Artificial Intelligence has been sprouting up in every direction in recent times—from assisting you in writing emails quickly to making digital paintings to aiding doctors in treating illnesses. It’s only natural then for AI to also enter the domain of cybersecurity. But here’s the million-dollar question: is it there to come to the rescue or cause greater harm than good? Let’s get into it.
Why AI Appeared Like Just the Savior We Needed
Security teams over the years tried to stay one step ahead of hackers. The challenge? Hackers don’t sleep, and human defenders can’t possibly keep up with the number of alerts, threats, and unknown issues pouring in every single second. This is where the golden era of AI started.
Imagine you had a super smart assistant who could work day in, day out, 24/7, and could sift through a stream of threats in an instant. That’s what AI promised. It could run through massive logs, flag unusual patterns, and, in a few examples, predict when a cyberattack would hit. For overworked IT teams, it sounded like something too good to be true.
AI-driven solutions started being introduced in an effort to detect malware in time, identify the phishing attacks getting ever more sly day after day, and even fend off suspicious action before any damage is done. It’s as though you have a guard dog who doesn’t only bark when an intruder gets in but can distinguish the mailman from an intruder–and responds in real time.
Automation Makes Defense Faster—And Smarter
One of the biggest advantages AI offers in top cyber security services is automation. In the past, when there was a breach, someone had to manually sift through the data, figure out where it went wrong, fix it, and hope for good luck next time. With AI, the system can learn from each breach and apply that learning virtually in real time.
Consider, for instance, a case where an AI system spots a suspicious login in a foreign location on an account that is only locally accessed. It could trigger an alert-or even put the account on hold-within seconds. No human would’ve spotted it fast enough.
It also helps in vulnerability management. Systems can be scanned with AI periodically, finding vulnerable spots and giving patching recommendations, reducing the time business takes in guessing where things can go awry. Such is the pace and agility we are in need of where hackers do not give second shots.
But There’s a Catch—Hackers Also Employ AI
Just when the defenders were getting comfortable, the attackers improved. Now, they were also using AI, and the tables no longer looked quite so tilted. In short, it looked much riskier.
AI can be used to make hackers’ phishing emails sound more believable. No longer are these “prince in distress” type scams. We are now dealing with emails indistinguishable from a message from your boss, your bank, etc. Attackers can, with AI, collect data from social media, analyze behavior, and design emails tailored to an individual with a personal touch, making it nearly impossible for a victim to tell the fake from the genuine.
There are also deepfakes—those realistic false videos or audio recordings. Picture receiving a call from the sound of someone who you think must be your CEO, asking you to wire him money right away. That’s no longer science fiction. AI makes it possible, and thieves are already exploring these waters.
Trust Issues and Human Intervention
Another difficult thing in utilizing AI for cybersecurity is trust. AI software can make very fast decisions, but sometimes they don’t give any explanation for why. Sometimes a user is blocked, or something is identified as a threat, yet those in charge do not know why.
This creates a new type of challenge: if we can’t comprehend how an AI makes decisions, then how.
do we know it is making good decisions? Worse, what if someone intentionally feeds it poor data to train it to overlook specific types of threats? This type of manipulation can be a recipe for disaster.
That’s why there also must be continuous human control. AI can be a co-pilot, never a pilot. It can manage the heavy load, separate the din from the signal, draw attention to problems—but real humans still have to be in the loop in order for judgment calls, ethical calls.
So, New Threat or Game Changer?
It’s both.
Artificial Intelligence is transforming the world of cybersecurity in hitherto unimagined ways. It is helping secure our data, forestall attacks in real time, and predict threats even beforehand. And yet, all the while, it’s giving the cybercriminals new tools with which to play, making the environment an altogether more uncertain one than before.
There isn’t any silver bullet. There isn’t any villain. AI is a powerful tool, and like any powerful tool, it all comes down to how we choose to use it.
And in that choice lies our best shot at staying one step ahead.
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Innovation, Cyber Threat
