Cybersecurity

Understanding the Relationship Between AI and Cybersecurity

The first thing many of us think about when it comes to the future relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity is Skynet—the fictional neural net-based group mind from the “Terminator” movie franchise. But at least one security professional (with a somewhat rosier view) suggested that AI must be understood across a broader landscape, regarding how it will influence cybersecurity and how IT can use AI to plan for future security technology purchases.

Earlier this year, Dudu Mimran, chief technology officer (CTO) at Telekom Innovation Laboratories in Israel, discussed the relationship between AI and cybersecurity in a speech and subsequent blog post for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum 2018. I caught up with Mimran at his office in Beersheba, Israel for an interview, which we continued later over email.

The Short- and Long-Term Forecast for AI and Cybersecurity

“While the threat of cyberattacks powered by AI is increasingly likely, I am less concerned in the short- and midterm about machines making up their minds and being able to harm people,” Mimran said. “Our lives are becoming more and more dependent on technology, and this will be exploited by adversaries much before we have conscious machines. Nevertheless, today most of attackers’ goals can be attained without the sophistication of AI, and that is why we don’t see a big new wave of these kinds of attacks.”