“We’ve been having that debate in security for ten years,” he said.

Efforts to centralize security systems have been around for just as long, he said, but for too long, the offerings peddled as “platforms” weren’t really anything of the sort — more bundles of interrelated products than true foundations for all-around security.

That’s finally beginning to change, however, Dickson said.

“We’re really starting to see big vendors offering truly integrated products that are decreasing complexity,” he noted. “And companies are now realizing that this ‘best-of-breed’ approach is untenable.”

The rise of generative AI, as well, represents a key threat to the security posture of the enterprise, according to the report. There are a number of different ways that generative AI may contribute to a worsening security landscape, including data theft and spam, but, according to Dickson, the biggest concern may be iterating on the present day’s most popular technique for initial compromise.

“The number-one way bad actors get into our networks is phishing emails, and it’s now a lot easier to send convincing ones,” he said.