Major Cyber Threats Powered by AI
Many have embraced artificial intelligence as a new paradigm, with some even going so far as to call it the “revolution of work.” Unfortunately, people have found ways to abuse artificial intelligence technology, which can cause significant harm to our society.
It is essential to understand that AI is not a threat in and of itself, but rather the users who abuse this technology for their own nefarious gain who are the threat. AI is just like any innovation in history — if there is a way that it can be used for wrong, wrongdoers will find a way to do so.
Perhaps the most praised aspect of artificial intelligence technology is its superior data analysis capabilities. An AI model can analyze larger data sets more quickly and efficiently than a human could. In many industries, this means an ability to reach levels of productivity that were henceforth unattainable.
Still, in the wrong hands, this powerful technology could cause tremendous damage.
How AI is being used to automate cyber attacks
Modern hackers have found ways to leverage AI technology to automate cyber attacks because an AI model can be trained to constantly probe a network for weaknesses, often identifying them before they are even known to network operators. The effects of this are twofold: for one, this significantly increases the number of attacks because attackers can be much more efficient; beyond that, the efficiency of these attacks makes them much more difficult to detect and respond to.
Considering how connected our world is today, the prospect of automated cyber attacks is incredibly frightening. If a hacker targets a high-value target, such as a network powering a supply chain or critical infrastructure, the damage an attack like this could cause could be catastrophic. Everything from shipping routes to traffic lights, air traffic control systems, power grids, telecommunications networks, and financial markets is vulnerable to this type of AI-powered cyber threat.
The abuse of generative AI for scams and fraud
The second potentially harmful capability of artificial intelligence that has taken the world by storm is its ability to synthesize written and audiovisual information from user prompts. This category of AI models, known as generative AI, has been used for several legitimate purposes, including drafting emails, powering customer service chatbots, and more. However, bad actors have still found ways to leverage this technology for their own gain.
One of the most dangerous use cases of AI technology is the improvement of phishing scams. In these schemes, a fraudster attempts to convince a victim to share personal information by impersonating a trusted source, such as a friend, loved one, coworker, boss, or business partner. Although it was once relatively easy to distinguish these fraudulent messages from legitimate ones due to simple mistakes like grammatical errors and inconsistencies in voice, generative AI has allowed scammers to make their messages significantly more convincing. By training a model on a library of materials written by the person they hope to impersonate, scammers can mimic an individual’s writing style more accurately and convincingly.
The materials that generative AI can produce extend even beyond writing, as this technology can now also be used to create convincing fraudulent images and audio clips known as deepfakes. Deepfake photos and audio clips have been used for all sorts of nefarious purposes, from reputational damage and blackmail to the spread of misinformation and manipulation of elections or financial markets. With how advanced AI has become, distinguishing between legitimate and fraudulent materials is more difficult than ever.
Fighting fire with fire in AI
Thankfully, many of the tools that wrongdoers use to wreak havoc can also be applied for more positive use cases. For instance, the same models that hackers use to probe networks for vulnerabilities can be leveraged by network operators to identify areas needing improvement on their networks. Additionally, developers have introduced models that can analyze written and audiovisual materials to determine if they are authentic or AI-generated.
Still, few tools are as potent in the fight against malicious use cases of AI as education. Staying informed about the cyber threats these wrongdoers pose can allow people to be better prepared against their schemes. For example, knowing how to identify phishing scams when dealing with suspicious messages can help people avoid falling victim, and understanding strong cybersecurity practices — including strong password use and access control — can also help protect them from cyberattacks.
Artificial intelligence can and should be a force of positive change in this world, but creating an ecosystem where this powerful innovation can ultimately be used to benefit society requires us to understand and mitigate how it could cause harm. By identifying some of the most common cyber threats that leverage AI technology, we can better understand how to thwart them and allow people to embrace AI for the force of good that it is.
About the Author
Ed Watal is the founder and principal of Intellibus, an INC 5000 Top 100 Software firm based in Reston, Virginia. He regularly serves as a board advisor to the world’s largest financial institutions. C-level executives rely on him for IT strategy & architecture due to his business acumen & deep IT knowledge. One of Ed’s key projects includes BigParser (an Ethical AI Platform and an A Data Commons for the World). He has also built and sold several Tech & AI startups. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, he worked in some of the largest global financial institutions, including RBS, Deutsche Bank, and Citigroup. He is the author of numerous articles and one of the defining books on cloud fundamentals called ‘Cloud Basics.’ Ed has substantial teaching experience and has served as a lecturer for universities globally, including NYU and Stanford. Ed has been featured on Fox News, Information Week, and NewsNation. Ed can be reached online at LinkedIn and at our company website https://www.intellibus.com/.