Securing Edge AI Technology

The growth of AI is driving an increased focus on security and more use cases to happen at the edge, according to the latest survey by PSA Certified.

Two-thirds (68%) of technology decision makers are raising concerns that rapid advances in AI risk outpacing the industry’s ability to secure products, devices and services, particularly at the edge.

A major factor impacting the need for greater AI security is edge technology. With the ability to process, analyze and store data at the edge of the network, or on the device itself, edge devices have efficiency, security and privacy advantages over a centralized cloud-based location.

As a result, 85% of device manufacturers (OEMs), design manufacturers (ODMs), SIPs, software vendors and other technology decision makers believe that security concerns will drive more AI use cases to happen at the edge.

The survey of 1,260 global technology decision-makers found that security has increased as a priority in the last 12 months for three quarters (73%) of respondents, with 69% now placing more impetus on security as a result of AI.

The survey had the majority of respondents from Europe at 470, with 300 from the United States & Canada and 390 from Asia.

This is concerning as only half (50%) of those surveyed believe they are currently investing enough in security and a significant proportion are neglecting to prioritize important security foundations such as security certification.

Just over half (54%) are currently using externally validated security certifications, independent third-party testing / evaluation on products (48%) or threat analysis / threat modeling (51%) as a means to improve the security robustness of their products and services.

This is at odds with four in five (80%) of respondents who say they see security built into products is a driver of the bottom line and agree that compliance with security regulation is now a top priority, up by 6% from those listing it as a top three priority in 2023 (74%).

“There is an important interconnect between AI and security: one doesn’t scale without the other,” said David Maidment, Senior Director, Market Strategy, at ARM, a PSA Certified co-founder. “While AI is a huge opportunity, its proliferation also offers that same opportunity to bad actors. It's more imperative than ever that those in the connected device ecosystem don’t skip best practice security in the hunt for AI features. The entire value chain needs to take collective responsibility and ensure that consumer trust in AI driven services is maintained. The good news is that the industry recognizes the need to prepare, and the criticality of prioritizing security investment to future-proof systems against new attack methods and rising security threats linked to rapid adoption of edge AI.”

Despite concerns that rapid advances in AI are outpacing the industry’s ability to secure products, devices and services by 68% of respondents, organizations broadly feel poised to capitalize on the AI opportunity and are buoyant about the ability for security to keep pace. 67% believe their organization is well-equipped to manage the potential security risks associated with an upsurge in AI. More decision makers are also placing importance on increasing the security of their products and services (46%) than increasing the AI readiness (39%) of their products and services, recognizing the importance of scaling security and AI in step.

But the majority of respondents (78%) also agree they need to do more to prepare for AI, and concerns around security risks remain prevalent.

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