ChatGPT and Its Potential Impact on Cybersecurity
The rapid advancements of ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence tools have sparked a scramble in the cybersecurity space as multiple vendors have rushed to embed the technology into products designed to protect organizations from cyberattacks. But how will this technology impact cybersecurity?
Strengthening Defensive Capabilities
ChatGPT and generative AI are expected to strengthen defensive capabilities by assisting with coding and alerting organizations to the most critical vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. These tools are also expected to impact critical areas, including product development and synthesizing disjointed streams of data to produce insights that will stir organizations into action.
According to Jon France, CISO at (ISC)2, security vendors have weaved AI and machine learning into products and threat detection processes for decades, proving quite successful at improving the signal-to-noise ratio, identifying anomalies, or patterns that humans can’t do at scale. France believes that we're starting to see the early uses of it in the security world and that ChatGPT and generative AI won’t apply or warrant consideration in every layer of cybersecurity.
The Potential Threat of Misuse
The flip side is that threat actors are also using the technology to craft seemingly authentic phishing lures and test its ability to write malware code. These potential risks mean that cybersecurity professionals are concerned that generative AI could be another indicator of health that professionals will have to contextualize for broader use. Conceptualizing and understanding data will be one of the most significant wins for ChatGPT, but professionals still have to ask the right questions.
Future Implications
The potential breakthroughs ChatGPT could achieve in cybersecurity are still largely under development. Justin Fier, SVP of red team operations at Darktrace, expects ChatGPT and generative AI to deliver more positive outcomes than negative, but it’s still too early to say exactly what that might be and how. Keeper Security CEO and Co-Founder Darren Guccione expects products like ChatGPT to accelerate the development of new security products and processes.
In conclusion, the rise of ChatGPT and generative AI is transforming cybersecurity practices and tools. Cybersecurity professionals are excited about the potential of these tools to make their work easier, but the risks of misuse are also a concern. While it is too early to predict the full impact of these tools, most experts agree that their use will continue to influence the cybersecurity sector in the years to come.
