AI and Cybersecurity – a new era

With AI becoming increasingly prevalent in both the professional and personal spheres, it is essential to understand the potential security risks, alongside the very real advantages associated with this innovative technology.

What is GenAI?

Generative AI is a type of machine learning that can create content such as images, text, audio and videos in response to a text-prompt by a user. It is trained on existing information to generate new content. Examples of the next generation of AI tools include ChatGPT, DALL-E and Google Gemini.

Risks and Threats of using AI

While AI offers significant benefits, such as streamlining business processes, enhancing customer experience, strengthening threat detection and boosting employee productivity, like all technologies, it also brings potential security risks. Cybercriminals are becoming creative with their attacks, creating increasingly realistic and believable content and powering social engineering attacks, significantly increasing their success rate. It is more important now than ever to ensure you are prepared to meet this developing threat and are educated on the best ways to use AI responsibly and securely.

Here we have identified some risks to bear in mind while using AI, as we integrate these tools into our daily work life.

Identity Theft

AI can be used to produce deepfakes which fraudsters use to lure you into revealing sensitive data. The realistic nature of deepfakes makes it difficult to discern real from fake, raising concerns about their impact on public trust and perception.

Data Leaks

As AI relies on inputted data to learn, information can be inadvertently leaked through its outputs. It is crucial to ensure that AI tools have robust security measures in place to protect against data leaks and to carefully consider the type and amount of data being inputted into these tools.

Misinformation

False information generated by AI can pose a significant threat, spreading rapidly and leading to widespread confusion and harm. Unreliable outputs contribute to the dissemination of misinformation, highlighting the critical need for responsible and ethical use of AI technologies.

Key Takeaways

Here are some key tips to protect yourself, your organisation and your data…

1. Cybercriminals can use AI to create deepfakes, pretending to be someone else to deceive you. Review, verify and authenticate external or suspicious requests before actioning and think twice before clicking links or opening attachments.
2. AI often relies on inputted data to train its model to produce outputs to subsequent users. Never input your firm information to any publicly available AI applications like ChatGPT.
3. AI is prone to producing plausible-sounding information which may not always be accurate. For enhanced accuracy and reliability always keep the "Human in the Loop". It is essential you carefully scrutinise the outcomes of AI tools to ensure their accuracy and reliability before you use the results.