Artificial Intelligence: Cyber Security and Cyber Attacks. Who is Winning?
The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was doubtful in its initial days, although now this technology is a part of everyday life. It affects the ads we see, the purchases we make, and the shows or music we watch. The increasing popularity of AI has been embedded in cybersecurity recently. AI cyber-security tools are now used by more than 60% of the organizations to control and detect the cyber-attacks.
While cybersecurity teams are using AI and machine learning for early detection and protecting companies from threats, cybercriminals are using the technology to increase the impact and speed of cyber threats.
Cyber Security:
The market of AI for cybersecurity is valued at $8.8 billion and is expected to be around $32 billion by 2032. There is no doubt that investing in AI would be a smart move for companies.
AI started as a filter to spam emails, but the use has now spread across various functions in the domain of cybersecurity. The people-centric attack, like phishing, is one of the most common cyber-attacks that people face multiple times in a day. There is a trail of data that is left behind by every phishing email. Using machine learning algorithms, the data can be collected and analyzed to predict the risk of malicious emails in the future by looking for similar malicious hallmarks.
The algorithms can also scan for attachments or URLs in the body of emails and indicate if the email looks suspicious. The phishing emails usually redirect the URL to the impersonated login page of major organizations. The malware attacks are also frequent that grows and evolves within the organization if not detected promptly. Thanks to the machine learning algorithms, the companies now know what they are fighting against.
AI, when used for cybersecurity, defense relies on the data and analysis from previous similar attacks to predict and prevent the threat from spreading. The technology is growing continuously to combat the attacks and threats. The previous attack cases are being used to test risk scoring and machine behavioral analysis.
The most significant advantage of using AI is its speed. The machine learning algorithms can quickly detect and prevent the attacks at a much faster speed than any human.
Cyber Attacks:
AI is increasingly famous among the cyber attackers for its technology of depicting human behavior.
When it comes to phishing, AI could increase the speed, ease, and threat of the attack. It could easily surpass the fundamental machine learning algorithms and could mimic the email style victim. The phishing attack could then spread like wildfire before anyone notices it.
AI can also be used for high-targeted undetectable attacks using malware. The attack could be activated using face recognition or voice to make it targeted to a specific system or person. It could be just lying dormant until it reaches the target.
AI’s speed is a boon for attackers. The machine learning could be positioned to orbit and break through the cybersecurity defense system before any detection tool could recognize it.
It can not only be used to aggravate the existing threats, but it’s creating new ones using sophisticated machine learning techniques.
Winning it?
The only way to win against AI-powered attacks is to embrace AI-powered defense. To successfully combat the attackers, one must use the combination of AI with previously used techniques.
Along with the use of modern tools and techniques, companies should also educate the employees about threat detection, prevention, and the current nature of attack methods.
