Takeaways From a Threat Intelligence Specialist on Artificial Intelligence Being a 'Double-Edged Sword'

While artificial intelligence (AI) has been the hot topic of this year, a theme that I continue to see is that AI is being used for good and evil.

I'm going to dive more into key takeaways your organization can learn from Catherine Williams, Threat Intelligence Specialist at Telecom giant BT. Get her insights on AI being on two sides of the battlefield, and why everyone should start integrating cybersecurity in their everyday tasks now. 

Catherine was quoted on AI being used by cybercriminals, “AI-powered bots such as ChatGPT can be used to automate cyberattacks, such as phishing campaigns or brute-force attacks. I think one of the most unnerving developments is the ability of these bots to mimic human behaviour, where they can engage in convincing conversations, gather sensitive information and manipulate users into taking actions that compromise their security.”

She's absolutely right - cybercriminals will stop at nothing to socially engineer their victims into falling for their trap. Threat actors are taking full advantage of these new AI enhancements and will continue to do so. Catherine also mentioned that although AI can be used by the wrong people, it can also be used for good. Cybersecurity platforms and tools have improved significantly as well, and should continue to do so. 

She stated this quote that stuck with me, “Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility that involves everyone in an organisation, from top-level executives to end-users. It should be integrated into the company culture, with employees trained in security awareness to follow best practices, policies and procedures – whether that’s what phishing methods to look out for, or the fact that a strong password is not infallible and that the slight inconvenience of additional verification methods is actually a big part of what makes the human firewall strong against attacks.”

She's absolutely right - cybersecurity is not a 'quick fix' box on a checklist for your organization. Cybersecurity measures such as new-school security awareness training are imperative to learn about new threats, especially with the evolution of AI.