Companies evaluating their readiness for AI transformation need to ensure they have devices capable of running AI-enabled applications. A recent analysis by Absolute Security found that most organizations need to upgrade or replace their systems to be AI-ready. Deployments of this size can have significant implications on cybersecurity risk and organizational resilience, Absolute Security said.
Absolute Cyber Security Resilience Risk Index 2024 assesses the state of cyber resilience for global enterprises. The index is based on telemetry from millions of mobile and hybrid PCs running Absolute Security firmware-based agents. Telemetry data was analyzed from more than five million devices from organizations with 500 or more active devices running Windows 10 or 11. To determine AI readiness, Absolute Security analyzed more than four million Windows machines to determine how many of them had a minimum of 32 GB of RAM. According to the index, 92% do not meet the basic requirements necessary to efficiently manage modern AI applications.
Absolute Security based its assessment on the ability of business PCs to support AI applications by recommending that PCs be equipped with a minimum of 32GB of RAM and have a stand-alone GPU or integrated NPU.
“Huge investments in fleets of AI-enabled endpoints have the potential to divert budgets and human resources from critical IT and security priorities, which can leave gaps in security and risk policies,” Absolute Security said .
The concern is not just about the diversion of resources; Absolute Security noted that adding new devices to the environment can also add complexity. Organizations are already struggling to keep up with patches and ensure the right security controls are in place. New devices could mean defining new controls or regulation of workflows to make sure they get patched.
Source: Absolute Security Cuber Resilience Risk Index 2024While there is a clear improvement between 2023 and 2024, Absolute Security found that organizations are still late with patches. Most industries continue to lag weeks or months behind in complying with their patching policies, even though Windows 11 devices appear to be doing better than Windows 10, the company said.