Artificial Intelligence is not merely introducing new threats; it is radically redefining the speed and nature of digital defense. In a landscape where attacks and countermeasures move at 'machine speed,' simple reactivity is no longer enough. This profound paradigm shift was outlined by Massimiliano De Carolis, CEO of Sirti Digital Solutions S.p.A., in a recent interview with ANSA. When threats are generated and executed by advanced algorithms, traditional incident management timelines become obsolete. To protect critical infrastructure and corporate data, we must build systems capable of seeing, understanding, and acting by integrating data, technology, and context.

The evolution of the cyber attack economy is severely testing conventional defense models, making it necessary to move past the approaches of the past. Among the most urgent challenges is the need to overcome the fragmentation of security tools. For years, organizations have layered isolated vertical solutions, but today it is essential to unify technologies to gain global visibility. Added to this is the rise of AI agents—powerful tools that require constant monitoring to prevent them from becoming new vulnerability vectors. Consequently, the Zero Trust model must evolve: it is no longer enough to verify human user access; this approach must extend to machine identities, constantly monitoring devices, APIs, and automated processes. In this scenario, cyber resilience takes center stage, understood as an organization's ability not only to repel an attack, but to resist, limit damage, and ensure business continuity.

This profound transformation inevitably leads to rethinking the metrics by which we evaluate the effectiveness of corporate security. If until yesterday the fundamental parameters were Time to Detect (the time to identify a threat) and Time to Respond, machine speed now demands the adoption of new indicators. Time to Understand—which measures the ability to instantly correlate data to comprehend the true nature of an attack—and Time to Safe Action—the speed with which an effective corrective action can be taken without risking the business—have become crucial. Detecting an anomaly in a few milliseconds is of little use if it then takes hours to understand its context and authorize a secure response.

Despite moving toward a highly automated ecosystem, Artificial Intelligence should be understood as an extraordinary force multiplier rather than an autonomous solution. Technological integration must maintain a solid governance framework at its core, where responsibility and control remain firmly anchored to the human element. Technology analyzes and accelerates, but human oversight ensures that strategic decisions are correct.

Because when both attackers and defenders operate at machine speed, true competition is no longer fought on mere reaction capacity. The real competitive advantage, and the highest form of protection for future businesses, will not be reacting faster, but seeing first.

The full interview with Massimiliano De Carolis: https://www.ansa.it/ansa2030/notizie/task_force_italia/2026/09/28/cybersecurity-de-carolis-con-lai-il-vero-vantaggio-sara-vedere-prima_b795b894-c4cc-4141-8978-7323b3fb4185.html