Cybersecurity in the AI Era: New Threats and New Defenses

Cybersecurity in the AI Era: New Threats and New Defenses
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6 min read

The rapid advancement of AI has transformed the landscape of IT security, enhancing defenses while also introducing new vulnerabilities. According to Gartner, AI-driven cyber threats are increasing at 23% of compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), with over 75% of enterprises expected to face AI-augmented cyberattacks by 2025. Cybercriminals are leveraging AI to automate attacks, exploit system vulnerabilities, and bypass traditional security measures by analysing network behaviors. On the defensive side, AI is revolutionizing cybersecurity operations, enabling real-time threat detection and response. AI-powered tools can reduce breach response times by up to 90% compared to traditional methods. Additionally, an IDC report highlights that organizations investing in AI-driven security solutions are expected to lower the cost of cyber security resolution by 30% within the next three years.

Cybersecurity on the AI Map

With the increasing rate of AI-integrated cyber-attacks, cybercriminals are creating more sophisticated ransomware, hacks, and phishing schemes, causing significant damage to both businesses and individuals in terms of reputation, finances, and operations. Today, cybercriminals and security providers are in a race to outpace each other by deploying the most cutting-edge AI technology and developing innovative solutions. Here, the transition of Blackberry from a top handset provider to a prime cybersecurity lead exemplifies this competitive approach quite well.

Gartner’s predictions for 2024 and beyond outline critical shifts in cybersecurity that GenAI adoption will collapse the cybersecurity skills gap and reduce employee-driven cybersecurity incidents. Also, considering the personal legal exposure of security officers in cybersecurity, two-thirds of global 100 organizations will extend directors and officers insurance; and hence battling malinformation will cost enterprises more than $500 billion.

1.       Cybersecurity in the AI Era: New Threats

As AI technology continues to advance, increasingly sophisticated AI-driven cyber threats are anticipated to arise. REvil Ransomware was one of the most dangerous threats active during 2019-22, often blocking a system until the ransomware was paid. Here, Gartner’s prediction about ensuring complete IT security is significant that “Through 2026, 75% of organizations will exclude unmanaged, legacy, and cyber-physical systems from their zero trust strategies.”

While the nature of cyber threats remains similar to before, the integration of AI has significantly escalated the level of disruption. With AI integration, these threats can be hazardous in various forms:

  • AI-Powered Malware—Cybercriminals leverage AI to run automation and scan vulnerabilities to target the victim more accurately. They utilize AI algorithms to create malware that evolves and learns from its surroundings, making it harder to detect and counteract.

  • Phishing Attacks—AI can process vast amounts of data to create highly personalized and convincing phishing emails or messages, replicating the writing style and tone of trusted contacts. It can also automate and scale phishing campaigns, targeting multiple victims simultaneously, and evade detection by adapting in real-time.

  • Deepfake Attacks – Such type of deception utilizes AI to manipulate audio or visual content to mimic someone's identity and make it appear legitimate.

  • Adversarial Attacks – In this attack, malicious actors manipulate and make subtle changes in input data to corrupt algorithms’ decision-making process, resulting in potentially harmful consequences.

  • AI-Assisted Social Engineering – The use of AI amplifies attacks by leveraging algorithms to analyze and collect extensive data from online profiles, social media, and public records, enabling highly customized exploits that target human weaknesses.

  • Ransomware Attacks – AI algorithms can analyze large datasets to identify system vulnerabilities, automate the selection of optimal targets, and enhance the efficiency of ransomware deployment. Additionally, AI enables ransomware to adapt in real time, learning from defensive measures to evade detection and improve its encryption methods.

  • Data Breaches - AI-integrated data breach attacks with increased precision and efficiency, making it harder to detect and escalating the risk of massive data leaks and more targeted attacks.

  • 5G Network Security – The vast amount of data connectivity and exchange involved with 5G networks present new security risk factors in the network architecture, enabling faster, more sophisticated attacks.

  • Geopolitical Threats - Nation-states and rogue actors can harness AI to enhance espionage, sabotage, and military tactics, adding complexity and unpredictability to geopolitical conflicts. This advancement introduces new layers of risk to global security and international relations.

2.       New Defenses in Cybersecurity Landscape in AI-Era

New defenses in the cybersecurity landscape are AI tools that automate mundane tasks to reduce daily human intervention and speed up detecting anomalies and patterns posing potential cyber threats to weed out unknown flaws, particularly in identifying zero-day vulnerability. In addition, AI defenses can automate the vulnerability patching process, minimizing the chances for hackers. In this regard, Gartner predicts that by extending directors and officers insurance due to their direct involvement in the process along with, the enterprise spend on battling malinformation will surpass $500 billion, cannibalizing 50% of marketing and cybersecurity budgets by 2028.

A.     Deploying AI-Driven Defenses: Deploying AI-driven defenses can assist cybersecurity professionals in combating advanced vulnerability. Real-time threat detection is the advantage that AI can harness to establish a robust cybersecurity system. With the help of AI-enabled cybersecurity solutions, defense products harness machine learning algorithms and learn the patterns from the past, as well as predict future attacks.

B.     Awareness Program: Organizations and individuals should organize and establish strong security awareness programs to counter AI-assisted social engineering. Education and training can empower individuals to identify phishing attempts, refrain from sharing sensitive information, and adhere to online security best practices. Additionally, implementing multi-factor authentication and routinely updating security protocols can further reduce the risk of successful social engineering attacks.

C.      Access Management and Principle of Least Privilege: Through Access Management, processes and technologies are being used to manage and control user access to systems, applications, and data, ensuring sensitive information is accessible to only authorized individuals. The Principle of Least Privilege is a security concept that involves granting users only the necessary permissions to perform related job functions. This method also minimizes the risk of data breaches by limiting users' abilities to access sensitive information or systems.

D.     Ethical AI Development: Developers must incorporate ethical considerations while developing AI systems, upholding transparency, accountability, and fairness. Conducting regular evaluations and audits of these systems can eliminate the risk of biases and vulnerabilities on the radar for malicious actors.

E.      Information Sharing and Collaboration: Collaboration between cybersecurity experts, industry leaders, and AI researchers can play a pivotal role in outsmarting rapidly evolving AI-driven threats. By pooling knowledge on potential vulnerabilities, emerging attack methods, and innovative countermeasures, the shared knowledge can proactively strengthen defenses and create a dynamic, and adaptable shield against future challenges.

The Impact Of AI On Encryption And Security Protocols: Advantage In Disguise

  • Advantage - AI can potentially enhance cybersecurity technologies by leveraging various methods. AI can automatically detect abnormal attempts to access encrypted data in real-time, enhancing security and response efforts. Additionally, AI assists in developing innovative solutions capable of countering cyberattacks. It allows systems to adjust to the complexity and tactics of security protocols, effectively countering potential threats. Enhancing AI algorithms is another significant reason for incorporating AI into encryption systems, ensuring both security and efficiency—critical for applications that require real-time encryption and decryption without latency.

  • Disguise - The same capabilities that make AI powerful can also pose risks to encryption and security protocols. AI's advanced computational abilities and automated data scanning can cause significant damage by exploiting vulnerabilities once identified. When combined with quantum computing, AI could potentially break encryption methods currently considered secure, such as ECC and RSA, much faster than traditional methods.

  • Balance – Creating balance is an art, and human intervention with AI is crucial to maintaining it. As quantum computing and AI evolve rapidly, further efforts are needed to strengthen cryptographic algorithms to withstand potential AI-driven attacks. Moreover, government initiatives to establish regulations and promote the ethical use of AI will also help create a balance between its advantages and disadvantages.

Future Of Cyber Security

With the shift to cloud services, automation of IT processes, and the rise of hybrid work models, the attack surface is expanding fast. The IDC FutureScape 2023 predicts that by 2026, 60% of businesses will have experienced at least one breach due to cloud misconfiguration or insecure API usage. CIOs and CISOs are facing mounting pressure to manage these highly scalable and critical attack surfaces while ensuring that their cybersecurity strategies remain robust and adaptive.

To succeed in this new landscape, experts from IDC's CSO Advisory Board recommend that CIOs and CISOs adopt continuous risk assessments, implement multi-layered defenses, and stay updated with the fast-evolving AI-driven security technologies. With AI both as a threat and a tool for defense, the cybersecurity war has entered a new, more complex era, where innovation must outpace emerging threats to protect critical digital assets.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the cybersecurity landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by advancements in AI and GenAI. While AI serves as a powerful tool to strengthen defense mechanisms, it also causes increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. As organizations face mounting challenges, proactive investment in AI-powered cybersecurity solutions will be critical to safeguarding their operations and reputation in the digital age.

They say, ‘prevention is better than cure.’ Hence, it is better for professionals and the common population to stay away from clicking suspicious links, replying to unidentified emails, and sharing personal or financial details to suspecting people, to protect themselves from falling prey to the unwanted and hazardous pitfalls dug by the malicious threat actors.

(By Shreeti Verma)

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