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How AI Is Disrupting And Transforming The Cybersecurity Landscape

Forbes Technology Council

Hari Ravichandran is the CEO and Founder of Aura™, a leading provider of comprehensive digital security solutions for consumers.

One of the reasons for the rapid acceleration of cybercrime is the lower barrier to entry for malicious actors. Cybercriminals have evolved their business models, including now offering subscription services and starter kits. The use of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to write malicious code also highlights the potential challenges to cybersecurity.

Because of these threats, all business leaders in today's digital world must be knowledgeable about the developments of AI in cybersecurity.

According to Forbes, 76% of enterprises have prioritized AI and machine learning in their IT budgets. This trend is driven by the increasing volume of data that needs to be analyzed to identify and mitigate cyber threats, among other reasons. Connected devices, in particular, could generate 79 zettabytes of data by 2025, an impossible figure for humans to analyze manually.

As a result, AI is becoming an essential tool in the fight against cybercrime. This is supported by Blackberry’s recent research that found that “the majority (82%) of IT decision-makers plan to invest in AI-driven cybersecurity in the next two years and almost half (48%) plan to invest before the end of 2023.”

Like any powerful technology, however, there are potential dangers associated with the improper use of AI. Blackberry also surfaced that top concerns for misuse of ChatGPT revolve around social engineering (creating highly convincing and difficult-to-detect phishing emails) and skilling up less experienced hackers to become more effective with their attacks.

Of greater concern is the potential for malicious actors to use AI to spread malware and other cyber threats. Yet, with ChatGPT, the code it produces is far from perfect. In some instances, it might be able to get you 80% of the way there, but not all the way through the finish line. With coding, it’s an all-or-nothing endeavor. If the code is incomplete, it will not work. This means that it requires that last mile of human intelligence and refinement to make things work effectively. Taking this into consideration, it is perhaps not as big of a threat as sensationalist headlines claim.

However, it is important to recognize that while the intersection of cybersecurity and AI has recently focused on the negative implications of the technology, it’s worth reminding ourselves that AI can also be used to help protect us. For example, consider these use cases:

1. AI has the ability to make inferences, recognize patterns and perform proactive actions on the user's behalf, extending our ability to shield ourselves from online threats. By automating incident response, streamlining threat hunting and analyzing large amounts of data, AI can help improve cybersecurity. Recent advances in computational power and scalability provide a promising glimpse into the future of AI use to help us stay safer online.

2. AI can provide continuous monitoring, which is essential for modern cybersecurity. AI-powered cybersecurity tools are designed to identify and detect attacks in real time and can automate the incident response process. They can also help human security experts identify emerging threats and trends, enabling them to take preventative action.

3. AI can help identify false positives, which is a major challenge for human analysts. This not only reduces the burden on human analysts but also makes threat detection and analysis more accurate and efficient.

4. AI can be used to strengthen access control measures. Machine learning algorithms can identify anomalous behavior patterns and flag suspicious login attempts, making it easier to identify potential security breaches. AI-powered solutions can also be used to improve password management by automatically identifying weak passwords and requiring users to choose stronger ones.

5. AI can be used to mitigate insider threats, which are a significant challenge for organizations. By analyzing user behavior, AI-powered solutions can identify employees who may be engaging in malicious activities. This can help prevent data breaches and other security incidents.

It is important for business leaders to recognize the potential dangers and benefits of using AI in cybersecurity and consider the ethical implications of implementing AI-based solutions. While it is crucial to be vigilant against the weaponized use of AI, it is equally—if not more—important to recognize the potential of AI to improve cybersecurity and benefit society as a whole.


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