Cybersecurity and AI

 The advancements in computing power and the evolution of paradigms like distributed computing, big data, and cloud computing have brought about an AI revolution. The number of devices that are being connected to the internet is increasing day by day. This also means that the industry is facing more number of cyber-attacks. At the same time, there’s a massive shortage of skilled cyber workers.

With the advancements in AI, many companies have started to use it as a powerful tool against cyber-attacks and cyber-trespassers. AI allows you to automate the detection of threats and combat without the involvement of humans. This can ease the burden on employees, and potentially help identify threats more efficiently than other software-driven approaches. The most primitive form of cyber-attack is spam. Today, machine learning is successfully being used to tackle spam. Google claims that it has a 99 percent accuracy rate in blocking spam. Automatically detecting, analyzing, and defending against attacks enables data deception technology to detect and trick attackers. AI is a machine language-driven, which provides complete error-free cybersecurity services.

That being said, experts say that it is a bit too early for machine learning to be accurate enough in malware detection and prevention. Journalist Marc Ambasna Jones writes that “newer ideas like behavioral analysis and sandboxing powered by ML should be employed in combination with tried and tested techniques, such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention, and web and email gateways.” However, companies have also started to put more resources than ever for boosting AI driven technologies.

AI as part of authentication systems

AI is being used for the detection of physical characteristics like fingerprints, retina scans, etc. Thus, biometric logins are much more secure than the password enabled ones. Password protection and authenticity detection systems are vulnerable to attacks and hacks, making the biometric login the better option.

What makes AI vulnerable?

While AI provides solutions to many problems, it can also open up pathways for attacks, especially when it depends on interfaces within and across organizations that inadvertently create opportunities for access by disreputable agents. Nothing stops cybercriminals from using technologies like Machine learning to automatically tailor phishing messages and manipulating data. Deploying AI by the attackers gives them an edge as well, which would enable them to develop automated hacks that can study and learn about the systems they target and identify vulnerabilities.

While AI empowers cyber-security systems, it can also give power to the wrong people. Many believe that AI can truly be a boon to the industry only if it remains in the hands of the right people. Enterprises are faced with challenges of using AI for their profits while balancing the risk of cyber exposure.