Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a major buzzword in tech. Undoubtedly, AI will impact cybersecurity and cybercrime, but what will that impact be? Is AI a friend or foe? Well, it depends on who you ask.
Some believe AI will strengthen cybersecurity by improving our ability to detect threats, while others believe hackers may use AI for nefarious purposes themselves.
The truth is that AI is already being used for both ends. At the forefront of technology, some companies and cybercriminals have already started seeing the advantages that AI can bring to the cybersecurity field.
AI is a tool that is altering cybersecurity’s paradigm. This article will explore how AI is about to shape the future of cyberspace.
What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
AI is so popular that you can find AI-based products and services everywhere from autonomous cars to virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa.
But what exactly is Artificial Intelligence?
AI is a branch of computer science that focuses on making computers do things that seem intelligent, such as learning from experience or understanding language.
AI has been used in many different fields, including robotics, healthcare, education, and business – but one area where it has proven especially useful is cybersecurity. Companies are using AI-based solutions to improve their security by detecting vulnerabilities faster than humans ever could.
How AI Can Be Used To Strengthen Cyberdefence
AI has the ability to recognize uncommon patterns and weaknesses in large-scale networks.
Humans find it difficult or time-consuming to monitor and evaluate complex networks. AI makes it quicker and more efficient to analyze data from numerous endpoints, which allows for the early identification of risks and weaknesses before an actual assault is launched.
AI-powered Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) can identify malicious or anomalous traffic entering a network over regular traffic.
Big data analytics and Machine Learning (ML) are used in real-world applications of artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) platforms to detect problems by analyzing vast volumes of data and forecasting to avoid future problems.
Through AI, threats can be accurately identified, analyzed, evaluated, and recommendations of robust security controls can be made for uncovered risks. Additionally, this promotes the development of automated security models, strengthening security within the firm.
Time-consuming activities can be automated, speeding up response times and relieving human analysts of managing difficult security jobs. Implementing AI and automation in security reduces the entire data breach costs and saves weeks in threat detection and response times.
Existing cybersecurity tools, virtual storage providers among them, have also started implementing artificial intelligence to boost their encryption algorithms and introduce additional functionalities such as automatic image recognition and document processing.
Adversarial Machine Learning
Adversarial machine learning is a technique that utilizes adversarial examples to train the AI model and make it robust against attacks.
Adversarial examples are specially crafted inputs that trick AI models into making wrong predictions.
This technique is used to make the AI model more robust against attacks by injecting fake data into input datasets, which helps improve an algorithm’s performance when it encounters real-world situations.
How AI Can Be Used By Cybercriminals
Unfortunately, threat actors can infiltrate systems using the same AI technology deployed for defensive purposes.
Attackers employ AI-driven systems that frequently modify their malware signatures to avoid detection. They also employ programs that produce a lot of malware to strengthen their attacks.
Malicious actors can develop new attacks using AI spyware to analyze an organization’s weaknesses.
AI will also allow hackers to create more sophisticated versions of phishing scams and ransomware attacks that target specific individuals or organizations rather than just large groups with no clear distinction between them (like everyone on Twitter).
In Summary
With the growing popularity of AI, we can expect many more developments in the field of cybersecurity. Some of these will be positive, but others may wreak chaos in society due to the importance of online networks to modern society’s good functioning.
Like most digital tools, AI itself is not dangerous. What makes it a potential danger is the user’s intention.
However, if we are careful with how we develop and utilize these technologies, they could help us fight against criminals who seek to harm us through cybercrime.
AI is already part of our daily lives, now society must be prepared to defend itself against innovative and never-before-seen attacks.
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