’s existing systems, and that “bringing all of this together, running on a platform that operates across a range of other technologies, all within a consistent security wrapper, is incredibly valuable.”
“Gen AI is an incredibly powerful tool for answering a particular set of questions,” he adds, “my goal with security and technology in general is to enable people to do smart, judicious work, and the computers to do the rest. .”
As with any new technology, the question arises as to what role actual humans will have to play – especially since much of the promotion around generative AI is aimed at making our lives easier.
But can AI-powered systems finally help reduce risk, when humans often prove to be the weakest link when it comes to cybersecurity?
Betz is coy, noting that while generative AI is really good at bringing together vast amounts of data and helping us understand it, “I don’t see it as a replacement for human judgment yet – but it’s an incredible way for people to can look and find answers faster and easier.”
Instead, he says it could play a key role as part of a suite of technologies poised to continue helping us solve problems, with computers sticking to solving the problems they are best suited to solve.
“People are solving very difficult and thoughtful problems, and they have to, as with any technology, question the data they’re given and make sure it’s the quality we want,” he notes.
“I want the safe way to be the easy way – and I want the easy way to be the safe way,” he adds, using as an example people distracted by a possible IT phishing email test team at their company. is a seamless part of the way we do our work, it works best – when there is friction and people have to stop the work they are trying to do to pause and think about safety, then we are in the riskiest position, where human judgment can go wrong.”
Overall, Betz is confident in the role of generative AI within the technology industry as a whole, and with AWS leading the way in so many areas, this confidence seems well placed.
“I’m very excited to see where we go with generative AI over the next twelve months,” concludes Betz. “As an industry, we have a solid foundation, at least within AWS – and I’m very interested to see as we continue to build and explore, but also continue to make it safer for people to use these technologies.”