How could Artificial Intelligence tools threaten cybersecurity?

As Artificial Intelligence Tools become more sophisticated, they can be used to launch cyber attacks that are more complex and difficult to detect. In this article, we will explore how AI tools could threaten cybersecurity and what measures can be taken to mitigate these threats.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) became popular today, and it is one of the most important terminologies in our current era, though it has been around since the 1950s.

AI relies on the development of systems and technologies that help to do tasks by the simulation of human intelligence and thought.

ChatGPT is one of the most popular examples of these AI tools today.

Which caused remarkable  international interest during 2023.

In this article, we will explore and focus more on its impact on cybersecurity.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a machine learning technique called deep learning that generates logical and comprehensible responses to conversations developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT’s continuous learning and improvement is achieved by training the model on a large amount of language data – Large language Model (LLM), and when activated in dialogues, ChatGPT can understand the content of the dialogue and generate meaningful responses, so it can be used in a wide range of fields, including customer service, education, media, marketing, designing, translating and in other fields.

What is the Artificial Intelligence tools?

Artificial Intelligence tools working mechanism depends on training it on a very large set of linguistic data, such as books, articles, and websites. This necessary so that the model can learn linguistic and typological relationships in texts.

Artificial Intelligence tools were also trained by entering long texts and using the model on a specific task, such as the task of predicting the next word in the text.

When you run any of the Artificial Intelligence tools on a specific text, the text is converted into a set of numbers and mathematical data that the model recognizes, based on the language rules the model learned during training, it generates the new text. AI tools can be used to create different texts such as articles, poetry, novels and even writing an e-mail.

Artificial Intelligence tools are a useful template for several services, such as making marketing plans, answering customer questions, and creating content. It is widely used in various fields such as digital marketing, translation, e-learning, and even in producing voiceover, creating designs, and many other services.

Despite its benefits of AI tools, it can be used for illegal activities that could threaten cyber security. Let us learn about these threats and risks.

What are the risks of using Artificial Intelligence tools on cybersecurity?

• Penetration:

This technology can be exploited to hack systems, due to many factors that may lead to their vulnerability. Among the reasons that can lead to hacking risks via Artificial Intelligence tools are:

• Security vulnerabilities:

Chatbots that use Artificial Intelligence tools can be exposed to several security vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit to enter the system and get sensitive information.

• Phishing:

Artificial Intelligence tools can be used to create professional level fake e-mails and fraudulent actions, and this technique can convince users to give out sensitive information such as passwords and financial data.

• Social Engineering:

Artificial Intelligence tools can be used to perform social engineering operations, where attackers can use this technique to manipulate users and get personal information from them.

• Vishing:

Artificial Intelligence tools can be used for voice recognition, which is known as “voice triggering”, as this technology is often used to generate fake voices for fraudulent acts.

• Malware:

Artificial Intelligence tools can be used to create malicious programs, as attackers can do so.

• Electronic fraud:

It can be used to create emails or multimedia text messages that appear from real and trusted sources. Victims are persuaded to provide sensitive information such as logins, passwords, or financial information.  When victims provide this information, it can be used for fraud and hacking.

• Artificial Intelligence tools can also be used to create fake website pages in a professional way that appears as if it is real trusted websites. It can be used to collect sensitive information or install malware on victims’ devices.
• Artificial Intelligence tools can be used to conduct marketing fraud. This is where misleading advertisements and marketing content are created to convince people to buy unreliable products or services.

• Targeted Cyberattacks:

Intelligent technologies such as AI tools can be used to carry out targeted attacks on specific targets, such as companies and institutions, by:

1. Obtaining sensitive information:

Artificial Intelligence tools can be used to mislead users that data is being collected from them for legitimate purposes, allowing attackers to get sensitive information about them and use it in future attacks.

2. Avoid detection:

Attackers can use AI tools to communicate with victims, making it difficult to identify the source of the attack and verify the validity of the information exchanged.

Some other risks of using Artificial Intelligence tools.

1. Discrimination and Prejudice:

It can be biased against specific categories of users and give more opportunities and privileges to other groups.

2. Mistakes:

The use of AI tools can lead to grammatical errors in the responses it provides or even having outdated information, and this error can lead to misunderstandings and wrong actions or giving wrong answers due to old information.

3. New Threats:

Smart technologies may lead to new threats in cybersecurity, as some smart systems may become vulnerable to hacking and exploitation.

How can Artificial Intelligence tools dangers be avoided?

To avoid these risks, users should be careful and attentive when interacting with suspicious messages or web pages. They should always verify the source before providing sensitive information.

Companies and organizations should develop strong security procedures and technologies to protect users’ data and address electronic fraud used in AI tools.

Conclusion:

The impact of Artificial Intelligence on cyber security can be positive or negative depending on how the technology is used.

For example, it can be used in distance learning and training, in improving the experience of customer service, providing quick and effective answers to them, in improving digital marketing and translating texts from one language to another, simplify the designing processes, and many other useful uses. It can also help in taking huge logs, security data, network traffic and analyze such information to find out about new vulnerabilities or attacks not being recognized.

But the negative uses of AI tools are through impersonation, creating texts that contain abuse and incitement, and creating fraudulent texts that lead to deception and harm to users.

Thus, artificial intelligence represents a challenge to cybersecurity, and it is important to take the necessary measures to reduce potential threats and maintain the integrity of computer and technical systems.

Organizations can introduce to their employees phishing simulations to reduce successful attacks while educating them.

And this is what Cerebra offers you, as it provides you with technical products and works to develop modern technologies for cybersecurity.