Don’t Fear AI In Cybersecurity - Embrace It

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most talked about topics today, with sentiments running the gamut from concern to excitement, and wild speculation the order of the day.

Some believe it could cure the most dreaded diseases and halt climate change, while others imagine the worst – that it could cause the oceans to boil and kill off the human race.

The truth is likely to be none of these extremes and rather a mixture of what lies in-between – and if harnessed correctly, that presents immense opportunity in many spheres, believes Tony Anscombe, Chief Security Evangelist at ESET.

Reframing fear

“Fear of new technology is not unusual,” says Anscombe. “If we go back in history to the industrial revolution, there was a huge fear that technology such as steam engines and industrial automation would remove the need for people in manual jobs – and, of course, it did to some extent. But we also evolved; we started doing more interesting things or other jobs related to the new technology. While it changed some jobs, it also created new opportunities.”

The case is much the same for AI. Some jobs will be automated, others will be partially automated and still need a human touch afterwards, others will go in the opposite direction entirely. For example, there was a huge movement to outsource phone-in support services and replace them with cheaper services or automate parts of the process. But companies have realised it can cause more problems than the savings were worth – customers want to speak to someone local, with a local accent, and local knowledge. Now, there’s a movement to localise these services again. “So, while there will be some automation in many fields, I don’t think it will be as bad as most people think right now.”

Anscombe, who has more than 25 years of cybersecurity industry experience and is part of ESET’s global team based in the UK, will be joining a panel discussion on ‘How to harness AI instead of fear it’ at the Africa Tech Festival in November. There, he and other experts will explore the evolving role of AI, with a focus on the importance of embracing AI-driven strategies rather than fearing them.

Employing AI in cybersecurity

When it comes to cybersecurity, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become indispensable, particularly with regards to threat detection, investigation, and response. ESET has been harnessing the power of AI alongside human expertise for several decades to provide real-world solutions that meet the dynamic challenges of cybersecurity.

“AI can play a pivotal role in fortifying threat detection and prevention by analysing vast datasets in real time, quickly identifying patterns and anomalies that indicate new threats and security vulnerabilities. Integrated into protective solutions, AI can enhance threat detection and response capabilities, improve threat awareness and the accessibility of services such as threat intelligence and threat hunting, all contributing to better protection, thus preventing advanced attacks,” says Anscombe.

But even with its advanced capabilities, AI still needs – and is possibly both limited and enhanced by – the humans pulling the strings, he adds. “High-quality training translates into high-quality AI models. AI-powered security, without expert human oversight could potentially deteriorate over time or be manipulated by bad actors. Frequent updates and expert human oversight are essential.”

And the same principle applies on the other side of the coin. AI can be used very effectively by bad actors who leverage this technology to generate convincing spam and scam campaigns, improve their social engineering, evade detection and monitoring, and even debug and optimise malware.

But then, too, AI isn’t capable of fully replacing an intelligent human adversary, especially when it comes to carrying out complex accompanying tasks such as imagining an effective attack chain or generating new and sophisticated malicious code.

“It’s clear that AI can and will change the world, but as the domain of cybersecurity has shown, understanding AI is the best way to leverage it. Don’t fear AI – instead, empower yourself with knowledge by learning about its benefits and how to use it, but also its limitations and potential risks. As with most things in life, a balanced approach is key,” says Anscombe.

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