Right after IBM’s “AI for Cybersecurity” landing page (which is excellent and did not surprise me), came this Morgan Stanley piece proclaiming that AI and cybersecurity have launched a new era.
The piece highlighted some common themes and key takeaways that this blog has highlighted over the years, such as:
- Cyber criminals are using AI to carry out a variety of sophisticated attacks, from data poisoning to deepfakes.
- Cybersecurity organizations also increasingly rely on AI to help flag suspicious data and detect or thwart attacks.
- To help keep your data safe, review your current cybersecurity protection and make sure it follows best practices.
But why was this piece a surprise? Because the focus was on wealth management and it sat atop many other articles that come from companies that we have come to expect to produce (and benefit from) cyber stories.
In the same way, a quick look around other industries show that AI is showing up in many other areas, and the security implications are growing.
AI, DEFENSE AND CYBERSECURITY TAKE CENTER STAGE
The Federal News Network released an important story last week entitled: "DHS sees need to be ‘aggressive adopters’ of AI tools to advance cyber mission."
Here’s an excerpt:
“The Department of Homeland Security is looking to become one of the 'early and aggressive adopters' of AI tools within the federal government, and is taking steps to protect critical infrastructure from AI-powered cyber attacks.
“Defense and national security community officials, speaking Wednesday at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT)’s AI DC conference in Arlington, Virginia, said their agencies see AI as an essential way to maintain an information advantage against malicious actors.
“Robert Silvers, DHS undersecretary for policy, said that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is setting the department’s own priority areas for AI. Those priorities are meant to align with what the Biden administration has planned for an upcoming executive order on AI. …”
“'There’s tremendous promise, as you deploy AI to operate the grid — water supply, hospital systems, financial markets — you’re going to want to make sure, though, that that is done in a safe and secure way. That if things fail, it happens safely, not catastrophically, that you have adequate auditing and testing, that you give due consideration to when should certain kinds of decisions be made with a human in the loop, for example,' Silvers told Federal News Network. 'And so, we’re going to also be aggressively pushing guidance out to owners and operators across the country to make sure that they can embrace this really promising amazing technology which we should all celebrate, and do it in a safe and secure way.'”
The videos from the conference are not available yet, but I urge readers to visit the ICIT YouTube channel to learn more and watch the sessions when they are released soon.
Another great cybersecurity conference (in Tel Aviv) on AI from earlier this summer can be found here.
SMART GLASSES, AI AND PRIVACY CONCERNS
Another recent announcement worthy of mention is one regarding Meta and their new smart glasses developed with Ray-Ban that include AI functionality.
This article describes the new product, as well as the many privacy concerns that are unresolved from the days of Google Glass a decade ago.
“Meta unveiled its latest smart glasses at the recent Meta Connect event. The new AI-enabled Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, set to hit the market on Oct. 17, is being heralded as the next big wearable tech device. Amid the excitement, there are also concerns about privacy and data security.
“Critics say the voice controls on the smart glasses could lead to unintended recordings or unauthorized captures. There are also questions about data storage and processing. And there’s the ever-present possibility that threat actors could hack the device or get their hands on private data in the event of a data breach at Meta.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
What is becoming clear is that generative AI's rapid rise to dominate most technology conversations is also escalating cybersecurity conversations, critical infrastructure conversations and consumer product conversations with technology and business leaders globally. From new GenAI security tool sets announced at conferences to shadow IT governance to benefits of AI in mining data to solve business problems, expect these conversations to dominate the defense, government, technology, critical infrastructure and cyber industries in 2024 and for the foreseeable future.
At the same time, consumer products and tools will be equally influenced and led by new AI and GenAI-based products.
