Cybersecurity risks are growing in complexity, and the frequency of cyber attacks on financial institutions is rising. However, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025, only 17% of organizations in North America are very confident in being able to respond to major cyber incidents targeting their critical infrastructure. With this lack of preparedness and increasing threat of cyber risks, it’s more important than ever for alternative asset managers to have in place robust frameworks and tools that strengthen security protocols, and enable them to respond effectively.
In our latest ‘Modern Security Solutions in the AI Age’ webinar, hosted in partnership with Agile Blue, we delved into the evolving cybersecurity landscape, exploring the significance of AI-Powered cybersecurity solutions and its future for alternative investment managers. Here were our three key takeaways:
1. Why AI-Powered Cybersecurity is Key for 24/7 Threat Detection and Response
Traditional, human-led security monitoring comes with challenges. It’s difficult to scale, is costly, prone to error, and can take longer to detect and respond to threats. Alternatively, AI-driven security for business operations can be used to mitigate these issues, and detect threats at scale with higher accuracy.
For example, instead of relying on a large team of security specialists across time zones, firms can leverage AI-backed security operations centers (SOCs), to continuously analyze and correlate security data. This enables organizations to identify anomalies and prevent breaches in real-time by flagging potential threats like unauthorized access, compromised accounts, and unusual file movements as they happen.
2. The Importance of a Holistic Security Approach with Human Oversight
A strong cybersecurity framework integrates with multiple technologies like endpoint protection, cloud security, email monitoring, and network defense to detect and respond to threats across an organization’s entire digital environment. Therefore, it’s vital that alternative asset managers have multiple layers to their security approach. This includes blocking malicious IP addresses, stopping suspicious executable files and isolating infected devices to prevent lateral movement in networks.
Additionally, deploying a “zero-trust” security model can further strengthen an organizations security framework as it requires continuous verification of users, devices, and applications to ensure that unauthorized entities cannot gain access to sensitive systems. While AI can significantly reduce the burden on human analysts, human expertise remains essential in triaging complex threats and responding to intricate situations that AI might miss. Humans also play a crucial rule in reviewing AI decisions to ensure accuracy and avoid false positives, and their feedback can refine AI models and enhance their effectiveness over time.
3. Adapting to Evolving Cyber Threats and Future Proofing Security Operations with AI
Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, with AI enabling non-expert attackers. As a result, security systems have to continuously learn from evolving threats and adapt defenses accordingly. At the same time, organizations are increasingly required to demonstrate repeatable security practices to meet regulatory compliance requirements from bodies like the SEC and other financial regulators.
Consequently, businesses looking to expand their use of cloud platforms and mobile devices, security strategies need to evolve beyond traditional network defenses. This includes stronger cloud activity monitoring, mobile phishing protection, and enhanced identity access management. Those alternative asset managers who decide to implement AI models into their security framework will also need to continue to refine their capabilities. This in turn will improve anomaly detection, automation of incident responses, and enhance collaboration between human analysts and automated systems.
We’d like to thank everyone who was able to join our webinar. We really appreciate your questions and insights, and look forward to your participation in our next webinar. Stay tuned for updates.
To learn more about how Siepe’s MSP solutions can help strengthen your IT infrastructure and cybersecurity with cutting-edge technologies and AI solutions, contact us at help@siepe.com.
