The Gains and Loss of Artificial Intelligence in Security

Are there advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence in the security network of a company?

There’s no amount of benefit one can derive from artificial intelligence without also taking cognizance of the risks.

When it comes to artificial intelligence and security, there are a whole lot of AI predictions out there.

In a report published by Eric Mack, Simon Biggs, a professor of interdisciplinary arts at the University of Edinburgh said: “My expectation is that in 2030, A.I. will be in routine use to fight wars and kill people, far more effectively than we can currently kill.”

The Role AI Plays in the Society

AI is the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, for example, the ability to recognize patterns, the ability to learn from experience, the ability to draw conclusions, the ability to make predictions or take action – which could be digitally done or through smart software.

Artificial Intelligence is now massively used in fields like healthcare, manufacturing, education and cybersecurity. Even the military is making use of it to strengthen its defense network. You can learn about the leading companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence adoption in case you are searching for the best places to work in the United States.

When talking about the impact of artificial intelligence on security consider the following:

• Threats Detection
• Increase Authentication Level
• Lower Cost and Resources for security implementation

Threats Detection

One of the uses of AI in security is that it’s used for detection. There is one AI technology from Microsoft called Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Windows Defender ATP).

This technology uses intelligent systems to protect millions of devices against cyberattacks every day. 

Related: What Business Owners Should Know About Cybercrime

We also have AI technology that makes use of IP cameras to scan vehicle license plates and provide vehicle data including tag number, make, model, and color in real-time.

There is also a weapon detection system that relies on the technology of active 3D imaging and AI to assess and detect threats as groups of people pass its sensors. 

The idea is to allow a site’s security to identify a possible threat before it even enters the building.

We also have the first native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool built by a major cloud provider MICROSOFT called AZURE SENTINEL.

This is a new cloud-based cybersecurity tool to help security teams around the world reduce the noise and time-consuming tasks and complexity involved in constantly monitoring for cyberattacks.

Increase Authentication Level

Biometric technology which is the science of establishing someone’s identity is another field in that AI continues to impact security, raising the bar for both cyber and physical security within organizations seeking to protect their information.

Related: 10 Smart Ways Artificial Intelligence is Already Changing Businesses

Some users still use weak passwords today and it will surprise you that they intentionally use them across multiple platforms for convenience.

This allows threat actors to easily conduct brute force attacks to guess these passwords and force their way into people’s accounts on these platforms.

Once they are able to enter one then they can enter the rest of the individual accounts because of the same reason for using weak and the same password on all online platforms.

That is where AI biometrics comes in as it provides a solution to this problem by offering validation for a characteristic that is hard to imitate, that you do not need to remember, and does not change.

AI can now be used for two or multiple-factor authentication. It can be used for authentication by analyzing two types of characteristics to make determinations about a person which can be Physical and Behavioral.

Physical biometrics includes unique and measurable characteristics like fingerprints, the face, the iris of the eye, or DNA.

Behavioral characteristics are based on unique behaviors like your voice, the way you walk, or the way you type and interact with a device. This is harder to spoof because they are related to many unique, determining factors – physiological, social, and your health.

How Artificial Intelligence Lowers the Costs and Resources for Security Implementation

AI decreases costs for security professionals. A single AI defense mechanism can be automated and replicated to fight attacks like DDoS and many more, so there is no limit to the capability.

Related: The Business and Impact of IoT on Our Society in 2023

The amount of effort needed to carry out a task is highly diminished. Because AI will be doing most of the hard work, the skill level needed to carry out these tasks is similarly reduced.

The Negative Side of Artificial Intelligence as It Impacts Security

Just as AI decreases costs for security professionals, it also lowers the cost for bad actors. A single threat actor can carry out countless, effective attacks by utilizing AI to automate malicious processes.

Social Engineering

AI’s ability to quickly capture and analyze data makes it the perfect accomplice in spear-phishing attacks. AI is able to generate highly-targeted links, emails, websites, or social media posts that individuals are more likely to click on which can be devastating.

In fact, AI has been proven to be far more successful than humans at duping victims. Using AI, a threat actor has a higher rate of success and can reach more potential victims in a shorter amount of time.

AI can be used to create new human faces by relying on countless, pre-selected facial images. These generated faces look entirely real to humans, and some can even fool other AI programs whose sole duty is to detect phony faces.

AI can manipulate video as well, swapping a person’s face onto another person’s body, with realistic movements and facial expressions.

Manipulated images and videos can be used to fuel false media stories and either lift up or take down an individual or group.

Some misleading information can be introduced to AI, which is known as data poisoning.

This causes the AI to learn incorrectly and, as a result, make mistakes. This has also been called the “data diet vulnerability,” since the AI will only be as capable and smart as the data set it feeds upon to make decisions.

Related: How Businesses Can Prevent Various Cybersecurity Threats

We have now seen the Pros and Cons of AI on Security but never should we be bothered about the use of AI by the black hat community.

AI is here to stay and it has so many fantastic benefits in supporting the protection of our business enterprise from exploitation.

So, let’s keep improving our defense network with artificial intelligence so that we can always get value for any of our business investments or other personal pursuits.