Cybersecurity in the age of AI | Adi Irani | TEDxDESC Youth
Summary
TLDRThe speaker emphasizes the critical role of data security in our increasingly digital world, highlighting the potential for AI to be misused by hackers to create malware and exploit codes. They illustrate the threat with an example of an AI-generated virus and discuss the prevalence of social engineering attacks. The talk concludes with strategies for leveraging AI to enhance cybersecurity, such as using generative models to parse legal terms and detect social engineering, emphasizing the collective responsibility to ensure data security for a safer digital future.
Takeaways
- 🔒 Data security is paramount as our reliance on data-driven technologies increases.
- 🚀 AI's potential for generating malware and exploit code poses a significant threat to cybersecurity.
- 🤖 AI can be used by hackers to craft convincing social engineering attacks, making it harder to distinguish between real and fake content.
- 📈 The success rate of phishing attacks has significantly increased when personalized, highlighting the effectiveness of AI in social engineering.
- 🚨 Major companies, like Toyota, have suffered from severe data breaches, emphasizing the need for improved cybersecurity measures.
- 🔎 AI can be a double-edged sword, used both to create threats and to bolster defenses in cybersecurity.
- 🛡️ Utilizing AI to read and understand lengthy terms and conditions can help users make informed decisions about data privacy.
- 👀 AI can assist in detecting social engineering attacks by recognizing patterns in the content it can generate.
- 💼 Programmers can leverage AI to automate mundane coding tasks, allowing them to focus on more critical security aspects.
- 🌐 Collective responsibility is essential for ensuring the security of the tools that drive technological advancements.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the speaker's talk?
-The main focus of the speaker's talk is the security and safety of data in the face of increasing cyber attacks and data breaches, particularly in the context of advanced technologies like AI, IoT, and self-driving cars.
Why is data considered the 'new gold'?
-Data is considered the 'new gold' because it is a valuable asset that drives various technologies and operations in our daily lives, much like how gold has historically been a measure of wealth and value.
What is the significance of the speaker mentioning AI's ability to write malware?
-The speaker highlights AI's ability to write malware to underscore the potential dangers of AI falling into the wrong hands. It demonstrates that AI can be used to create sophisticated and hard-to-detect viruses, which poses a significant threat to cybersecurity.
What is a polymorphic, self-encrypting virus and why is it concerning?
-A polymorphic, self-encrypting virus is a type of malware that can change its appearance, making it difficult to detect and track by antivirus software. It is concerning because it can evade security measures and remain undetected, potentially causing significant damage.
Why are companies like Toyota vulnerable to data breaches despite their size?
-Companies, even large ones like Toyota, can be vulnerable to data breaches due to neglecting cybersecurity measures. The speaker cites a decade-long data breach at Toyota as an example of how even major companies can suffer from inadequate cyber policies.
What is social engineering and how does AI contribute to it?
-Social engineering is a type of cyber attack that involves manipulating humans to perform actions or divulge sensitive information. AI contributes to social engineering by generating convincing and personalized content that can trick individuals into falling for scams or revealing information.
How can AI help in fighting back against cyber threats?
-AI can help fight back against cyber threats by reading and understanding complex terms and conditions to inform users about data handling practices, detecting social engineering attacks by recognizing patterns in generated content, and automating mundane coding tasks to allow programmers to focus on more critical security aspects.
What is the role of generative AI in enhancing cybersecurity?
-Generative AI plays a role in enhancing cybersecurity by automating the detection of social engineering attacks, helping users understand how their data is handled by companies, and assisting programmers in writing secure code, thus contributing to a robust cyber strategy.
Why is it important for everyone to be responsible for cybersecurity?
-Everyone should be responsible for cybersecurity because it is a collective effort that protects individual data and ensures the safe use of technologies that are integral to modern life. The speaker emphasizes that cybersecurity is beyond any single individual and is crucial for the advancement of society.
What is the speaker's final message regarding the use of AI and cybersecurity?
-The speaker's final message is that to truly progress and 'go beyond the human,' it is imperative to ensure that the tools used for this progress, such as AI, are safe and secure. This underscores the importance of considering cybersecurity in the development and use of advanced technologies.
Outlines
🔒 The Vulnerability of Data in the Digital Age
The speaker begins by emphasizing the critical role of data in modern technology, such as IoT, self-driving cars, AI, and neural interfaces. They raise concerns about data security, questioning the adequacy of measures to protect data from cyber threats. The talk focuses on the escalating risks of cyber attacks and data breaches, highlighting the potential for significant long-term damage if cybersecurity is neglected. The speaker warns of the dangers of AI being used by hackers to write malware and exploit code, demonstrating this with an example of an AI-generated polymorphic virus. They also touch on the underreported issue of major companies, like Toyota, suffering from data breaches, emphasizing the need for improved cybersecurity measures.
🛡 Combating Cyber Threats with AI
In the second paragraph, the speaker discusses the increasing difficulty in distinguishing between AI-generated and authentic content, citing a study that shows personalized phishing attacks have a high success rate. They argue that data security is not just a technological issue but a personal one, as it can be used to manipulate individuals. The speaker suggests using AI generative models to read and understand complex terms and conditions, to detect social engineering attacks, and to write routine code, thereby allowing developers to focus on more critical security aspects. The talk concludes with a call to action for everyone to take responsibility for cybersecurity, emphasizing that it is essential for the advancement of society.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Data Security
💡Cyber Attacks
💡AI and Malware
💡Social Engineering
💡Polymorphic Virus
💡Data Breach
💡Cybersecurity
💡AI Generative Models
💡Personalization in Cyber Attacks
💡Smart Devices
💡Cataclysm
Highlights
Data is increasingly important in our daily lives, with technologies like IoT, self-driving cars, and AI relying on it.
The security of data is a major concern, especially with the rise in cyber attacks and data breaches.
Neglecting cybersecurity can empower hackers and lead to significant long-term costs.
AI models like OpenAI, ChatGPT, and GitHub's Copilot are powerful tools that can be misused by hackers.
AI's ability to write malware and exploit code poses a significant threat to internet infrastructure.
AI can create polymorphic, self-encrypting viruses that are difficult to detect by antivirus software.
Hackers can use AI to craft convincing social engineering attacks that manipulate humans.
AI-generated content is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from real content.
Personalized phishing attacks have seen a success rate jump from 18% to 51%.
Data security is crucial as it can be used by hackers to control individuals like a puppet.
Cybersecurity must be a collective responsibility to ensure the safety of the tools we use.
AI can be used to read and understand long terms and conditions to help make informed decisions about data handling.
Generative AI can detect social engineering attacks by recognizing patterns in the content it generates.
Programmers can use AI to write boilerplate code, allowing them to focus on more critical aspects of system security.
A robust cyber strategy involving AI can secure data efficiently and effectively.
The importance of considering cybersecurity in our pursuit of technological advancement is emphasized.
Transcripts
ladies and gentlemen data is the new
gold we are becoming more and more
involved with it in our daily lives
whether it be the Internet of Things
self-driving Cars Smart AI or even the
up and cominging neuralink all of them
rely on the flow of data to operate with
increasing Reliance on data to drive
day-to-day operations this begs the
question how do we know that all of this
data is secure and safe from the hands
of hackers
this is a question that goes mostly
unanswered and will be the main focus of
my talk today with cyber attacks and
data breaches escalating exponentially
in size and severity neglecting cyber
security is an issue that empowers
hackers Beyond anyone's wildest
imaginations and a mistake that will
cost us colossally in the long
run now in order to truly go beyond the
human in order to truly move forward as
a species we must ensure that the tools
we use to do so are safe and secure for
every everyone to
use now I would like to set the scene
I'm sure you've all seen the advanced AI
models and their magical capabilities uh
open AI uh chat GPT Google's B github's
co-pilot you name it you some of you
might have even used it to increase your
productivity tenfolds ladies and
gentlemen what if I told you that you
were not the only people using these to
increase your
productivity as it stands like a dog is
a man's best friend AI is a hacker's
best friend and it proves a surprisingly
capable assistant in manipulating both
the human and the
computer now this brings me to my first
point which is ai's ability to write
malware and exploit code now while AI
models are centuries even Millennia away
from actually replacing programmers
that's not to say that they aren't
efficient at writing code namely
dangerous code that can be used against
internet infrastructure and systems
worldwide to prove prove my point I
asked a nondescript AI to write me
malware now disclaimers do not under any
circumstances do this this is for
educational purposes only that being
said this is its response and here is
what it
returned Now ladies and gentlemen this
right here is a polymorphic
self-encrypting virus what this virus
does for those of you who are unfamiliar
with computer terminology is it is a
virus that can change its appearance at
will which makes it very very difficult
to track and basically makes it go
undetected by most antivirus Solutions
today now keep in mind ladies and
gentlemen that this was created in
seconds by a board high schooler imagine
what a hacker with more Ingenuity and
more time on their hands can do is this
terrifying you yet it gets
worse consider the fact that most
companies nowadays neglect cyber
security yes even the major ones for for
example Toyota in May 2023 released
released the fact that they had been the
victim of a decade long data breach
which compromised millions of user
accounts with cyber attacks increasing
rampantly and becoming much more Savage
and companies stagnating and refusing to
improve their cyber policies this stands
to lead to a cataclysm ladies and
gentlemen in which your data is the
victim
now the intrinsic value of AI to a
hacker is not in its ability to write
bad code it is actually in its ability
to manipulate people social engineering
is a class of attack that is becoming
increasingly more prevalent with 41% of
major breaches happening due to uh this
type of attack now it it is an attack
which involves a hacker manipulating a
human and coercing them into try uh into
doing their
bidding so AI can also help with this in
a very very efficient manner now now
let's take a look at this from the hands
of a hacker right so here is our victim
John Doe so we want is Bank details the
first step is we basically compile a
list of public information so we found
online via social media and other forums
that he's 23 he's Junior analyst uh he's
a bit of a hustler and he's kind of
struggling with his finances so we Ed
this and feed it to this AI model once
again non descript for legal reasons and
it returns a very very efficient very
very convincing script over here which
is sent which would be sent in an email
to him which would get him to click on a
mips link now this uh email prompt uses
time urgency and consequences introduces
consequences in order to get him to
click on a link now Ladi and gentlemen
you might think that oh yeah this is
just a simple scam email I won't fall
for this well I have two things is safe
to that both of them indicate that you
are wrong first off it is becoming
increasingly harder for people to tell
the difference between AI generated
content and real content and second off
a 2021 study conducted by it firm AAG
looked into fishing attacks and found
that the success rate jumped from 18% to
51% when the attacks were personalized
like we did here now ladies and
gentlemen that is a coin toss
probability do you want the Integrity of
your
data reliant on a coin
TOS now some of you might roll your eyes
At The Mention of your data think it's
completely different completely separate
from who you are as a person and think
it has no bearing on your life well
let's contextualize this ladies and
Gentlemen let's play a game raise your
hands if you have bought something
online at any point in
time raise your hands if you have
private documents on your computer or if
youve done something private
online
raise your hands ladies and gentlemen if
you have a smart device such as an
Amazon Alexa or Google home sitting in
your house right
now the majority of you said yes ladies
and gentlemen all this data act as
strings to which a sufficiently skilled
hacker can control you like a puppet as
a result security of your data
matters now we've kind of looked at how
exactly hackers can use modern
Technologies to kind of uh you know
Havoc start chaos but one thing I think
that is even more important is how do we
fight back Where Do We Go From Here
simple We Fight Fire with Fire so you
can use these AI generative models as
well to uh read Kafkaesque absurdly long
terms and conditions to actually make
informed decisions based on how the
companies how companies handle your data
this is a very efficient tool as it
allows you to get to what matters most
Furthermore with the rise of social
engineering ing attacks you can also use
generative AI to detect these social
engineering attacks as these models are
very efficient at detecting what they
have generated
furthermore if you are a programmer you
can also use generative AI to write
mundane boilerplate code in templates so
you can focus on the bigger picture as a
whole uh you know system security
scalability and efficiency all of this
combines to make a very very very robust
cyber strategy and secure your data
pretty efficiently Now ladies and
gentlemen as I've said before in order
to truly go beyond the human cyber
security must be considered in order it
is something that is beyond every single
one of us and it is something that we
are all responsible for in order to
usher in a new age we must make sure
that the tools used to do so are safe
thank you ladies and
[Applause]
gentlemen
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