While the tech landscape continues to evolve and advance, technological advances like artificial intelligence (AI) have transformed how businesses operate and impact all kinds of technology fields.
Cybersecurity is among the areas experiencing this change as AI provides newer and more efficient methods of protecting against cyber-attacks. For instance, businesses can streamline and automate procedures to recognize and limit cyber-attacks faster with AI-powered incident response tools.
Find out why skilled cybersecurity professionals are vital and learn about AI applications in this area, including its benefits and challenges.
Rising Cybersecurity Threats
Cyberattacks are increasing, which puts personal information, financial data, and even national security in danger.
According to a report from Check Point Research, cyberattacks worldwide were up 38 percent from 2022. In 2023, this trend is likely to continue and could result in $10.5 trillion in estimated costs in 2025, according to a report from Cybersecurity Ventures.
With an ongoing global cybersecurity talent shortage and the growing complexity of digital security threats, AI is becoming increasingly important in offensive and defensive security strategies.
Types of AI Cybersecurity Threats
In cybersecurity, AI can be seen as a two-edged sword utilized by cybercriminals and skilled professionals. Below are some examples of the types of AI cyber-attacks:
AI-powered phishing attack: Using large AI-language models, like GPT-4, hackers create customized emails that contain phishing messages that are more likely to make targets believe they are being manipulated.
With the benefit of AI techniques, cybercriminals can create emails with the same style and consistency as official messages from reputable banks, credit card companies, or other institutions to entice even computer-savvy users into sharing sensitive details.
AI-powered malware: Cybercriminals have used AI-powered malware to make malware harder to identify and eliminate. Highly sophisticated malware can adjust its code to evade detection with signatures and even modify its capabilities.
Deep Fakes: AI powers audio or video recordings altered to create an impression of saying or doing something they’ve never actually said or done. Most devices and methods cybercriminals utilize to create deep fakes were not designed for this purpose. Today, it is possible to make audio that is a natural voice with just a few seconds of speech. The possibility exists to disseminate false information, ruin reputations, or commit fraud using AI deep fakes.
For organizations and cybersecurity specialists, AI offers a range of vital capabilities and continuously evolving security threats.
Uses of AI to Combat Online Threats
In the same study mentioned earlier, on average, data breaches were identified and prevented more quickly within companies that had integrated AI capabilities into their security strategy. The cost for data breach incidents was reduced to USD 1.76 million compared to those who did not use AI or other automation capabilities.
The study also revealed that 51% of businesses intend to improve their security investment in employee training, incident response, and technology for threat detection and response.
Additionally, around 71% of IT and cybersecurity professionals surveyed earlier this year reported that their organizations were affected by the cybersecurity skills shortage, according to Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and the Information Systems Security Association.
To be able to respond to cyber threats more effectively and lessen some of the effects of cybersecurity knowledge lack, a few companies use AI tools to:
Threat detection: By studying the network’s log files, traffic, and other security incidents, AI can identify suspicious patterns and irregularities that could signal the possibility of a cyberattack.
Assessment of risk: AI helps to give insights into how susceptible an organization’s assets and systems are to cyber-attacks.
With this information, cybersecurity investments can be prioritized, and strategies for reducing risk can be designed with a clear understanding of the risks associated with them.
Compliance: AI can help companies comply with complex cybersecurity laws. For instance, AI can monitor and identify sensitive data and find and report data breaches.
With the benefit of AI and automation of specific defensive and offensive tasks, cybersecurity professionals can concentrate on meaningful and challenging work.
Why AI Can’t Fully Replace Cybersecurity Professionals
While AI can help provide a range of benefits, like automated analysis and predictive analytics, it is equally essential to be aware of its significant limitations.
One of the most important factors in maximizing the benefits of AI for an organization is having cybersecurity experts work with AI and challenge information and results.
Here are some of the numerous ways cybersecurity professionals can overcome the limitations of AI and keep adding value to companies.
Innovation and Critical Thinking: Patterns and data from the past are the foundation of AI. Cybersecurity professionals, on the other hand, possess creative problem-solving abilities to face new and challenging challenges.
While AI excels in detecting known threats, human intelligence is vital to tackle unknown threats.
False positives and bias: While AI systems can detect biases, they can also lead to false alarms and misspelled security threats, putting companies at risk.
Security professionals are crucial in analyzing and decoding the larger context to spot and eliminate inaccuracies, thereby improving security by leveraging their experience and judgment.
Wrap Up
Because of these restrictions, cybersecurity professionals are in demand.
According to Cyberseek.org, over 600,000 cybersecurity jobs are open across the country. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs such as information security analysts are projected to grow by 33 percent from 2020 to 2030.
