In the world of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence is slowly starting to play a much more important role for both sides. On one hand, a business can use AI to improve the way it detects potential threats. On the other hand, cybercriminals can cause issues by using AI to launch more sophisticated attacks.
There are several different uses that AI can have in the world of business. For instance, Yoono has posted previously how it can benefit both the worlds of customer service and recruitment. Currently, AI is also being used in a few different products that can build on cybersecurity. An example of these products includes antivirus software, data loss prevention, anti-fraud software and risk and compliance management.
That being said, though it can be beneficial, we are yet to see a lot of people start to use it properly yet. Rather than get an AI app to better engage with the services that can be offered from it, organisations mainly tend to opt for AI within email filters and malware identification. This is all likely to change in the future though.
Within security, AI is currently being used to search for and more accurately detect security attacks. It can do this thanks to behavioural analysis, essentially meaning it will analyse the cookies of hackers to work out how they move when inside a system, their timing in getting there and what method of attack they use.
By using AI to identify all of these issues, it can trim down the number of possible ways that hackers can attack. This means analysts are working a lot smarter and faster as a means to resolve any different cyber-attacks that could be occurring.
Yoono has written previously about how effective AI can be in terms of crisis management; to, however, this has pertained more to reputation. The same principles apply in cybersecurity too.
It is true that the development of AI and the improvement of technology in general does come with a curse attached. Here we can see it in that though AI can build on cybersecurity defences, there is an issue given it can also help build a battering ram big enough to knock those same defences down.
AI can be used to identify the different patterns in computer systems that reveal different weaknesses. Combine this with the ability of cybercriminals to get a better picture of an individual by looking at what they have posted on their social media account after a quick search and personal information obtained through cookies, many realistic-looking phishing emails can be generated.
When these emails are sent out to business partners or posted on business message boards as a means to contact many employees at once, they are able to potentially spread malware or collect more information on an individual or business.
One of the ways that AI can account for an improved success rate for hackers is the constant changes in phishing emails that are sent. A phishing email is when a false email will be sent to a contact of your business that encourages them to click on a link or provide further information.
For example, a phishing email could say that a payment hasn’t gone through, and an employee needs to re-enter bank details so that payment can be posted. Looking out for a sign that an email received is a scam used to be simple as the people who wrote and posted them made mistakes and repeated tactics.
This isn’t the case with AI as it is no longer people who are writing the email. You might think you are getting correspondence from someone you are just friends with but, it has been generated by a computer.
These emails are harder to deal with given the contents will constantly change. When employees discover a phishing email, they previously could agree to log of what was inside as a human would repeat similar tactics, but a machine will make things more random, ensuring it’s harder to account for a pattern.
If your business falls victim to a cyberattack then not only is this an inconvenience to your business but it could damage your reputation. This is because you might lose important information and subsequently be in breach of GDPR.
Yoono have previously written about how important it is to maintain your business’s reputation. When a potential customer goes to a search engine and looks up your business in a browser, any sign of a negative review could deter them from engaging further with you.
People are aware of how many choices they have these days when it comes to businesses. There is always another deal to look at, an app to download or a shop to buy from. As such, you need to ensure your business doesn’t show any sign of being subpar.
If you want to protect your organisation, employees and business partners from the threats that potentially come with AI, there are several different ways you can do it. These include:
Maintain strict security protocols across your data environment.
Make sure all of the records from different operations performed by your AI are added to a log and placed on an audit trail.
Have good access control so not a great deal of people has access to your information.
Yoono On How AI in Cybersecurity is a Double-Edged Sword
Yoono is an online tool which can be used to check on both companies and individuals results on Google, providing an automated report to businesses HR breaking down what that subject’s online reputation is like. AI is necessary for this process to work and as such, Yoono is aware of what AI is capable of.
In this article it has been discussed how AI can be used within the world of cybersecurity. On the one hand, it can be very beneficial as software has been developed which protects private information and spots patterns in hackers’ attacks to better improve defence against them. On the other hand, it can hinder the world of cybersecurity too, given AI can send phishing emails which are a total shift from what people have been told to look out for in the past.
In order to keep your business safe from hackers who use AI and keep your AI safe in the process, you should be sure to consider the above advice.
