Don’t sacrifice safety for speed: Beat those AI-savvy cybercriminals
Global technology firm Cisco raises the need for enterprises to adopt cybersecurity measures backed by artificial intelligence (AI) to keep up with the digital attacks that are becoming more sophisticated.
Cisco warns against new cybersecurity threats that have been emerging as AI technology matures, posing danger to enterprises and consumers.
“Business and technology leaders can’t afford to sacrifice safety for speed when embracing AI,” Cisco executive vice president and chief product officer Jeetu Patel stresses.
According to cybersecurity firm Check Point, Philippine enterprises need to watch out for the further proliferation of digital attacks backed by AI this year.
The AI-supported threats include the typical phishing emails that are crafted with “flawless grammar,” making them more deceiving in the eyes of the recipients, Check Point notes.
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky also says that AI is being used to produce manipulated video, audio and images, making them more deceiving to the public.
Alexey Antonov, data science team leader at cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, says this refers to deepfakes, which are being used to spread false information.
For example, a hacker can extract from a stolen mobile phone some voice messages to create a false recording and send it to the people in the victim’s contact list. The content of the manipulated audio usually asks for financial assistance, pretending to be a friend or a family member in need of money.
With threats on the rise, Cisco says enterprises must have a single set of AI security and safety measures that can protect all their applications against potential digital attacks.
The cybersecurity team must also have visibility in the entire network to better guard the system and prevent hackers from having successful attempts to exploit vulnerabilities, it adds.
AI adoption
The use of AI has been on the rise since chatbot ChatGPT became popular. It has several use cases that can enhance company operations, including processing of real-time data that can aid in making quick and informed business decisions.
According to a survey by Cisco, 65 percent of the local enterprises set aside 10 percent to 30 percent of their existing information technology (IT) budget for AI adoption. They usually spend on cybersecurity, IT infrastructure and data analytics and management.
In addition, 98 percent of the surveyed local companies expressed “increased urgency” to use AI in their operations.
However, Cisco Philippines managing director Zaza Soriano-Nicart says the “primary challenge remains infrastructure readiness, with gaps in compute, data center network performance and cybersecurity, amongst other areas.”
Only about one-fifth of the Philippine enterprises have the GPUs (graphics processing units) that can handle AI workload, she shares. GPUs are used to process large data sets, which are necessary when harnessing AI potential.
Digital hygiene
Apart from AI tools, Kaspersky also says it is important to always keep in mind the basics.
Kaspersky reminds enterprises to keep their software updated to lessen vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers, in addition to regularly backing up critical data.
Organizations must also always monitor network activity for unusual behavior, it stresses. Kaspersky says it will also be helpful if network access is only limited to certain officials and employees.
The cybersecurity company advises companies to educate their employees about the emerging digital threats and to train their cybersecurity teams.
On the part of consumers, the cybersecurity firm reminds Filipinos to use strong and unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication for all accounts.
The users must also avoid clicking on suspicious links, which can trick them into providing sensitive and personal information.
“By adopting these measures, businesses and individuals can stay one step ahead of cybercriminals while fostering a safer digital environment,” Kaspersky says.
Kaspersky notes that 26.8 percent of Filipino users dealt with web-borne cyberattacks in the fourth quarter of last year.
Web attacks come in different forms, including the typical phishing emails embedded with suspicious web addresses linking to fake websites where unsuspecting victims will be tricked into providing sensitive information.
