Artificial intelligence has manifested and continued showing incredible potential in myriad applications and made today’s daily lives simpler. It has already proved limitless potential in various applications across different industries. Keeping its optimistic and imperative capabilities, implementing AI for cybersecurity can assist in protecting organizations from existing cyber threats and help them in recognizing newer malware types as well.

In a continuously growing cyber threat world where antivirus software and firewalls are considered tools of antiquity, businesses are now in the hunt for more technologically advanced means to protect confidential and sensitive information. This is where AI comes in and taking the position as a sheriff against digital threats across the globe.

Gaining popularity in the military domain to security companies, every organization today are combining AI technologies into their business. Security companies are utilizing this tech to leverage deep learning to detect similarities and alterations within a data set. Companies are even partnering and investing in other businesses to increase their product portfolio related to cybersecurity. In such companies, Microsoft is one who is investing US$ 1 billion in AI-based companies like Open AI.

AI for Cyber Security

AI-enabled cybersecurity systems can help in ensuring effective security standards. It can also assist in the creation of better prevention and recovery strategies. Leveraging AI for cybersecurity can also lead to data-driven security models.

Implementing AI in cybersecurity systems can provide several opportunities for businesses to protect their systems that are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Integrating AI into biometric logins systems, it can scan fingerprints, retina, and palm prints for secure logins.

Identifying Malware and Threats

AI can detect malicious activities and threats, as cybersecurity firms are training AI systems to recognize malware and viruses with the help of several datasets that include algorithms and codes. AI-optimized systems can automatically glean data by scanning articles, studies, reports, and news about cyber threats and select useful data with the help of NLP (Natural Language Processing). It can also assist in creating a dynamic, real-time, global authentication framework to convert access privileges based on location or network.

Powering Military Capabilities

According to the reports, only 3 countries – US, Russia, and China – are working towards developing serious military AI technologies, and it promises military advantage to the nation’s defensive and offensive military capabilities.

Artificial intelligence can get combined with new, sophisticated but untried weaponry like cyber offensive capabilities. This development is sounding like an alarm as cyber offensive weapons have the potential to subvert the balance of military power among the leading nations. With the evolution of AI and machine learning, cyberattacks have become more prevalent threats for critical infrastructure, including airport flight tracking, banking systems, hospital records, and programs that run the nation’s critical infrastructure and nuclear reactors.

Practicing machine learning and AI neural networks, developers are getting more adapted to better predict the next steps of malicious actors and their new attack vectors. With this fact, it is anticipated that the future impact of these applications would be doubled in the years to come.

It is found that 61 percent of enterprises are more concern about leveraging AI technologies, saying without the use of AI technologies they will not be able to detect breach attempts today. Conversely, 48 percent reported that they will increase their budgets for AI in cybersecurity by an average of 29 percent in FY 2020.

Though, complete reliance on AI technologies could be a mistake, as AI-powered and machine learning products are set to be used as part of defence strategy. There would be chances that it could lull IT professionals and employees into a false sense of security.

Currently, AI solutions are in its testing phase. In the future, it will require some sort of state-of-the-art monitoring capabilities to ensure that it performs the constructive tasks it is meant to perform, not for destruction.