Cybersecurity in the Age of AI and How To Protect Your Business From Emerging Threats
In today's digital landscape, the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by businesses brings unprecedented opportunities. However, alongside the benefits, the blend of AI and technology also presents new cybersecurity challenges.
Let’s explore the potential vulnerabilities businesses face using AI systems, such as adversarial attacks and AI-driven phishing attempts. We’ll explain how you can strengthen security defences by using AI-powered threat detection systems, conducting regular vulnerability assessments, and creating a strong cybersecurity culture among employees.
The New Face of Cyber Threats
As AI becomes more prevalent in business operations, the chances of adversarial attacks become more likely. Adversarial attacks exploit vulnerabilities in AI systems by manipulating data to deceive algorithms, causing them to make incorrect decisions. These attacks can have devastating consequences, ranging from compromising data integrity to undermining business operations. As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) consultants, we’re very aware of this threat and help our clients to implement appropriate measures to mitigate it.
Shields Up – Fighting off AI-driven Phishing Attempts
Phishing has long been a concern for businesses, but with the advent of AI, attackers are getting smarter! They’re now augmenting their tactics with machine learning capabilities. AI-driven phishing attempts are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using natural language processing and automated responses to deceive poor unsuspecting users.
For example, AI phishing emails often use machine learning algorithms to analyse and mimic the recipient's profession, interests, or habits resulting in personalised messages that can appear more credible and harder to distinguish from the real thing.
AI can also now mimic human voices and facial expressions. Deepfake AI is a type of artificial intelligence that’s used to create convincing images, audio and video hoaxes.
Did you hear about the Martin Lewis deepfake phishing scam? According to Sky News1, in an online video, “the advert, appears to show Mr Lewis endorsing an Elon Musk-backed investment scheme while appearing on an episode of daytime show This Morning, from his home. Mr Lewis appears to say that Musk's new project "opens up new opportunities for British citizens".” This shows the real dangers posed by deepfake phishing attacks – you can’t even trust your eyes or ears.
To safeguard your business against this type of emerging threat, you must prioritise employee education helping them to avoid taking the bait. You should also think about implementing robust email filters and anomaly detection systems that can identify and flag potential phishing emails.
Working to Prevent Emerging Threats From AI – Our Advice On Cybersecurity
So how do businesses steel themselves from new AI threats and enhance their cybersecurity? Here’s our three-step approach.
Pitching AI against AI when it comes to threat detecting
While AI introduces new vulnerabilities, it can also be used as a powerful tool for strengthening cybersecurity defences. By turning AI against AI, your business can use AI-powered threat detection systems to enhance your ability to identify and respond to potential threats in real-time. These systems use advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms to detect uncharacteristic behaviour patterns, monitor network traffic, and identify risk. By integrating this type of technology into your existing security infrastructure, you can significantly improve your ability to detect and mitigate cyber threats.
Conduct regular vulnerability assessments
In the age of AI, conducting regular vulnerability assessments is essential. As AI systems evolve and expand, so too do the number of possible points where an unauthorised user can access a system and extract data (the attack surface). Your business must proactively identify and address potential vulnerabilities to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals. Regular vulnerability assessments, both in-house and through third-party audits, can help identify weak points in AI systems and enable tech teams to implement necessary security patches and updates quickly.
Start building a strong cybersecurity culture
While tech solutions play a vital role in protecting businesses from emerging threats, creating a strong cybersecurity culture among employees is just as important. Educating employees about the latest cyber threats, promoting the use of secure practices such as strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and encouraging reporting of suspicious activities can significantly strengthen your organisation’s overall cybersecurity. By making cybersecurity a shared responsibility, you can create a robust line of defence against evolving threats.
As the integration of AI into business operations continues to gain momentum, there’s no escaping the need for robust cybersecurity measures. Businesses must be proactive in understanding the potential vulnerabilities AI systems introduce. By applying our three-step approach, your business can protect itself from emerging threats. In this ever-evolving landscape, a comprehensive and multi-layered approach to cybersecurity is essential in safeguarding businesses and ensuring a secure future.
As a Chief Technology Officers, we make it our business to understand evolving AI threats and take proactive measures to protect our clients from them. If you’d like us to do the same for you, then please get in touch. We’re here to help.