Representative Image / iStock

California-based, cloud security company, Zscaler published its 2024 AI Security Report. It found that the US and India  are generating the  world’s most traffic in enterprise Artificial Intelligence – 40.9 percent and 16 percent respectively.

The UK ranks third with 5.5 percent with Australia (4.1percent ) and Japan (3.6 percent)  rounding off  the globe’s top five AI users.

India rules in Asia-Pacific, accounting for half of all transactions in AI and machine language (ML). In fact, the report discovered that APAC generates a “staggering increase of nearly 1.3 billion ( 135 percent) more enterprise transactions compared to Europe-Middle East-Africa.”

"India leading the charge in APAC when it comes to AI usage is a clear indication of the country’s unwavering commitment to leveraging technology to drive innovation and positive change. As we strive towards the transformative ‘Viksit Bharat vision by 2047’, AI emerges as a powerful force, infusing intelligence into every facet of our society,” said Sudip Banerjee, CTO, Asia Pacific and Japan at Zscaler.

He added, “However, there is an escalation in AI-powered threats which underscores the importance of ensuring our data is being well protected against these emerging attacks. It has become more imperative now than ever before to adopt a zero-trust approach when integrating new technologies into our processes.”
 

AI Usage by country. / Graphic: Zscaler

When it comes to application areas, manufacturing generates the most AI traffic, totalling 21percent of all AI transactions in the Zscaler security cloud, followed by finance and insurance (20 percent) and Services (17 percent).  Healthcare accounts for 5.5 percent, retail and wholesale trade for 4.9 percent, government for 3.3 percent. energy/oil & gas and education both contribute 1.7 percent each.

 The most popular AI/ML applications for enterprises by transaction volume are ChatGPT, Drift, OpenAI, Writer, and LivePerson. ChatGPT alone accounts for 52 percent of all enterprise AI transactions.

Some key AI traffic generators. / Graphic: compiled from Zscaler AI Security Report

More usage, more blockage

The Zscaler study highlights a paradox, “Even as enterprise AI adoption continues to surge, organizations are increasingly blocking AI and ML transactions because of data and security concerns. Today, enterprises block 18.5 percent of all AI transactions, a 577 percent increase from April to January, for a total of more than 2.6 billion blocked transactions.”

Some of the most popular AI tools are also the most blocked. “ChatGPT holds the distinction of being both the most-used and most-blocked AI application. This indicates that despite—or even because of—the popularity of these tools, enterprises are working actively to secure their use against data loss and privacy concerns.”

Another notable trend was that bing.com (from Microsoft), which has an AI-enabled Copilot functionality, was blocked from April to January. In fact, bing.com accounts for 25.02 percent of all blocked AI and ML domain transactions.

The study concludes: “AI is more than a pioneering innovation—it’s now business as usual. As generative AI tools like ChatGPT transform business in large and small ways, AI is being woven deep into the fabric of enterprise life. However, questions about how to securely adopt these AI tools while defending against AI-driven threats are not settled.”

Zscaler, was co-founded in the US Silicon Valley 2007 by Indian Americans Jay Chaudhry (currently CEO) and K. Kailash and offers enterprise cloud security services.