AI and cybersecurity: How to navigate

the risks and opportunities

Feb 29, 2024

AI is being used to bolster cybersecurity.

Image: Freepik.com
Giulia Moschetta
Research and Analysis Specialist, Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic
Forum
Joanna Bouckaert
Community Lead, Centre for Cybersecurity, World Economic Forum





THE BIG PICTURE

Stay up to date:
Cybersecurity

Follow
This article is part of:Centre for Cybersecurity
New technological developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have taken the world by
storm, prompting a race for governments to gain strategic advantage and for tech
companies to develop and commercialize new AI systems.
Emerging AI applications have the potential to bring numerous benefits to society but
can also have severe security implications, ranging from national
security, democracy destabilization to large-scale economic disruption.
These risks are amplified in this election year, when over 4 billion people will head to
the ballot box. Cyberattacks are a key risk highlighted in both the Munich Security
Report 2024 and the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024, the latter
also highlighting the emergence of AI-generated misinformation and disinformation
as the second most severe global risk anticipated over the next two years.
The implications of AI for cybersecurity are numerous and evolving, with threat
actors leveraging these new technologies to their advantage, augmenting their
capabilities for cyberattacks.
AI will lead to the evolution and enhancement of existing tactics, techniques and
procedures, and lower the access barrier for cybercriminals, reducing the technical
know-how required to launch cyberattacks. Social engineering is also being boosted
by new large language models (LLMs), with threat actors creating increasingly
sophisticated spear-phishing campaigns.
As the technology evolves, the difference between synthetic media and human-
generated content is becoming harder to discern even for detection technologies,
making deepfakes more realistic, more targeted and dangerous than ever before.
Recently, the Hong Kong branch of a multinational company was affected by a
deepfake-enabled fraud. Malicious actors used a deepfake to pose as the
company’s chief financial officer in a video conference call, prompting one employee
to pay out $25 million.

How can AI enhance cybersecurity?

The increasing threats brought by the advancement of AI should not overshadow the
great benefits new AI models can also bring to cybersecurity. As these tools are
exploited by malicious cyber actors, cyber defenders can in turn use AI to improve
their cybersecurity capabilities.
Although AI technologies have been used to develop cybersecurity solutions in the
past few years, the advent of generative AI has incited more organizations to bolster
investments in AI technologies for cybersecurity.
As Cisco’s Jeetu Patel asserted “it is a great time for tipping the scales in favour of
the defenders”. This notion is widely shared across the tech community, as
demonstrated at the Munich Security Conference where over 15 leading
enterprises pledged to help prevent deceptive AI content from interfering with this
year’s global elections.
Moreover, Google’s Sundar Pichai announced a new workstream to bolster cyber
defences by speeding up detection and response teams. Microsoft is leading the
effort to detect and block malicious threat actors’ use of Microsoft’s services and also
launched a new tool to enable users to digitally sign and authenticate media. Meta
announced new technological standards to identify and mark AI-generated content.
AI technologies can also bolster cybersecurity training, be it to educate the general
public, or to help train the next generation of cyber defenders. The estimated lack of
4 million cybersecurity professionals from the ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study is
alarming.
To help tackle this gap, in April 2023 the Forum launched a multi-stakeholder
initiative entitled “Bridging the Cyber Skills Gap” . Its aim is to create a strategic
cybersecurity talent framework and devise actions to help individuals enter and thrive
in the cybersecurity workforce.

DISCOVER
How is the World Economic Forum creating guardrails for Artificial
Intelligence?
Show more

What's being done to ensure responsible use of AI?

Governments and international organizations are also playing a crucial role in
establishing guidelines and regulatory frameworks for the development of safe AI.
Such regulations will guide the development, use and implementation of AI
technologies in a way that will benefit societies while limiting the harm they may
cause.
Some recent examples include: the development of the European Union’s AI Act; the
establishment of the UN’s advisory body on AI governance; the UK’s Guidelines for
secure AI system development; the White House Executive Order on AI Safety and
the creation of the US AI Safety Institute.
To foster public-private cooperation, the Forum launched the AI Governance
Alliance in April 2023, uniting industry leaders, governments, academic institutions,
and civil society organizations to champion responsible global design and release of
transparent and inclusive AI systems.
In the race for AI dominance, the intricate relationship between cybersecurity and
these cutting-edge technologies takes centre stage. Although AI will augment the
effectiveness of cyberattacks, their impact can be offset by the benefits of using AI
technologies to enhance cyber defence mechanisms.
As organizations navigate the complex interplay between AI implementation, security
threats, and defence strategies, a comprehensive understanding of the risks and
rewards will be paramount for unlocking the full potential of AI while ensuring growth.
Building on the work of the Forum’s AI Governance Alliance, the Centre for
Cybersecurity is teaming up with the University of Oxford to steer global leaders’
strategies and decision-making on cyber risks and opportunities in the context of AI.
The rapid technological advancements in the development of AI have unleashed a
transformative era, with both unprecedented benefits and challenges. Harnessing
the advantages brought by AI will require global public-private cooperation to ensure
its applications can be translated in an equitable and secure manner across society.