Artificial Intelligence is the Future for CyberSecurity

CyberSecurity – Artificial intelligence is becoming a great tool for cybersecurity and infrastructural security. AI works well when its software gets trained on a very large data set of cybersecurity devices, networks, and any information that is useful to conclude anything. It aims at detecting anomalies, alerting, and blocking. Any abnormal pattern is a sign of worry. Sadly, we should not forget that hackers are also using artificial intelligence in cyberattacks that are more advanced and harder to detect.

This is the second post in “AI role in CyberSecurity” series by #AILabPage, the first post is available here

A Glimpse on Artificial Intelligence  & CyberSecurity

It’s easy to describe and define artificial intelligence compared to what it actually is. To put it in one line, “AI is a kind of intelligence demonstrated by machines to do the same task done by any human using natural intelligence.” In other words, the same task performed by humans with natural intelligence and machines with artificial intelligence should produce the same results. Speed, quality, and productivity are the measuring units here.

CyberSecurity powered with Artificial Intelligence can boost transparency levels of the Cyber playing field.

Cybersecurity is a necessary component of every business in this digital age. It protects internet-connected systems, including hardware, software, and data, from cyberattacks. For cybersecurity, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans, machines need to check and detect anomalies in cyber data.

In a cybersecurity context, AI is software that perceives its environment well enough to find events and take action for a predefined purpose. It can also learn and build the rules on the go as well; actually, that’s the real AI.

AI In Cyber Security: A Balancing Force or Disruptor?

The conclusion is already drawn here (in my opinion), and the debate is over: Artificial Intelligence is the Future of Cybersecurity. The biggest fear of today’s time is the concern that hackers are getting much smarter. These hackers will use artificial intelligence in cyberattacks that are more advanced and harder to detect.

AI has already proven as both a benefit and a threat on the cybersecurity front.  Barclays Africa is beginning to use AI and machine learning to both detect cybersecurity threats and respond to them.

AI is a kind of intelligence demonstrated by machines to perform the same task done by any human using natural intelligence.

• Integration of AI in Cybersecurity:
  • Recognize the imperative of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into cybersecurity to preempt potential exploitation by hackers.
  • Acknowledge the disruptive nature of AI and the necessity for cybersecurity to align with technological advancements.
  • Embrace AI as a powerful tool to enhance the efficacy of cybersecurity measures.
• Technological Advancements and Relevance:
  • Acknowledge the need for cybersecurity to evolve in tandem with technological progress.
  • Leverage the capabilities of AI to ensure that cybersecurity measures remain pertinent and adaptive to emerging threats.
• AI as a Double-Edged Sword:
  • Acknowledge the dual role of AI as both a savior and a potential threat to cybersecurity.
  • Understand that improper use or exploitation of AI by malicious entities can pose risks to cybersecurity.
• Potential Risks:
  • Highlight the risk of AI being manipulated for destructive purposes in the realm of cybersecurity.
  • Illustrate instances where individuals have harnessed AI to create programs with potentially harmful consequences.
• Strategic Implementation:
  • Emphasize the need for a strategic approach in implementing AI within cybersecurity protocols.
  • Advocate for responsible and ethical use of AI to harness its benefits while mitigating potential risks and ensuring the overall security of systems.

Combined with existing tools to figure out a quarter of the passwords from a set of more than 43 million profiles is a big breakthrough.

What can AI do for cybersecurity as a guard and as a terminator?

We do have artificial intelligence in our systems and business strategies in one way or another. Still, there is a frightening truth about increasingly common cyberattacks. These anti-attack techniques need more learning and strengthening of the algorithms used for better monitoring. Sadly, most businesses and the cybersecurity industry itself are not yet ready for better use of AI.

• The pinnacle in the information security industry is achieved through leadership roles and the delivery of superior products and professional services.
• Researchers emphasize that technology, which propels success, can also be effectively used to outmaneuver adversaries, marking a paradigm shift in the cybersecurity landscape.
• Despite concerns about job displacement, AI is not a threat to cybersecurity experts. Cybersecurity professionals need not possess hardcore AI or Data Science skills but must commit to continual upgrading, understanding, and leading in this dynamic field. The integration of AI becomes a tool for enhancing their capabilities rather than rendering their expertise obsolete.

There are organization; which has suffered the cyberattacks,  about to suffer and may have suffered but don’t know.

What is needed for CSE to understand only “what AI will do to help them in their job” and how? Security alerts need to be looked at and actioned if needed, which may still be performed by humans until the machine learns. In the long run, humans should lead the process but shouldn’t do it.

AAA

AI in CyberSecurity

To get answers to many such questions as below, the only solution is to deploy, keep updating rules, and let the machine learn and adjust its algorithms at the backend (which sounds like a wait and watch). Time will show how this thing will evolve, as what is planned today may not be the goal. Hackers will also use AI. So AI will become a team player on both sides. Which mentor trains well?

• Will artificial intelligence take over cybersecurity?
• How the next level of Cybersecurity will become an AI-powered data-centric model?
• AI and Cybersecurity: Friends or Foes?

For cybersecurity, AI can analyse vast amounts of data, help the right systems and software make the right decisions, and bring huge reductions in attacks and anomalies in a much faster way. Since it can work 24×7 without rest, humans can’t beat it. AI will allow automated software testing to find and kill bugs before they ship to avoid any banking opportunities through loopholes.

AI is likely to eliminate the need for complex passwords or any sort of password. With artificial intelligence, the need for passwords could come to an end in the next 5 to 10 years. The user identity and access management industry needs to redesign and rethink the next modus operandi.

Challenges and risks with AI for Cyber Security

The first thing many of us think about when it comes to the future relationship between artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, which looks promising anyway, At the same time, the risk relationship is also at the same level. There are a tonne of claims around AI and cybersecurity that don’t quite add up. How artificial intelligence and machine learning will impact cybersecurity and the industry around it Intelligent machines that can learn from experience, allowing them to work and react as a human would. This also means the same mistakes can’t be ignored.

Cybersecurity is not just an information technology department’s problem or responsibility. It is the job of every employee and even customers on the street.

Many organisations are already beginning to use AI to bolster cybersecurity and offer more protection against sophisticated hackers. AI adoption by malicious actors is much higher compared to that of a real hero. The current cyber landscape favours malicious actors. Many global information solutions companies have reported a major cybersecurity incident affecting 143 million consumers in the US.

The appeal of AI for cyber security has extremely good reasons, like automation of operational tasks, developing and delivering predictive capabilities, mitigating human biases, and deriving doable intelligence. On the downside, AI requires high volumes of high-quality data to learn. Data silos and varying formats can affect training. Given the dynamic cyber landscape, use cases need to stand the test of time and context, but most of the time, this negates their value.

Users need and Security Tools (Customer Perspective)

There is a need for an automated security assistant that learns the needs of the individual user and helps them apply security tools. For me, as an individual, my cybersecurity needs are data confidentiality, data loss tolerance limits, and recovery costs.

• In the backend, machine learning is tasked with understanding user behavior, technical acumen, and security preferences, continuously adapting to enhance cybersecurity defenses.
• The symbiotic relationship between artificial intelligence and cybersecurity ensures that as cyber threats evolve, AI-powered systems also become more adept at counteracting them.
• The future of cybersecurity might involve a sophisticated AI-driven, data-centric model equipped with substantial processing power. This model can analyze vast amounts of data swiftly, identifying trends and patterns in real-time to make rapid decisions, ushering in a new era of proactive and agile cyber defense.

Data-centric models will be able to get rid of noise (garbage data) and discard it for some other day’s use. Motivations and applications of AI in cybersecurity have a huge list, so we will not be able to cover them all here. Begin your AI-filled cybersecurity journey now.

Conclusion – Cybersecurity is not just an information technology department’s problem or responsibility. It is the job of every employee and even customers of the organization. As per the Google search engine, identities are being stolen online every 3 seconds, 24/7. So what are we doing, and how can we protect it? The GDPR makes it even more relevant. There are organisations that have suffered cyberattacks, are about to suffer, or may have suffered but don’t know. To find better answers to this, we need AI techniques to get over it. Understanding the relationship between AI, or science that can imitate human beings, and cybersecurity, which is an essential need for all, is the key to success in business today.

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Books + Other readings Referred

• Open Internet
• Hands on personal research work @AILabPage

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