ChatGPT Opens AI to Cyber-Attacks and Defence
19 July 2023
With its almost endless use cases, Generative Artificial Intelligence offers both potential benefits and significant threats to Cybersecurity. Generative AI Applications such as ChatGPT can enhance cybersecurity defences and help organisations detect and mitigate attacks, although it can also be exploited by threat actors to launch sophisticated cyber-attacks.
See below for CyBiz’s top 5 Cybersecurity Opportunities and Threats from Generative AI Apps
Up until the release of Chat GPT in the end of November last year, Generative AI Applications were barely making headlines, however ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, setting a record for the fastest App to reached 100 million active users only two months after launch (in comparison, it took TikTok about 9 months and Instagram more than 2 years). If you aren’t using it yet, your employees almost certainly are.
Top 5 Cybersecurity Opportunities and Threats of Generative AI Apps
| Opportunities – Cyber Defence | Threats – Cyber Attack |
|---|---|
| Threat Detection and Analysis By analysing and processing vast amounts of textual data related to cybersecurity threats, OpenAI can assist to identify patterns and indicators of cyber compromise in real-time. | Automated Attacks Weaponised AI-powered tools can automate various stages of a cyber-attack, including reconnaissance, target selection, and vulnerability exploitation, making Cyber-attacks faster, more efficient, and scalable. |
| Phishing and Social Engineering Defence Creating more sophisticated anti-phishing tools to understand and identify suspicious or malicious content in emails, messages, or websites. | Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks Mimicking human interactions enables more sophisticated and convincing phishing attacks by generating highly personalised and contextually relevant messages which are harder for users to identify. |
| Incident Response Support Providing real-time information, suggesting potential mitigation strategies, and guiding incident response teams through complex decision-making processes. | Advanced evasion techniques AI-driven malware can develop evasion techniques to bypass traditional security systems by learning from the environment it operates in, adapting and changing its behaviour to remain undetected by security software, making incident response more difficult. |
| Security Awareness Training Generating interactive scenarios to simulate tactics used by threat actors, for employee security awareness training programs. | Generating fake content AI-generated deepfake videos, audio, and images can spread disinformation, compromise the integrity of data, and deceive individuals or organizations, leading to potential reputational damage and other malicious outcomes. |
| Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing Understanding and interpreting system logs, security reports, and output from security tools, can help to prioritise vulnerabilities and suggest remediation steps. | Automated vulnerability discovery AI can speed up discovery and exploitation of vulnerabilities in software systems, increasing cyber-attacks that target zero-day vulnerabilities. |
Weighing this up, although Generative AI Applications will be used to enhance Cybersecurity methods and systems, we see the power of Apps such as ChatGPT coming with considerable risk, and that it will put immense pressure on traditional Cybersecurity measures. Generative AI Applications are in their infancy – ChatGPT is not even a year old, and people (including threat actors) are still learning how to use it. As with any AI technology, careful testing, monitoring, and continuous improvement are crucial to maximise the positive impact while mitigating potential risks to your organisation. Meanwhile ChatGPT itself is constantly going through updates and revisions from its developers, whilst continuously learning from its interaction with hundreds of millions of users.
A comprehensive approach to Cybersecurity that combines AI with human expertise, ethical considerations, and constant vigilance is essential to stay ahead of evolving Cybersecurity threats.
Contact CyBiz to discuss how ChatGPT can be used in or against your organisation.
