Future of cybersecurity: Securing your business against AI-powered cyber threats

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly prevalent across industries, it is clear that the technology holds both tremendous promise and potential risk. While AI-powered tools can help businesses streamline operations, enhance productivity, and even save lives, cybercriminals can also weaponize them to carry out devastating attacks. In fact, cybersecurity professionals are already seeing evidence of AI-powered cyber threats, including the use of chatbots, deep fake videos, and other AI-generated content to spread fake news, malware, and phishing emails.

With the advent of open access AI tools like OpenAI's GPT and Google's Bard, businesses must take proactive steps to secure their digital assets against cyber threats. While governments are responsible for creating legislation and defining protocols for cybersecurity, businesses must also shoulder the responsibility equally. Laws alone are not enough to deter cybercriminals, who are constantly seeking new ways to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. Hence, all stakeholders must treat AI tools as something that can be weaponized if not monitored and regulated adequately.

The Government of India has been taking steps to promote AI education and training to build a future-ready workforce in India, and it is hoped that AI threats to cybersecurity are also a part of the learning curve. There has to be an understanding that collective awareness about the risks and continuous preventive cybersecurity frameworks are essential to safely leverage the potential of AI.

There are various steps that businesses can take to protect against AI-powered cyber threats. First, it is imperative for companies to educate their employees on cybersecurity best practices, including preventing social engineering attacks and phishing attempts. Companies must also deploy multi-factor authentication tools to add extra security barriers to stop hackers from breaking in just through password hacking. Additional measures such as zero-trust must be deployed when it comes to accessing sensitive data, and permissions should be granted only on a need-to-know basis.

With changes to the way we work, most businesses are witnessing a massive expansion of their networks and applications. This extended attack surface is naturally a greater opportunity for cybercriminals who keep trying to relentlessly find vulnerabilities to break in. Companies must monitor their networks round the clock for any suspicious activity. Whether it is threat identification or intrusion detection and prevention, steps must be taken to block attacks and mitigate any damage/risk.

Furthermore, businesses should invest in cybersecurity solutions offered by several leading companies that incorporate AI and machine learning capabilities. These technologies can help them detect and respond to cyber threats in real-time, as well as learn from past attacks to improve their security posture. For example, AI-powered security solutions can analyze network traffic patterns to detect anomalies that could indicate an ongoing attack. They can also use machine learning algorithms to identify previously unknown malware and block it before it can cause harm.

In conclusion, while the increased prevalence of AI offers tremendous opportunities for businesses, it also exposes them to potential risks. By taking proactive steps to secure their digital assets against AI-powered cyber threats, businesses can confidently leverage the potential of AI to grow their operations.

The article has been written by Venkatesh Sundar- Co-founder and CMO, Indusface