AI’s Impact on Cybersecurity

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The impact of AI on cybersecurity is transforming the methods we use to secure digital platforms. It is both providing attackers with sophisticated new strategies to target organizations, and equipping businesses with robust defensive mechanisms.

While AI could introduce dangerous new attack methods, the biggest current threat is its amplification of traditional methods. A prominent example is phishing – AI-powered phishing means more authentic-looking emails with more sophisticated language and distributed in greater numbers, with messages being harder to distinguish as fraudulent.

While impacting all sectors, it is especially dangerous for government, banking, and financial services – all sectors handling extremely sensitive data for billions of consumers worldwide.

According to Innovation News Network, a major way to combat AI-driven threats is to enhance identity security. One way to deal with the issue is decentralized identity systems, in which all the information forming an identity is encrypted, signed, and safeguarded with digital keys, which confirm an individual’s identity without exposing sensitive details to external parties. Organizations must develop strong verification methods to adopt this user-controlled identity management approach (including knowledge-based, document, biometric, and device authentications).

Fortunately, experts claim this paradigm shift is possible. Let us examine biometrics as an example – facial recognition, fingerprinting, and iris scanning all offer quick and accurate identity verification. Facial recognition technology in particular has advanced significantly in recent years, a development that revolutionized various fields, including travel (enabling seamless and secure transit) and banking (for secure transactions), smartphones (for unlocking devices), and surveillance systems.

Another positive impact of AI on cybersecurity is its potential for defense. AI can be used to analyze behavioral patterns to detect unauthorized access, and thus add another layer of security that responds and adapts to the world around it. AI systems can also offer early warning systems for potential threats by identifying unusual patterns and anomalies in network data. AI systems can also potentially react to threats instantly and autonomously, slashing response time.

AI is already being used to execute a high volume of attacks on organizations globally. Therefore, our defense strategies need to become more sophisticated accordingly.