Cyber Security Implications With AI

As AI systems become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, the question of privacy and security looms overhead. With the ability to process vast amounts of data and make decisions without human oversight, AI has the potential to pose significant risks to privacy and security.

• Data Manipulation and Data Poisoning: these attacks target the data used to train AI models. The attackers will introduce additional, mislabelled instances into this collection of data with the aim to train the AI’s model incorrectly.

• Lack of Transparency: AI can identify patterns within data. After training the AI, it can make decisions based on these patterns. However, AI algorithms are not transparent and can be difficult to understand how decisions are made. This becomes a significant issue when it comes to security where the consequences of cyber attacks can be severe.

• Bias and Discrimination: AI is only as good as the data it was trained on. If the data is biased or compromised in some ways, then so will be the data produced by the AI. This vulnerability can be exploited by cyber criminals to manipulate AI behaviour.

• Privacy Concerns: AI systems require large amounts of data, which can pose privacy risks. Where does AI data reside? Who can access it? What happens when the data is no longer needed? These are the questions that worry most and in the future organisations will need to adopt an AI governance approach that deals with the entire data lifecycle, from collection to disposal.

• Delayed Security Patches: Attackers can exploit unpatched vulnerabilities, compromising system integrity, manipulating AI models, or gaining unauthorised access to sensitive information. They need ongoing updates to effectively combat cyber threats which can strain IT resources, especially in smaller organisations.

• Manipulation: AI is capable of creating fake news, videos and other forms of digital manipulation which can spread misinformation and influence public opinion.

• Cyber Attacks: AI systems can launch sophisticated cyber attacks.

• Overreliance on AI: As organisations implement AI-based security systems, they may become too reliant on these systems, leading to a false sense of security. As a result, they may neglect important security measures, such as employee training and incident response planning.

• False Positives and Negatives: AI systems can misrecognise activities and treat threats as benign activity and vice versa. This can leave organisations vulnerable to new and evolving threats that slip through the cracks.

• Cost: Implementing AI in cyber security requires considerable investment in technology, infrastructure and expertise; all adding up to a costly expenditure. Small and medium-sized businesses might find these costs excessive of their means.

• Job Displacement: Yes, there is that. AI can automate many routine security tasks, which could lead to job losses in the cyber security field. Security professionals might need to adapt and learn new skills to work alongside AI.