Cyber security and AI used to be separate boardroom issues. But recently tech vendors and pundits have been warning that AI will increase cyber threats, so it seems they’re now combined.
For mid-market CEOs, this is an unwelcome escalation of what is, already, an intense concern.
Certainly the stakes are high. Cybercrime is now the main focus for organised crime groups.
And, as hacking tools become increasingly shrink-wrapped, the threat expands from organised criminal enterprises to disorganised tech-savvy juvenile delinquents as well.
The cat and mouse game between cyber attackers and defenders will accelerate. But the good news, for now, is that AI is enabling defence over attack. Here’s how:
Detecting vulnerabilities and threats. Even small businesses have a multitude of users and devices, systems, cloud services, and huge numbers of incoming emails and messages. Traditional monitoring of vulnerabilities is extremely time consuming, and traditional threat monitoring relies on spotting well-known threat signatures. AI monitoring and tools offer the ability to continuously scan for anomalies far more effectively and cheaply than before.
Responding quickly. Speed is crucial in cyber security, but most cyberattacks happen out of hours, particularly over public holidays. And the longer a threat goes undiscovered, the more damage it inflicts, as hackers move deeper into your infrastructure and from one system to the next. AI-powered systems can quickly flag issues to experts, whilst automating responses, isolating affected systems, and blocking access.
Better incident analysis. Post-incident analysis is vital for understanding the extent of an attack, for planning restoration, and for improving defences. Traditional approaches are very manual and require teams of experts to sift through complex data. AI can help in quickly analysing how an attack occurred and what has been compromised.
The arms race will accelerate, and AI will enable hackers to mount more sophisticated attacks in the future. Phishing emails, for instance, will become increasingly difficult to distinguish from the real thing. A voice message confirmation might just be an AI. And, of course, when hackers find vulnerabilities, they will use AI to scale up and intensify their attacks far more quickly.
But, for now at least, AI is on our side.
For CEOs looking for a way to assess their own team’s readiness feel free to use this document: Top 10 cyber security questions to ask your IT team and supplier.
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