FEATURE
It ’ s a human tendency to disproportionately focus on the possible risks or negatives when considering change . And it makes sense , at least from an evolutionary standpoint .
Yet on the other hand , we also take huge risks in our everyday lives which can be anything from crossing the road to taking part in extreme sports . The point is , we accept risks when we can see the benefit and it seems tangible .
In the world of cybersecurity , applying a wait-and-see approach could have disastrous consequences . The current pandemic and an increase in remote working has seen cyberthreats rise with attacks becoming more sophisticated and businesses need to react .
It ’ s time to fight fire with fire and that means getting on board with Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) and Machine Learning ( ML ).
AI-infused attacks
As businesses become increasingly digital , the threat surface is widening and cybercriminals are leveraging AI to orchestrate attacks at scale , using the technology for intelligent targeting and evasion .
AI can learn to spot and analyse patterns in behaviour , understanding how to persuade employees that an email or phone call is legitimate and then influence them into compromising networks and handing over sensitive data . This is because ML can be used to generate emails and replies that reference previous correspondence and , when applied to audio , known as deepfake phishing attacks , algorithms need only hear a few seconds of someone talking to be able to reproduce their voice .
AI can even be used to help identify which individuals to target based on their social media activity or email signature . This can lead to more accurate and quicker defrauding of businesses – something we saw happen to a hotel group recently , when two employee logins were used to access the IT system and guest records .
Combine this industrialisation of the cybercrime industry with the disruption of medical , economic and political turmoil , and you have the perfect storm for cyberattacks .
It ’ s time to fight fire with fire and that means getting on board with Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) and Machine Learning ( ML ).
We ’ ve entered a complex time and all the usual defences businesses have previously relied on – such as the perimeter firewall defined by the physical office – are a thing of the past . So , IT teams have a much wider attack surface to monitor , while also trying to continue the Digital Transformation journey of the business .
What organisations need to remember is that you can ’ t protect what you can ’ t see or keep up with . Cybercrime is complex and constantly changing in terms of attack method and victims . Businesses will , therefore , need the support of technological tools that can analyse risks , spot anomalies in datasets and investigate user behaviour – and this is where AI & ML come into their own .
Andrzej Kawalec , Head of Cybersecurity at Vodafone Business www . intelligentciso . com
37