We are getting closer to the era where artificial intelligence will be the dominant technology. This means that it is very likely that this technology will also be used by hackers to steal data and commit other illegal activities.
According to Isaac Ben-Israel, director of the ICRC – Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, in Tel Aviv, this is not something that will happen immediately, but it will definitely happen. For this reason, security need to think now about how to deal with future attacks.
Artificial intelligence is already being used in more and more areas. According to Ben-Israel, what matters in addressing threats is not the level of technological development. It is the attitude we have towards security and attacks.
“Many companies are adopting the most advanced technological solutions to protect themselves from targeted and persistent attacks and other threats, using systemsbased on artificial intelligence.” This makes companies feel confident about their security and they rest assured. But in reality, when this happens, a hacker attack is a given.
According to Ben-Israel, hackers are always one step ahead. While AI can be used to identify new attack techniques thanks to machine learning, hackers can also use AI-based methods to make suspicious behaviors look normal.
Hackers can use machine learning to carry out a range of illegal activities:
- Information gathering – preparation for attack.
- Impersonation– trying to imitate a well-known person.
- Unauthorized access – bypasses restrictions to gain access to user accounts and more.
- Attack – carrying out an actual attack, e.g. with malware etc.
- Automation – automation of the operation.
Through machine learning, all of this can be done even easier. The easiest processes are information gathering and impersonation.
If a hacker wants to trick a user into opening a malicious link, they can use machine learning. Machine learning, combined with data from social media, can help the hacker choose the right target . For example, choose an employee who is not very knowledgeable about technology, so that they are an easier victim. Someone who never talks about technology, but about other topics, is more likely to not know much about online security .
Various prediction, clustering, and classification methods can be used to identify suitable victims.
Ben-Israel believes that the solution to these future threats can be found if there are three things: knowledge-information, strengthening the field of artificial intelligence, greater attention to basic security. Israel emphasizes that experts should not limit themselves to adopting technological solutions, but should constantly monitor them, update them, and should themselves be informed about the latest news regarding cybersecurity.
Finally, as always, there is the human element. Hackers often use a very effective technique, social engineering. They use the emotional element of people. For this reason, it is necessary to train employees in recognizing suspicious emails, links, attachments, etc. Training is one of the most basic elements of cybersecurity.
