Artificial Intelligence is the big topic of 2023 with every industry coming to grips with the newly developed intellectual powers of services including ChatGPT and MidJourney, which can expedite the creative ideas process to levels never seen before.
With every new technology, there comes ethical and moral questions for businesses to wrestle with. Likewise, every great new idea creates new security threats and of course, we’ve already begun to see a rise in AI-based attacks – with NATO warning this is going to get worse – stating AI is a double-edged sword that poses several security challenges.
Some of the threats are new spins on old classics, for example, Password Cracking has seen a boost in recent months due to AI’s ability to consume data and guess a user’s password accordingly. This means users must double down in their efforts to evade guessable passwords and leverage solutions such as Two Factor Authentication more widely.
Polymorphic malware has been able to leverage AI to ‘learn’ which elements of its features are identified as malware and overcome them to ensure safe passage through firewalls and other systems in the future.
This renders Signature based Endpoint solutions obsolete and creates vulnerabilities within security gateways. Files can be sent continuously with dynamically shifting threat capabilities until one breaches the perimeter and allows more to follow behind it.
Modern advanced end point protection is adept at fighting Polymorphic malware head-to-head, and tools are starting to incorporate Counter AI to quickly review data for threats and eliminate it.
Deepfake technology has been causing major concerns in recent months, as people are using AI to create extremely believable photos and videos of individuals that can be used to make others believe the attacker is legitimate.
Already staff have to combat spam that attempts to convince them that their CEO needs them to transfer funds, or make large purchases, on a regular basis.
Being able to mimic writing styles, voice and appearance data to compel people to believe a false narrative is already being exploited worldwide, and that use can be converted into Phishing attempts, reputational attacks and impersonations.
So, how do we begin to fight the threats that AI poses? There are many solutions, old and new, that can help you fight against AI Attacks.
Fighting fire with fire, in the form of AI Security solutions is one emerging area where the major security vendors such as Check Point, Palo Alto and Sentinel One are using AI to create countermeasures.
These countermeasures can be upgrades on existing ideas, such as heuristics, automation, prevention and detection.
Check Point leverages AI to provide a system that actively prevents advanced attacks by creating an adaptive security cycle. The system continuously improves and learns from attacks, predicts new ones and prevents them.
Sentinel One offers AI Powered prevention and autonomous detection and response making their solution smarter and faster. Their platform can hunt down and control the unknown. Offering full device visibility and automated responses for anything it discovers.
Palo Alto has utilised AI in a different way, by using it to eliminate low-value alerts and focus on important security events. Their approach saves analysts time and attention, as remediation is also taken care of without their input.
All of these solutions and many more are available today to help bring the fight back to AI attackers. As they adapt and find new threat vectors to exploit. So too will the security systems, automatically block out and overcome threats as it discovers them.
Don’t wait for your business to become the next victim of an AI-based cyber attack. Take action now and protect yourself with the latest AI-powered security solutions available on the market.
Contact Pentesec today and let our team of experts show you how our Managed Security Services can leverage the power of AI to keep your business safe and secure.
Don’t let the AI attackers win – call us now and take control of your cyber security future.
