AI and Cyber Security – What’s the Connection?

AI in cyber security is crucial as Information technology advances every day, and the world is rapidly transforming to digital. Undoubtedly, it is benefiting human life in a great way, but it has also led to different cyber threats including data thefts, scams, hacks, and virus transfers. 

Considering the rise in those cybercrimes, cyber security has become more important than ever. But alongside the advancement of Information Technology, cybercriminals are also constantly developing as they are finding new ways to attack vulnerabilities in your systems, making it difficult for traditional security measures to keep up. This increased the need to adopt Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity.  

As traditional security measures require the organization to constantly scrutinize the systems, it can be time-consuming. And, it may also not be 100 % effective at times. So, what if our system is able to identify the threat immediately and effectively without much involvement? It would be a great help, isn’t it?

Fortunately, AI-based cybersecurity can offer these amazing perks. It not only helps to automate threat detection but also can take immediate response to eliminate those security threats to prevent our system. This is why the use of AI in cyber security has big potential to revolutionize the cyber security field.  

To understand in detail the reason for Artificial Intelligence to be “poised” as the ultimate threat protector to your system, keep on reading the article. We are going to explore the role of AI to enhance cyber security and its future potential to conquer the field as a whole. 

How Can Artificial Intelligence Testing Enhance Cyber security?

Traditional cyber security measures are known mostly for only to detect security threats. But cybersecurity with AI is not limited to threat detection, as it can completely block potential attacks to secure the networks and services in the most effective and advanced way. So, how does Artificial Intelligence approach this? Here, we have put together the basic approaches by AI to contribute to improving cyber security. Let’s go through them.  

Prevent Phishing

Phishing refers to cyber-attacks where cybercriminals trick a user to collect sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers. This can lead to stolen account credentials, money, and data fraud which creates a really serious menace. It is hard for the common users to identify these threats, which the attackers take advantage of. Luckily, implementing AI-based cyber security can simulate those phishing attacks. For this, AI uses neural networks and machine learning algorithms to identify unusual patterns in URLs and alert users regarding suspicious URLs.  

Prevent Advanced Persistent threats (APTs)

APTs refer to cyber-attacks where the attackers require a lot of effort and time to breach an organization’s defenses to steal sensitive data and information. AI also helps to prevent such attacks by monitoring the network pattern and traffic to detect potential security threats. This is made possible thanks to AI’s Machine learning algorithms. 

Identifies vulnerabilities and weakness

In addition to building walls against threats, Artificial intelligence can also be used to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in a system to prevent future attacks. To do this, AI algorithms analyze the historical data to predict the current vulnerabilities in a system and alert the user upon identification. It allows you to timely address potential threats and take necessary action immediately.   

Therefore, AI testing helps to improve the overall security of computer systems and networking by identifying the weakness in the system and preventing small or big cyber-attacks.   

Future of AI in Cyber Security

As we discussed earlier, cybercriminals are making a more advanced approach to attack your system which has made the threats more sophisticated and difficult to detect. To deal with this issue, organizations today are turning to AI-based cyber security to help them stay ahead of those attackers. As more and more organizations are looking to merge cyber security with AI, the demand has skyrocketed. With this immensely growing demand, it is not difficult to estimate that AI is going to be the future of cybersecurity.  

So, how AI will change cybersecurity in the future for good? Let’s find out.  

Enhanced Automation and Efficiency

The first area where AI is likely to have a big impact is in its automation and efficiency. By using machine learning algorithms to analyze and identify potential threats automatically, AI will also trigger response workflows on its own. This will help for quick identification of the threats as well as response to reducing the impact level.  

Additionally, AI machine learning algorithms can also potentially automate future human routine tasks such as scanning the system, analyzing the identified threats, and coding to fix the threats. It further helps organizations to free up their manpower and allows them to focus on more strategic tasks. Therefore, with automated cybersecurity, organizations will save both time and cost while improving their overall security mechanisms.  

Greater Personalization and Contextualization

As AI develops and advances further, it is more likely to provide greater personalization and contextualization in the field of cyber security. To do so, AI can function in several mechanisms. Firstly, AI algorithms can analyze the user behavior on the computer system and identify patterns that could indicate potential security threats. For instance, if there is a sudden accessing and opening of the files or system that the user doesn’t regularly use, AI takes it as a sign of security threats and alerts the user. 

Secondly, AI can monitor network traffic to identify unusual patterns of communication which could be another sign of a security breach. For instance, if it notices the sudden transfer of a large amount of data to an unknown IP address, it can alert the user regarding potential data theft.  

Improved Collaboration and Information Sharing

Using machine learning algorithms, AI will help organizations to analyze and share security threat information more efficiently through the use of shared AI-powered platforms.  

As we know, when the threat information is not transparent and clear, it leads to an incomplete view of the threat landscape which makes it difficult for the team to respond quickly and effectively to emerging threats. AI-powered platforms can help solve this issue by enabling organizations to share threat data and information in real-time which ultimately pushes for quick and effective solutions.  

The above-mentioned factors are just a few examples of how AI is likely to impact the future of cyber security. As Artificial Intelligence is continuously evolving, there is a big possibility that it will become more innovative to offer the most effective cybersecurity solutions in the years to come.  

Downsides of AI in Cyber Security

So, with so many amazing perks, undoubtedly, AI-based cybersecurity has the potential to revolutionize the cybersecurity industry. Unfortunately, it also comes with several risks and downsides. So, it is crucial that the organization carefully study the associated risks to avoid their negative effects on the system.  Here, we have put together the potential downsides for AI-based security, let’s explore.  

May Create Confusions

Whilst security alerts are good, the use of AI in cyber security can sometimes generate false positives too. This is common when the system mistakenly flags the non-harmful effect as malicious for several reasons. It can lead to confusion in the team as they may find it hard to distinguish between genuine threats and false positives. And, if the solution is not offered in time, it will only lead the security teams to waste valuable time and resources investigating false alerts.  

Dependence on Data Quality and Quantity

Artificial Intelligence requires correct data adequately. They rely on large amounts of high-quality data to accurately identify threats and make predictions. So, in case, if you are not able to provide complete data or information, then cybersecurity with AI may lead to inaccurate results in detecting false security threats.   

May strengthen cyber criminals

Though AI is aimed to fight security threats, AI-based cyber security systems can also be vulnerable to attacks themselves. This is because cybercriminals can fool AI-based security by manipulating the data used by machine learning algorithms to produce biased or inaccurate results.  

In addition, cybercriminals can also use the AI system itself for building more advanced technologies to launch attacks on our systems. For instance, they can leverage Artificial Intelligence to create automated threats or bots to hack multiple systems in a short period.   

Human Error

After all, AI cybersecurity is only produced by humans to be used by humans. So, its effectiveness and efficiency may depend on who uses it in which way. For instance, if your computer system relies heavily on an AI-based cyber security system and you fail to properly train its security process, then it may result in serious security threats.

Conclusion

AI in cyber security has the potential to change the future of cybersecurity forever with its ability to analyze large amounts of data and detect patterns that may be beyond human capacity. AI-based cybersecurity can monitor the system and networks to identify threats in real-time which helps you or your organization to make an immediate response for avoiding the consequences. Therefore, it helps the organization to be one step ahead before the emergence of the attack itself. 

Being said that, we should also not underestimate the concerns about the potential risks of AI in cyber security. However, with proper use, we can certainly mitigate those risks. So, the benefits certainly outweigh the risks.  

And, as AI technology is just evolving at a fast pace, cybersecurity solutions only look to advance further with the combination of AI and machine learning. Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that AI is and will be the ultimate threat protector in the cybersecurity field, making your system stand strong against a constantly evolving threat landscape. 

Though the use of AI in cyber security is still in the beginning phases, the demand for skilled professionals who can develop and implement AI-based security solutions is on the rise. Taking Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity courses can provide you with the crucial knowledge and skills that can help you to build a fruitful career in this rapidly growing field. So, if you’re interested in pursuing a career in Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity, this is the time to enroll in Softwarica College of IT and E-commerce. Connect with Softwarica now to scan the courses.  

FAQs

What is AI-based threat protection?

AI-based threat protection means protecting your computer systems or networks using Artificial Intelligence technologies for the identification and protection of cyber security threats. It uses machine learning and deep learning to analyze big amounts of data and identify the patterns to detect vulnerabilities, attacks, and threats promptly and offer immediate responses to prevent consequences.  

Is AI a benefit or a threat to cybersecurity?

Though AI is aimed to benefit cybersecurity, it can also create a cybersecurity threat. You can make use of AI to enhance cybersecurity with automated threat detection and response. But, there is also the possibility that cybercriminals can also benefit from AI to build more sophisticated cyber-attacks. Thus, it becomes important to test vulnerabilities regularly even for Artificial Intelligence.  

Is AI the future of cybersecurity?

As cyberattacks are on the rise generating more complexities, it is expected that AI will play a crucial role in cybersecurity fields in the future. This is because AI-based security can automate threat detection with timely responses to offer more effective ways to fight against cybercrimes.