We see nowadays a lot or most of the cybersecurity vendors working to use the AI technologies in their products and solutions, and by detecting anomalies much faster than humans, machine learning tools have made network security, anti-malware, and fraud-detection software more powerful, however we can’t ignore the point that cybersecurity at real risk from AI, as AI can be used to create threats such as brute force, denial of service (DoS), and social engineering attacks, and more.

As AI tools become cheaper and more accessible, the risks of artificial intelligence in cyber security are expected to rise quickly, for example it is easy now to ask ChatGPT to write for you a professional phishing Email, also more and more users now sharing a sensitive details and information to the AI tools which we can consider it as a cybersecurity risk as well.

Will try in this article to highlight the most popular risks related to using the AI tools and technologies so far, and the best practices we should follow to avoid any problems affecting our business.

What is AI

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence processes.

AI can work alone or can be combined with other technologies like sensors, geolocation, robotics, etc., to perform tasks that would otherwise require human intelligence or intervention. Digital assistants, GPS guidance, and generative AI tools (like Open AI’s Chat GPT) are just a few examples of AI in the daily news and our daily lives.

AI risks in Cybersecurity

AI is a technology that can be used for both good and bad purposes, just like any other technology. That’s why as we can use AI tools to help us fulfilling our daily tasks or to solve some problems, we can find bad actors using the same tools to generate more sophisticated cyber-attacks and complicate their methods.

Let’s see the most popular risks connected to AI:

1) Improving the attack techniques:
Hackers can use AI and LLM tools to optimize their attacks and find always a more complex techniques to pay bass the victim defense system, also The use of generative AI can enhance their ability to optimize their ransomware and phishing attack techniques.

2) Data Breaches:
The most well-known risk is the loss of confidentiality of sensitive or personally identifiable data (PID), that’s why we can see a lot of big companies like Samsung have introduced a new policy banning employees from using generative AI tools like Open AI’s ChatGPT and Google Bard in the workplace, because they feared that the Chatbot could share financial information or Personal information that could lead to regulatory action.

3) Data Manipulation and Data Poisoning
As AI tools relay on big amount of data we called the training data to generate their contents, so it is easy for the attacker to poison a training dataset with malicious data to change the model’s results.

4) Automated Malware
ChatGPT software protects users from creating malicious code, but experts can still use clever techniques to bypass it and create malware, which can be a complete automated process with high complexity malware.
AI tools also could allow programmers to generate an advanced malicious bot ton steal data and attack other systems.

5) Impersonation
Impersonation is the act of pretending to be someone else, and we can see how deep fake AI tools can support now to generate a voice and videos to trick someone.

6) Generate a sophisticated attacks
As previously stated, threat actors have the capability to use AI to develop sophisticated malware, impersonate others for scams, and poison AI training data. Using AI, they are capable of automating phishing, malware, and credential-stuffing attacks. In adversarial attacks, AI can assist attacks in evading security systems, such as voice recognition software.

How we can avoid the AI cyber risk

As we mentioned, AI tools are a double side weapons, can be used to improve the business and at the same time can be a big source bringing many risks to our organizations and threating our data.

Because of that it is very important to protect our self against such threats, and here are some tips that can help you mitigate the risks of AI:

• Put strict policies about sharing personal or confidential information with the AI tools.
• Audit the AI tools always
• Training and awareness: you should always train your staff about how to use AI tools and the risks behind those tools if we misuse them.
• Use a Vulnerability management solutions and AI security solutions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while artificial intelligence offers remarkable advancements in enhancing cybersecurity, it also introduces a range of new risks that cannot be overlooked.

To safeguard against these evolving threats, organizations must adopt a proactive approach.

By staying informed and prepared, businesses can harness the power of AI while effectively managing the associated risks.