You may have heard the terms AI and cybersecurity were thrown around together in the same sentence, but what do they mean?
While AI has been used in cybersecurity for quite some time, the future of the technology will bring many more applications of AI to our digital safety, both through improvements to already existing systems and with new implementations that haven’t even been thought of yet.
Moreover, it is being used heavily in cybersecurity, where it can be used to power antivirus software, hunt down hackers using machine learning, or even create new ways of detecting cyber attacks via Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity that haven’t been thought of before.
This article will explain what AI is, how it’s being used in cybersecurity now, and what we can expect from “Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity” going forward.
Table of Contents
What Researchers Say About Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity?
Researchers at Dartmouth University found that Artificial Intelligence can be tricked into allowing malware through security systems by changing up code ever so slightly.
It might look like a small thing, but these tiny changes make all the difference in Artificial Intelligence’s ability to tell the difference between a spam email and a legitimate one.
Researchers at IBM created DeepLocker, which uses AI machine learning algorithms to identify targets based on facial recognition and other relevant factors.
The program had the purpose of hiding malware inside harmless-looking images and video files, which Artificial Intelligence would go through and try to identify as a threat.
Researchers at Microsoft found that due to the bias of some algorithms, Artificial Intelligence software running facial can be wrong up to 38% of the time when trying to determine if a person is male or female, and Artificial Intelligence software designed to predict whether a job seeker will be successful only had 56% accuracy.
Artificial Intelligence still has its flaws, but Artificial Intelligence continues to improve every day, and we can look forward to Artificial Intelligence taking over more and more tasks in our daily lives.
Explore our AI-driven security solutions and protect your business from evolving threats.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
In a nutshell, Artificial Intelligence is a branch of computer science that focuses on making computers capable of tasks that humans do through instinct and/or learning.
It implements cybersecurity through machine learning, where AI finds patterns in the data that can be used to detect potential attacks against an organization. However, Artificial Intelligence has been around for much longer than many people realize.
In fact, Artificial Intelligence has been around since the dawn of computing itself when Alan Turing created his Artificial Intelligence test back in 1950, whose purpose was to determine whether a machine could have human cognition or not.
Since then, Artificial Intelligence has gone through multiple phases with different goals and outcomes:
- Moravec’s Paradox: The paradox states that “high-level reasoning requires very little computation but low-level sensorimotor skills require enormous computational resources.”
- Knowledge Representation: Artificial Intelligence not only represents knowledge about the world in some form, but it also is capable of representing its own knowledge
- Reactive Machines: Artificial Intelligence is able to make quick decisions when faced with a stimulus.
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Cyber AI: Real Defence (An Overview)
Artificial Intelligence may be one of the most important terms in cybersecurity. Artificial Intelligence is an area of computer science that emphasizes creating intelligent machines that work and react like humans – this includes learning, problem-solving, reasoning, and self-correction.
The idea behind Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity is to use software with AI capabilities to augment human expertise by quickly recognizing new types of malicious traffic or hacking attempts.
For example, if a system has never seen certain actions before (or even at all), then the machine will flag it for review by a human analyst who can decide whether further investigation is required.
This allows companies to be proactive when protecting their systems rather than only reactive when they actually take place. Such actionable Intelligence may give companies the ability to better protect their networks and their data, increasing cybersecurity.
Due to advances in computing power in recent decades, Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity is only now becoming a reality with relatively small datasets. It helps in further processes with standard CPUs or GPUs.
This means that Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity needs no large clusters of high-end servers with expensive processors to work – which was important just a few years ago.
How does it work?
Some say AI is an unreliable technology as it requires a lot of human supervision. Now, Artificial Intelligence has proven itself reliable enough to be deployed independently of human workers, although these workers are still responsible for overseeing AI projects.
AI-based cybersecurity platforms can use machine learning to help find vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit by identifying outliers from typical behavior or traffic. Once AI finds anomalies, humans can then analyze those anomalies for validity or other clues about what caused them.
As Artificial Intelligence gets smarter, its ability to identify risks will improve as well; yet at some point, analysts will no longer need to double-check everything AI does because AI systems will be highly accurate on their own. AI-based cybersecurity platforms don’t just look for anomalies–they also hunt for correlations between anomalous events.
Here’s a breakdown of how AI works within cybersecurity:
Anomaly Detection: Anomaly detection involves finding signs of irregular behavior associated with networks, websites, or applications so IT staff can investigate further and take measures to eliminate potential sources of hackers breaking in.
Signals Intelligence Analysis: Signals Intelligence analysis refers to capturing communications between machines related to suspected criminal activity. In some cases, AI uses signals Intelligence analysis alone in order to detect suspicious user behavior.
Using both methods helps give AI-based cybersecurity systems more valuable insights they can feedback into improved models over time.
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How Is Artificial Intelligence Being Used In Cybersecurity Now?
You can use Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity in several ways. Some of these AI applications are already in use, while others remain experimental or are still being developed.
Here is a list of common AI applications in cybersecurity today with examples for each type:
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AI-Based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
The basic idea behind Artificial Intelligence-based intrusion detection systems is that they are able to detect potential cyber threats by learning the difference between normal and malicious traffic patterns.
As Artificial Intelligence learns more about what constitutes normal, it can better tell us what to look out for when something unusual or suspicious takes place.
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AIOps Platforms
These Cloud-based systems are capable of running AI algorithms over massive amounts of data containing both normal traffic patterns along known malicious ones, all in real time.
The main goal of these AIOps platforms is to fight cyber threats before they happen. For this, It reduces the time it take to discover new attacks and by blocking them as soon as possible.
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Machine Learning-Assisted Hacking Tools
Artificial Intelligence helps in creating highly advanced hacking tools that are much more powerful than anything we have seen so far. Machine learning-assisted malware analysis is one example of Artificial Intelligence being used to create highly sophisticated hacks.
But the future harbors other scary possibilities such as Artificial Intelligence-assisted phishing or Artificial Intelligence-assisted ransomware attack vectors made possible by advances in Natural Language Processing(NLP) algorithms for text generation.
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Machine Learning-Assisted Malware Analysis
Artificial Intelligence helps in creating advanced malware analysis tools that will go a long way in helping us fight cybercriminals and their increasingly complex hacks and scams.
Tools such as these will let Artificial Intelligence do most of the work by simply letting AI scan huge amounts of data looking for patterns instead of people having to manually try and find any signs of unusual behavior themselves.
Advantages of AI in Cybersecurity |
Downsides of AI in Cybersecurity |
Human AccuracyAI can use thousands or even millions of data points to find patterns and anomalies that human operators may have missed. |
AI can be manipulatedBy feeding AI false or misleading information, cybercriminals can make it easier for them to carry out attacks and evade detection. |
SpeedIt can also alert us to potential problems as soon as they arise, rather than later, when damage has already been done. |
AI can be fooledIt can also be fooled by cyberattacks. For example, a hacker could use AI to launch a Denial of Service (DoS) attack against a company’s servers. |
AI Works 24/7AI systems don’t need to sleep or take time off to be with their families. It can operate 24/7 and at peak performance all day, every day—making it an ideal solution for a business. |
Can be hackedLike any other computer system, AI can be hacked and used to carry out cyberattacks. |
No Interruptions, No BoredomAI cybersecurity is performed without human interaction, meaning there are no interruptions or distractions. |
Can be biasedAI can be biased against certain individuals or groups of people. This could lead to AI systems discriminating against certain people. |
Detect Changes and AlertAI can monitor your network for any changes, including physical and digital ones. It’s like having a second set of eyes—or a hundred sets—monitoring your system for activity. |
AI can be used for surveillanceAI can be used for surveillance and tracking of individuals’ online activities. This could have a serious impact on our privacy and freedom of speech. |
Better Risk AssessmentsAI will be able to sift through far more information than any human could and then interpret that data to make risk assessments. This allows for a much more holistic view of threats. |
AI is still in its infancyUntil we have a better understanding of AI’s potential vulnerabilities, we should be careful about using it in critical systems such as cybersecurity. |
Is this new technology worth it?
One of the most important questions in technology is whether or not it’s worth it. When AI was introduced back in 1956 by John McCarthy (MIT), many top engineers were concerned that AI would bring an end to traditional jobs.
Despite 50 years of debate, it turns out they were wrong—AI has done nothing but improve business processes and help organizations hire better employees. Over 100 years ago, Henry Ford said he didn’t like robots because they take away jobs from human beings.
Is Artificial Intelligence enough to stop cybercrime?
No, Artificial Intelligence is not enough to stop cybercrime. However, it can be a very important tool in helping to do so. There are a number of different ways that AI can help in cybersecurity, and each has its own benefits.
Applications of AI in Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity use Artificial Intelligence in a number of different ways, some are more important than others.
In this section, I’m going to briefly discuss how various companies are using Artificial Intelligence today and what kind of impact Artificial Intelligence will make on their products so far.
Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity helps in identifying malicious behavior, preventing attacks through anomaly detection, making malware analysis easier with machine learning-assisted tools, implementing Artificial Intelligence into malware itself, or any combination of the four methods shown above.
-> Spear Phishing Defense Artificial Intelligence
As mentioned before, Artificial Intelligence helps in fighting phishing attempts against your email accounts. Spear phishing defense systems use NLP algorithms for text generation. These are further applied to mass amounts of data containing both spammy content and real emails to learn the difference between spam and normal email communications.
Artificial Intelligence can then detect suspicious phrases. These often help in phishing attempts and cut down on the amount of spam we have to sift through. Thus, it makes Artificial Intelligence a great tool for fighting spam from today’s perspective.
Moreover, many companies are using AI & its solutions as a way to fight back against these scams. Hence, it won’t be long before Artificial Intelligence becomes a more common method used by cybersecurity companies around the world.
-> Vehicle Security Artificial Intelligence
Vehicle security systems use Artificial Intelligence inside cars or other transportation vehicles like ships or airplanes.
Cybersecurity researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) developed an Artificial Intelligence system that analyzes data from car sensors to detect whether or not something’s wrong with the vehicle.
Artificial Intelligence was used in this case to monitor everything about the vehicle without the need for manual monitoring, letting Artificial Intelligence play a much bigger role in keeping our vehicles safe.
-> Badoo Artificial Intelligence
Many companies are using Artificial Intelligence today as a way to make it easier for their users to use their services.
Badoo takes advantage of Artificial Intelligence by matching up people by location and interests. It found if you’re close enough to another person who has similar interests, your profile will appear on their feed.
It’s an interesting concept backed up by Artificial Intelligence. It makes it more likely people will find someone they connect with easily online instead of just wasting time messaging someone who doesn’t speak the same language or has a different religion.
Artificial Intelligence makes it easy to find commonalities. It also reduces the time and effort required in looking for someone you can connect with online, which is part of why Artificial Intelligence will only continue to grow in its usage among companies.
Some early AI adopters
The world’s biggest tech companies are already using Artificial Intelligence. However, Google has gone on record saying they are “years away” from Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity. Actually, removing human analysts from the loop in terms of making decisions.
Some large companies have begun training AI directly through case studies. By feeding AI examples of what good and bad transactions look like, these companies expand upon existing knowledge. They help speed up learning curves across all cybersecurity teams.
Remember: You may also leverage the benefits of Cyber AI if you hire AI developers from recognized AI development companies.
Future of AI in cybersecurity:
AI in cybersecurity may seem like an oxymoron at first glance. But it’s the wave of the future that will change how you think about the field forever.
There is no doubt that AI has a great future in cybersecurity. Here are some reasons why:
- Identify threats more quickly and accurately than humans can.
- Prevent attacks by automatically blocking suspicious activity.
- Improve the resilience of networks against attack.
- Speed up the process of recovering from a cyber attack.
- Improve the overall security of digital systems.
AI has already started to play a role in cybersecurity. Its role is only going to become more important in the future. Organizations that want to stay ahead of the curve should start investing in AI-based security solutions now.
Are you ready to adopt Cyber AI for your future projects?
You must be wondering….
What steps are you taking to protect your enterprise from an increase in remote workers, network-connected devices, and third-party risk?
What are the benefits of using AI tools to detect, contain and respond to cyber threats? Which areas can use this technology to expand in order for a more proactive security posture?
What are you waiting for?
You have the skills, but do you have what it takes to be competitive in today’s cybersecurity landscape. By two years from now?!
Also Read: Artificial Intelligence in Banking
Conclusion:
So there you have it. Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity is the future. There may be a few years away from Skynet taking over. But, there are real-world examples of how AI uses to defend our networks today.
As with any new technology, there are pros and cons to consider. But, it is important to decide if AI should be part of your cybersecurity strategy or not.
Given that hackers are getting smarter every day, I think it’s safe to say that AI will become an increasingly important tool. It will be useful in our fight against cybercrime. Are you ready to add AI to your cybersecurity toolkit? If so, contact us today and let us show you how our machine learning services can help make your network safer than ever before.
Dive deeper into the world of AI in cybersecurity and explore real-world examples and the latest trends.
FAQs:
1. What is your opinion on Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity?
AI is becoming increasingly important in cybersecurity. It can help analysts detect and respond to threats much more quickly and effectively. By using machine learning algorithms, AI can constantly learn and adapt to new threats. Moreover, it acts as a powerful tool in the fight against cybercrime.
2. Do you think AI can help to protect your company from cyber-attacks?
Yes, AI can help to protect your company from cyber-attacks. In fact, many companies are already using AI in cybersecurity.
AI can help to detect and prevent cyberattacks by analyzing data patterns and identifying potential threats. It can also help to respond quickly to attacks and mitigate the damage.
Overall, AI can be a powerful tool for protecting your company from cyber-attacks.
3. What kind of benefits do you think AI can bring to the cybersecurity field?
Cybersecurity is a field that is ripe for the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI can help to improve cybersecurity in a number of ways, including by:
-Detecting and blocking threats that would otherwise go undetected
-Detecting malicious activity through anomaly detection
-Improving response time to new threats
-Helping organizations prioritize their cybersecurity efforts based on risk analysis
-Automating system maintenance and security tasks
4. Are there any concerns you have about using Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity strategy?
AI is still in its infancy, and there are a lot of concerns about its use in cybersecurity. One of the biggest concerns is that hackers will find ways to exploit AI’s vulnerabilities. They use them to penetrate networks and steal data.
Another concern is that AI creates fake videos and other content. But, it will be difficult to detect as being fake. Hence, most people use it for disinformation campaigns or to influence public opinion.
5. How do you see AI changing the cybersecurity landscape in the future?
AI is going to play a huge role in cybersecurity in the future. The more the amount of data generates, the ever-growing number of cyber threats will be there. Due to this, it is becoming increasingly difficult for humans to keep up.
Currently, human analysts do many tasks on their own. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, the process takes place automatically and finish soon. It involves identifying patterns in data and malware detection. AI can also help to create better defenses against cyberattacks by anticipating them and responding faster than humans could.
