In supply chain cyberattacks, AI is being used to fight AI

Getty Images; BI Logistics companies have reported data breaches, highlighting supply chain vulnerabilities.

AI in supply chains increases efficiency but also exposes systems to cyber threats, experts say.

Supply chain cyberattacks disrupt operations, prompting calls for AI-enhanced cybersecurity measures.

In mid-August, Uber Freight revealed a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to a portion of its systems and data.

Days prior, Ceva Logistics , a subsidiary of CMA CGM, reported a data breach that affected numerous companies and leaked their customers' personal information.

Weeks before that, Coca-Cola's dairy brand Fairlife was hit by a ransomware attack , prompting the company to temporarily suspend its US operations.

Concerns around supply chain hacks are only growing, "as we do more and more intelligent things with these computers and as more and more they're becoming the brain of an autonomous system," Said Ouissal, the founder & CEO of the edge-computing software company ZEDEDA, told Business Insider.

Warehouses and plants are adopting AI technologies like trackers on trucks and forklifts, cameras and temperature sensors inside facilities, laptops and tablets, and GPS systems.

As they do, they're becoming more vulnerable to cybersecurity incidents, said Bart Bullard, the chief technology officer of Source Logistics, a warehousing, fulfillment, and transportation provider.

It's a catch-22: the very technologies that supply chain operators use to stay competitive are also "vectors of entry" for hackers to gain access to company systems, Bullard said.

As supply chain executives grapple with this increasingly common challenge, they're also finding that AI can be a part of the solution, Ouissal said.

What's at stake in a supply chain cyberattack When a data breach occurs, companies will shut down their systems until they can identify the source of the issue.

That can take an average of 247 days, according to an IBM report this year.

Supply chain attacks are particularly problematic because a data breach that suspends operations can disrupt the timing of the entire supply chain.