Firms have mere hours to deflect cyberattacks, warns cybersecurity CEO

Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora has warned that “bad actors are getting faster” and stressed that companies need to beef up cybersecurity defenses.

Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora has urged companies to modernize their cybersecurity systems, cautioning that bad actors have become much faster at breaching company defenses than ever before. 

Speaking to Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money on Aug. 21, the cybersecurity firm CEO said that companies with outdated security systems need to take particular heed, as cyber criminals are only getting faster.

“It’s important for us to make sure we’re ready to deflect the stuff in hours, not in days,” Arora explained.

He stressed that outdated cybersecurity solutions need modernizing, and even suggested that artificial intelligence could be put to the task.

“Put that in some sort of an AI stack, so you can actually do this in more real time. Because the bad actors are moving faster.”

In June, ChatGPT creator OpenAI announced a $1 million cybersecurity grant program to enhance and measure the impact of AI-driven cybersecurity technologies.

Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora told @jimcramer that companies need updated cybersecurity systems to protect against hackers who are getting faster and more skilled.https://t.co/Vajy9LnJiP

— Mad Money On CNBC (@MadMoneyOnCNBC) August 22, 2023

This year has been a bumper one for crypto hackers, particularly when it comes to decentralized finance protocols.

More than $300 million in crypto was lost to hacks and exploits in the second quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, August has already seen its fair share of crypto exploited with seven-figure losses for Exactly Protocol, Zunami Protocol, Steadefi Protocol, and Cypher Protocol, according to the De.Fi Rekt database. However, not all of them were traditional cybersecurity breaches, as many consisted of smart contract code bugs and flash loan exploits.

Related: Two-thirds of AI Chrome extensions could endanger user security

In late July, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to adopt new rules on cybersecurity disclosure, which would impact listed companies, including cryptocurrency firms.

The regulator will require public companies to disclose “material” cybersecurity breaches within four days, claiming it was necessary to collect the data “to protect investors.”

However, corporations pushed back claiming that the short announcement period is unreasonable. They are also concerned that it would require public disclosure which could harm corporations and open them to further exploitation by cybercriminals.

“You really don’t want to be exposed, telling the SEC that you have been breached, you haven’t fixed it yet,” Arora said urging that its clients fix things much faster.

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