AI growth potentially increases threat of cyberattacks

The United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain’s spy agency, has cautioned that the swift advancement of innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will likely result in a surge in cyberattacks, reducing the entry barrier for less sophisticated hackers to cause digital harm.

This reduced entry barrier is anticipated to play a role in the worldwide increase of ransomware attacks, where criminals encrypt computer systems and demand a digital ransom, as highlighted in a report by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a division of GCHQ.

“AI will almost certainly increase the volume and heighten the impact of cyberattacks over the next two years. However, the impact on the cyber threat will be uneven,” the report said.

It suggested the biggest increase in capability for malicious actors in cyberspace would go to opportunistic hackers who do not necessarily possess the skills needed to carry out higher-level attacks.

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According to the report, the utilization of generative AI tools, such as chatbots, can, at the very least, enhance the creation of more convincing emails or documents employed in online phishing campaigns.

On an advanced level, more capable state-backed hackers were “best placed to harness AI’s potential in advanced cyber operations against networks, for example use in advanced malware generation,” said the report, referring to malicious software and computer viruses.

Intelligence agencies globally are contending with the emergence of security concerns associated with algorithms capable of generating human-like interactions, commonly referred to as large language models (LLMs) exemplified by technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The models are being integrated by businesses across various services, including sales and customer care.

The security implications of AI are progressively gaining attention. Authorities in Britain, the U.S., and Canada have reported instances of hackers adopting this technology.