As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, its impact on cybersecurity becomes increasingly significant. AI is an incredibly powerful tool in the hands of cyber attackers and defenders, playing a central role in the changing landscape of digital threats and security defense mechanisms. This technology has been used both by attackers to carry out cyberattacks and by defenders to deter and counter threats.
The integration of AI into malicious social engineering campaigns creates a new era in which cyberthreat actors are more deceptive and convincing. By having access to large amounts of data, cyberthreat actors can both increase the success and effectiveness of large-scale phishing campaigns, or use this access to enormous amounts of data to spread disinformation by line.
Correlating huge volumes of data allows cyber threat actors to deliver more compelling narratives aimed at specific users by taking into account time zones, keywords, geographic information and linguistic nuances. The resulting messages are more sophisticated, contain fewer grammatical errors and are very credible.
AI also makes it possible to create highly targeted messages aimed at the most vulnerable individuals. Cyber threat actors can easily translate messages into their targets’ native languages or use personal information gleaned from social media, for example, to create compelling stories. The emergence of deepfakes, hyper-realistic audiovisual fabrications powered by AI, is creating new avenues to deceive targets, marking a dangerous evolution in the arsenal available to cyber adversaries.
Additionally, AI facilitates automation, recognition and exploitation. The exploitation of vulnerable systems has become more efficient thanks to the integration of AI into the kill chain of cyberattacks. Automated tools can scan for malicious weaknesses, contributing to the rapid development of exploits, zero-day attacks, and malware. The sheer volume of analysis enabled by AI increases the likelihood that attackers will collect the information they need to carry out their attacks and successfully orchestrate a malicious event.
AI has also significantly raised the bar for attacker techniques and sophistication. For example, threat actors use search engine advertisements as vectors for phishing attacks, directing victims to malicious websites impersonating large financial institutions in various regions, including the United States, Kingdom -United and Eastern Europe. The increased development of exploits and discovery of vulnerabilities could also be an indicator of the overall increased sophistication due to the use of embedded AI in targeting cyber threat actors.
Finally, by manipulating AI algorithms, cyberthreat actors also manipulate the data consumed by the AI algorithms. By inserting incorrect information into legitimate but compromised sources, they can “poison” AI systems, forcing them to extract errors or export bad information.
This type of adversarial attack involves feeding AI systems with false data to subvert their objective. Intentional corruption of code and data poses a significant challenge, as developers must still devise a foolproof defense. As is the case with all machine learning: bad data in equals bad data out.
The role of AI in cyber defense
In an increasingly connected world, the role of AI in cyber defense has become crucial to guard against sophisticated cyber threats. AI in cyber defense is not just a trend, it’s a necessity.
As attackers leverage AI to design more sophisticated attacks, cybersecurity professionals are using AI to strengthen their defenses. AI-based security systems can also analyze large amounts of data to identify telltale patterns of cyberthreats, providing a proactive approach to threat detection. Machine learning algorithms are trained to recognize signs of an intrusion and identify them before significant damage is done.
Specifically, enhanced AI systems are capable of monitoring networks for unusual activity that could indicate a security breach. By continuously analyzing network traffic, these systems can detect anomalies that deviate from normal patterns, such as unusual connection times, high data traffic, or unrecognized IP addresses. The machine learning algorithms in these systems learn over time, reducing false positives and increasing their accuracy in identifying real threats.
Cyber defenders can also use the revolutionary predictive capabilities of AI for cybersecurity. By leveraging predictive analytics, AI can predict potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors before they are exploited. This allows organizations to proactively close security gaps and strengthen their defenses, before attackers discover these weaknesses.
Additionally, AI-based behavioral analysis takes threat detection one step further by understanding the normal behavior of users and entities within a network. This deep learning aspect of AI can distinguish between legitimate user actions and potential threats by detecting behavioral anomalies, such as sudden changes in file access patterns or data transfer volumes , which could mean a compromised account or an insider threat.
AI cannot replace human cybersecurity experts; but it absolutely can improve and increase the capabilities and screening of cyber defenders. By sifting through massive data sets and identifying threats, AI allows human analysts to focus on more complex tasks such as threat hunting, forensic analysis, automatic combination of different sources information and strategic security planning.
This collaboration between human intelligence and artificial intelligence will most certainly result in a more robust cyber defensive posture.
Cat and mouse in progress
The arms race between cyberattackers and defenders continues to accelerate with the integration of AI into their arsenals. While AI presents formidable challenges in the form of more sophisticated and targeted cyberattacks, it also provides cybersecurity professionals with powerful tools to protect digital assets, networks, and systems.
As we navigate this new landscape, it is imperative that we continue to develop innovative AI-powered solutions to stay ahead of threats and protect against malicious use of this technology.
Image credit: Tomert / Dreamstime.com
Lorri Janssen-Anessi is Director of External Cyber Assessments at BlueIndicator
