In a significant gathering at Parliament, leading figures in Britain’s cyber industry convened to deliberate on the mounting concerns surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for national security.
The summit, organised by the Parliament Street think tank and hosted by Dean Russell MP for Watford, featured a panel of experts who explored the challenges posed by AI, including deepfakes, hacking, and ransomware. Their impact on critical national infrastructure was of particular concern.
Victor Murineanu, CISO of Chelsea Football Club, highlighted the growing cyber skills gap in the UK, advocating for enhanced recruitment, training for young individuals, and the integration of cyber skills into educational curriculums. ,
This sentiment was supported by Sarah Rench of Avanade, who noted an uptick in corporate investment in cyber skills development.
Tackling the AI Challenge: Expert Perspectives
Nicko van Someren, CTO at Absolute Software, raised concerns about the dual-edged nature of AI advancements.
Someren said: “Recent, rapid advances in artificial intelligence are opening up a whole host of new opportunities in cybersecurity. Unfortunately, many of those opportunities are for the bad guys!”
Someren also stressed the urgency of harnessing AI for defensive measures to keep pace with adversaries.
Paul Connaghan, Principal Consultant at RiverSafe, emphasised the necessity of visibility over IT systems in combatting the increasingly complex threat landscape. He advocated for the investment in robust threat intelligence for real-time visibility to proactively identify and mitigate potential threats.
“As the threat landscape continues to rise in complexity with threats such as AI, ransomware and state-sponsored attacks, visibility over IT systems is no longer a ‘nice to have’, it’s a necessity,” said Connaghan.
Echoing the sentiment on the evolving cyber landscape, Angus Lockhart, COO at SECQAI, called for immediate action to protect against current and future cyber threats, including the move towards ‘memory safe’ hardware and the transition to Post Quantum Cryptography to counter quantum computing threats.
Nithin Thomas, Founder and CEO of Klarytee, underscored the transformative potential of AI and the consequent emergence of AI-powered cyberthreats. He highlighted the critical need for a proactive stance in data protection to safeguard sensitive information against these advanced threats.
“AI promises to be one of the most transformational technologies of this century. As businesses start embracing its potential, we will start seeing a whole new wave of cyber threats, supercharged by powerful AI technologies,” said Thomas.
The discussions at the summit underscored a collective recognition of the pressing need to address AI’s security implications, through both immediate and long-term strategies, to safeguard national infrastructure and sensitive data against evolving cyberthreats.
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