What can Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning do for Cybersecurity?

Guest Author: Kavitha Srinivasulu (Program Director: Cyber Security & Data Privacy, Tata Consultancy Services)

AI/ML and cybersecurity have been plugged together in recent times much more than we might think. Their adoption across various trends has developed user-friendly experience and personalized the level of services provided across various sectors. However, in future this AI /ML technologies will be widely adopted to enhance the security patterns and improve the response levels to manage cyber-crimes effectively without major loss. This could help organizations detect and respond to threats more quickly and accurately than humans to identify and mitigate unforeseen risks in the environment. Further, AI might be able to not only detect threats but also respond to them automatically without delays.

AI has been developed to proactively predict potential threats or vulnerabilities based on the historical data from various sources, trends, and patterns. This approach would help the organizations to proactively measure the risks or threats and mitigate the identified gaps in a timely manner which would play a key role in reducing unexpected incidents. AI can also be used to automatically detect and anonymize sensitive information, helping the organization to protect personal data. It can also enforce data usage policies and help in compliance with various privacy laws.

Some of the Key use cases where AI/ML can help to strengthen the security layer are:

While the benefits are noticeable and more efficient, it is critical to recognize AI/ML as a potential solution due to vulnerabilities and challenges accompanied while adapting to AI/ML. AI/ML could be used maliciously to create more sophisticated cyber-attacks, data bias, creation of adversarial AI, making the cybersecurity landscape an ongoing, dynamic battleground. However, AI has the potential to enhance an organization’s cybersecurity posture in many ways, but it is important to use it ethically and securely. AI/ML is currently used across various industries to improve productivity, automate tasks, improve incident response and develop innovative solutions. As AI/ML continues to develop, it is important to ensure that it is used in a way that benefits everyone and across all sectors without major challenges.

AI/ML approaches are still in a nascent stage, however, their technologies developed are being applied across a wide range of applications and industries. The AI/ML industry is growing at a rapid pace so that it is difficult for regulators to fully comprehend its implications and enact laws that address evolving concerns fast enough. As it benefits some of the key security controls to effectively identify, analyze, detect and respond, there are vulnerabilities that’s emerging which the organizations are currently relooking into before adopting AI/ML methodologies.

The future of AI/ML in cybersecurity is evolving and will increase across various sectors. As AI/ML technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more sophisticated predictive analysis, effective anomaly detection, threat detection, automated incident response, and more predictive capabilities to enhance the cybersecurity posture. Despite some of the debated potential drawbacks, AI/ML will undoubtedly propel the field of cybersecurity forward and enable organizations to establish a stronger security stance. AI/ML will likely play a vital role in securing future smart cities and interconnected devices, however, some key considerations around data bias, privacy of individuals and human oversight will need to be addressed to ensure responsible and effective AI/ML implementation in safeguarding our data, our organization and our world!