According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), there are 5 billion internet users in the world. This amounts to 66% of the population on planet earth. Cisco reports that they are forecasting that by 2030, there will be 29 billion networked devices driven by IoT. With such a rapid increase in technology users and devices, security concerns and risks are top of mind. Such risks are even higher with advancements in technology and new tools becoming available to threat actors.
Cybercrime Magazine estimates that by 2025, the cost cybercrimes will be $10.5 trillion annually. This is a huge number. With AI powering more and more threat actors, it is important to highlight some way AI enabled attacks can be dangerous.
Here are some of the possible AI powered cybersecurity concerns:
- AI Enabled Phishing: AI and Language Learning Models (LLM) can be extremely useful in curating targeted phishing attacks. They can craft very convincing and believable phishing attempts that can be very successful. A study done at the University of California found that AI enabled phishing emails founded a higher success rate in cyberattacks as the LLM was able to personalize the emails and make them sound more believable.
- Deepfake and Social Engineering: With new artificial intelligence tools that can create deepfakes, authenticity of information has also become dubious. They can create fake pictures, audio and videos. Threat actors can use this capability to gain access to sensitive information or systems by pretending to be the authorized individual (Jones, 2023).
- Vulnerability Detection: AI is faster and better at vulnerability detection. It can help cybersecurity experts to detect vulnerable systems and patch them. Ironically, it can also be a useful tool for threat actors to quickly identify vulnerabilities in a system and exploit them (Santos et. al, 2024).
These are some of the reasons we need to pay even more attention to security in the technology world. AI has enabled a plethora of great things but have also brought additional job security for cybersecurity professionals.
References
Cisco. (n.d.). Forecast for connected devices by 2030. Retrieved from https://www.speedguide.net
Cybersecurity Ventures. (n.d.). Cybercrime to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Retrieved from https://cybersecurityventures.com/cybercrime-damage-costs-10-trillion-by-2025/
International Telecommunication Union. (2023). Internet users by the end of 2023. Retrieved from https://ipinfo.io
Jones, N. (2023). How to stop AI deepfakes from sinking society — and science. Nature, 621(7980), 676–679. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02990-y
Lin, J. (2023). Testing Effectiveness of AI-Enabled Phishing Attacks based on Public Information. eScholarship, University of California.
Santos, O., Salam, S., & Dahir, H. (2024). The AI revolution in networking, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies ([First edition].). Addison-Wesley Professional.
The amount of AI attacks will undoubtedly increase over time, and cybersecurity teams are nevertheless aware of the issue. As AI technology improve, so are the methods for exploitation. We can, however, reduce the impact of AI-driven cyber-attacks by proactively strengthening our defenses and combining standard cybersecurity measures with innovative AI-driven solutions. Let us all stay informed and collaborate to defend our digital environment from AI’s dangerous usage.
AI has come with some technological advancements but also a growing concern over the security of the cyberspace. We need to find a balance on how to keep the cyber space safe for everyone, systems and assets. while we embrace the benefits of AI.
The statistics you shared really emphasize how critical cybersecurity has become. AI-powered cyber threats like phishing and deepfake scams are truly alarming as they become more convincing and harder to detect. This post really brings home the importance of cybersecurity as a priority for everyone—not just businesses but individuals too. It also highlights the growing demand for cybersecurity experts in the field and the need for proactive strategies to defend against these threats.
AI is a big issue with security, and I think it more like you mentioned as a tool to help preform attacks. I feel or my imagination of AI doing cyber attacks is you set this AI on a company, and it finds a way to break in and steal data, kind of like how people think AI going to just start take all the coding jobs away as it can just do all the coding itself (which is can’t). But I think it’s more going to be like you mention making phishing emails more believable and efficient, tricking people with deepfakes and voice changers. Causing already really success attacks to become even more successful. Using AI like this won’t completely change the security game but it really targets what usually is the weakest links in most companies which is the employees.
Nice work Shah.
with the advancement of technology in AI the attacks on our cyberspace will definitely increase over time because of the phishing and other forms of cyberattacks, but with a more proactive cybersecurity measures put in place it will always close the gap and make the company and users in general feel safe.
Great topic, SHAH! Shifting to an AI-based Security system presents significant challenges due to its complexity. In addition, the role of AI security systems spans from detection to response, which needs a certain level of maturity to trust especially in a highly protected environment. On top of that the race between the defenders and the attackers will be harder, as using such tools by both parties will change the game of cybersecurity data analysis.
Hi Shah, great post! As we continually and rapidly grow the use of AI and connected devices, the need for more robust cybersecurity measures becomes more critical. AI’s dual role is interesting. As you mention, AI within cybersecurity acts like a double-edged sword where it can help advance cyber solutions and further cyber attacks from a reversed perspective. Keeping this in mind and implementing safe cybersecurity practices will be essential as we navigate this increasingly digital and connected world.
Great shah,It emphasizes the growing potential for cybercrime, AI-enabled attacks, and the critical need for enhanced security measures and cybersecurity professionals.
Great shah,It emphasizes the growing potential for cybercrime, AI-enabled attacks, and the critical need for enhanced security measures and cybersecurity professionals.
Great shah,It emphasizes the growing potential for cybercrime, AI-enabled attacks, and the critical need for enhanced security measures and cybersecurity professionals.