The threat of automated hacking, deepfakes and weaponised AI
Vishal Salvi, chief information security officer & head of cyber security practice at Infosys, discusses the threat of automated hacking, deepfakes and weaponised AI 
AI has been deployed in a number of ways by threat actors in recent times.
It is a vexing paradox that while emerging cyber technologies provide valuable benefits, their malicious use in the form of automated hacking, deepfakes, and weaponised artificial intelligence (AI), among others, prove a threat. Along with existing threats such as ransomware, botnets, phishing, and denial of service attacks, they make information security hard to maintain.
It will become even more challenging as more devices and systems get internet-connected, massive amounts of data that needs securing are generated, and newer technologies such as the Internet of Things and 5G gain ground. The democratisation of powerful computing technologies, such as distributed computing and the public cloud, only accentuates the issue.
Indeed, cyber threats can become a major, enduring threat to the world, says the World Economic Forum.
How real the threat is can be gleaned from the formation of the European Union’s (EU) law enforcement agency, Europol’s Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce, facilitating cross-border collaboration to combat cyber crime by 16 EU member countries, as well as the U.S., Canada, and Australia, among others.
A Forrester study said 88% of respondents believe offensive AI is inevitable, with nearly half of them expecting AI-based attacks within the next year. With AI-powered attacks on the horizon, the study notes it “will be crucial to use AI as a force multiplier.”
Automated hacking
Increasing automation, a reality of the modern age, provides advantages such as speed, accuracy, and relief from monotonous tasks. Perversely, it has also sparked off automated hacking or hacking on an industrial scale in the form of multiple and more ‘efficient’ attempts that can cause massive financial losses and destroy the organisational reputation. They are completely automated, from reconnaissance to attack orchestration, and speedily executed, leaving little time for…
