AI’s Impact on Cyber Security

We’ve all heard the buzz about ChatGPT, and we have all probably heard stories of the things it has said or we’ve experienced them firsthand, but since ChatGPT was released, the topic of AI has been at the forefront of the technology industry and every tech giant has been hustling to implement their own AI. AI has invaded nearly every major space online and in the business world as its implementation can cut costs and improve efficiency.

I could have used artificial intelligence to help me write this blog post, but I opted not to, as I think AI would likely find a lot of data that would support its integration, and therefore it might not be the most reliable source. This isn’t to say that artificial intelligence is inherently biased, as that is not its intended purpose. But if AI isn’t biased, why would it present one view as superior to another?

AI is not a true artificial entity; it has not gained sentience or free will. This should come as a relief to us mere mortals. So then, if artificial intelligence hasn’t reached the level of robots in science fiction movies, what exactly is it and why is it, all of a sudden, so widespread?

In a nutshell, artificial intelligence as we are now experiencing it is a program designed to learn. It recognizes patterns and organizes information to assist with various tasks. Everything from writing emails and checking grammar to guarding against phishing emails, and even sorting physical mail. AI is a tool like any technology, and as of right now, AI does not have the capacity to “think for itself” rather it collects data and statistics from across the web based on the parameters given to it by programmers, and it identifies patterns to come up with what it reasonably deduces to be the best outcome.

In terms of bias, AI has the potential to be biased in the sense that it can present partial sources if those sources are what it has been programmed to receive information from. Because it is dependent on the information that exists on the web and what sites it is programmed to pull from, AI can further disseminate biases and misinformation if biases and misinformation exist in the source.

And though not sentient, AI has the potential to be harmful to others if it is programmed to be, like any other tool in the hands of selfish individuals, it is the people directing the AI that are causing harm.

Because of AI’s advanced capabilities to carry out tasks, this makes it highly efficient in the hands of scammers and hackers to create phishing scams that go undetected even to the most well-trained eye. It also means that AI can create malware and viruses that get past existing firewalls and antivirus/antimalware software because of their advanced design and the AI’s ability to learn.

However, it wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t also acknowledge how AI can be used as a positive tool for efficiency and cyber security.

Some of the benefits of utilizing AI are:

·         Reduced errors

·         24/7 availability

·         Lightning-fast decision making

·         Advanced pattern recognition

In the right hands, AI can help to defend against cyber-attacks, to scan emails (even those created by other AI) for threats, and an added bonus is that AI don’t need sleep and never take a vacation, so there is a reduced risk of something slipping through the cracks with artificial intelligence constantly scanning, learning, and refining its defenses.

Utilizing AI to protect against AI-generated cyber threats sounds somewhat reminiscent of the Terminator—machine vs. machine—but as it stands, there isn’t a way to put the AI genie back in the bottle.

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