CyberLens

What amazes me about artificial intelligence is how it is shaping cybersecurity and influencing organizations’ security posture. As I begin CYBR 325, I want to understand what this change means for someone preparing to enter the cybersecurity profession. AI introduces opportunities to improve security, but it also creates systems and risks that professionals must learn to manage.

For this week, I read Karen Wetzel’s NIST article, “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Cybersecurity Workforce,” published on June 12, 2025. Wetzel explains how NICE is addressing AI-related knowledge and skills within its cybersecurity workforce framework. The article discusses protecting AI systems, using AI to support cybersecurity work, and considering the broader organizational and workforce implications of adoption (Wetzel, 2025). Because the article describes developments underway in 2025, I read it as an explanation of that direction rather than a statement that every proposed update is still pending.

The distinction between protecting AI and using AI for protection stood out to me. An organization might adopt an AI tool to help detect unusual network activity, but adopting the tool also creates questions about its security and appropriate use. This connects to our course’s focus on understanding AI and machine learning within cybersecurity. Knowing what a tool produces is only part of understanding whether it belongs in a security process.

My interpretation is that an organization’s security posture depends partly on how thoughtfully it introduces these tools. For example, a security team evaluating an AI-generated alert should ask what evidence supports it and whether further investigation is needed. Faster analysis could be useful, but speed alone would not demonstrate that a decision is reliable.

For my career, this suggests that learning AI should complement my cybersecurity foundation. My interests in cloud security, DevSecOps, and national security give me several areas in which to explore that connection. Understanding the technology, questioning its outputs, and communicating its limitations seem like valuable skills to develop alongside my cybersecurity foundation.

The article helped me turn my amazement into a practical learning question: how can cybersecurity professionals use AI effectively while remaining accountable for the systems they protect? That is a question I want to keep exploring throughout this course.

Reference

Wetzel, K. (2025, June 12). The impact of artificial intelligence on the cybersecurity workforce. National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/cybersecurity-insights/impact-artificial-intelligence-cybersecurity-workforce

AI use disclosure

ChatGPT (OpenAI) was used at Level 3, AI Collaboration, to help find a source, organize the entry, and draft and revise the text. I read the NIST article and added my personal reaction, which guided this entry.