Artificial Intelligence is already shaping almost every domain worldwide, and the trend is expanding rapidly. This cutting-edge technology, which has undergone various improvements, has influenced every industry and reshaped its processes and operations by propelling innovations.  

Being in an era of increasingly sophisticated cybercrime, the advancement of Artificial Intelligence and its rapid involvement in the cybersecurity field, along with its potential and challenges, is a hot topic.  

AI has made network security, anti-malware and fraud-detection software more formidable by spotting anomalies quicker than the human brain. However, like any other technological advancement, AI poses a massive risk and an array of complex challenges in cybersecurity. The major cyber threats leveraging AI include brute force, denial of service, AI-generated deepfakes and social engineering attacks.  

The changing landscape of cyber threat 

The rising potential of famous AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Bard, etc., is surprising. The generative capabilities of such tools can foster not only creativity but also aid in decision-making, enhance customer service and many more. Though these AI-powered tools benefit humans, they are also prone to manipulation by cybercriminals, resulting in threats that can disrupt corporate systems and significantly damage them.  

After the launch, generative AI tool like ChatGPT has been widely used by cybercriminals to craft convincing phishing messages or make more complex attacks, which is easily evaded by traditional defences that an ignorant user may have. Cybersecurity firms have identified the patterns and are working from their end to use advanced technologies to resolve the risks.  

The rise in cyber-attacks in India 

Automation like this has become necessary for data security since daily threats are increasing significantly. A recent report by cybersecurity firm Group-IB exposed that about 100,000 ChatGPT accounts have been compromised, and their data are illegally sold through the dark web, with India alone reporting 12,632 stolen credentials.  

As AI tools become cheaper and more accessible, the risks concerning cybersecurity associated with the technology might increase. The Data from cybersecurity firm CheckPoint Research shows during the first quarter of 2023, India’s average weekly attacks increased by 18% when compared to the corresponding period in 2022, with every organisation facing a minimum of 2,108 weekly attacks in each organisation. However, the number of bot attacks has risen by 48% in the second quarter as against the first one and nine out of 10 websites encountered a bot attack, according to the State of Application Security Q2 report by Indusface (an application security software-as-a-service company).  

The industry is striving to defend against such threats by developing various solutions to test software quality that can identify and exploit anomalies. However, the attackers have their ways of misusing such technologies. For example, Metasploit is a computer security project that offers information on security vulnerabilities and is one such tool which became popular among hackers.  

Though the number of cyber-attacks has increased, the capability of cybersecurity to block such attempts has also become robust. Even though there has been a sharp increase of 90% in the frequency of cyberattacks against Indian websites during the second quarter of 2023 when compared to the first quarter, which witnessed 500 million attacks, the Indusface report also shows that more than 947 million cyberattacks in India were thwarted in the second quarter of 2023, out of a total of 1.1 billion worldwide. 

Embracing a safer future 

Regardless of potential dangers, AI is expected to advance cybersecurity and aid firms to develop stronger security measures. To address the challenges in cybersecurity, a concerted effort is required from the policymakers, AI developers and businesses. Policymakers play a pivotal role by creating a solid legal framework that can spread best cybersecurity practices. Businesses can invest in developing robust cybersecurity infrastructure and train their employees to manage possible threats. By incorporating AI strategies, they can quickly identify threats and improve response time as well. Developers who can design robust and resilient systems against misuse are another innovative way to combat the cyber threat.  

While increasingly involving AI in our lives, we must ensure our cyberspace is safe by advancing our cybersecurity strategies. Like the threats, its opportunities are also immense. Hence, it is crucial to be harnessed safely and responsibly. 

• Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on Unsplash
• https://www.fortuneindia.com/technology/ai-threat-or-opportunity-for-cybersecurity/114296
• https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/06/cybersecurity-and-ai-challenges-opportunities/