Technology is at home in our time. We have come off the age where technology was something to be desired as a distant reality. There is nothing we want that we cannot create through adapting relevant technological features. We can create a world where security is guaranteed even in cyberspace.
Artificial intelligence(AI), is the latest thing in technology. As the days go by, tools are being created to save human beings the stress of doing all the technical and numerical jobs. AI is redefining the world of work. Human energy is finding better expression in innovation and creativity, while machines do the ‘dirty job’.
In this digital-powered age, cybersecurity issues are as severe in magnitude as the case of global warming. More and more companies are falling victim to the effect of cyber attacks and the work of cybercriminals.
In 2016, Cybersecurity Ventures predicted that global annual cybercrime costs will grow from $3 trillion in 2015 to $6 trillion annually by 2021. The prediction also held that these costs would include damage and destruction of data, stolen money, lost productivity, theft of intellectual property, theft of personal and financial data, embezzlement, fraud, post-attack disruption to the normal course of business, forensic investigation, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, and reputational harm.
Beyond these predictions which are fast becoming the reality of today, cyber-attack is poised to be the next World War. Cybersecurity cannot be solved by human effort alone since humans are prone to errors. Thankfully, this is no longer a helpless situation as we have AI to the rescue.
Below are 3 ways AI could improve cybersecurity in today’s world.
1. Email spam filtering
Spam emails are unsolicited and largely unwarranted junk mail usually sent out in bulk to a distribution list. This distribution list is a pull of email addresses, most of which were illegitimately obtained.
With spam email, many unsuspecting individuals have fallen prey to the activities of cybercriminals. Some of these spam emails subtly obtain private account information from people. Such information so obtained poses a serious security threat.
Over time, email service providers have made attempts to protect their account holders from such risk. While success has been recorded in this regard, much is to be desired.
With the help of AI, tons of spam email has less chance of making it to the inbox of email users. According to report, Gmail is now blocking 100 million extra spam messages every day with AI. Artificial Intelligence is technology’s new norm and undoubtedly the future of cybersecurity.
Considering the volume of private and business communications that goes on through emails, it helps to know that machine learning can help in protecting our emails from spam, affording us the chance to open our inbox without the fear of malicious links or activities.
2. Protection from a data breach
Communication is not complete until it gets to the intended user. In the same vein, communication is not effective if the information in it becomes compromised. A data breach occurs when an unauthorized party gets access to data intended for someone else. This is seemingly not a big deal until you realize the extent of security information we share online.
According to an article on hashedout, technological expressions like speech recognition, Google’s search engine, Facebook's facial recognition software, and the likes are made possible by AI. Even credit card companies now use AI to assist their clients with fraud prevention. Imagine what happens when such sensitive information gets compromised.
Whilst you necessarily do not have control over what happens to the information you share once it is shared, you have absolute control over which medium you share your data from.
Mobile applications are stealing the stage, but web browsers are still very relevant and in use. Most web browsers have been rocked by one privacy scandal or the other. An important step to securing your data online is to use a secured and private browsers. This might not be the stamp that keeps your data safe. But it is a good first step and with the help of AI solutions, we are better assured of a cyber safe world.
3. Social Fraud detection
With technological advancements and its different applications comes economic growth. However, the presence of these advancements in technology has also created room for all sorts of cyberattacks to find expression. With e-commerce options, online payment solutions, cloud computing, and even social media come opportunities for the activities of cybercriminals to thrive.
The use of social media for advertising has risen over the years. Small businesses are cashing in on large social media following to promote and sell their products. Organic following is usually not enough, hence businesses use paid advertising to reach their target audience and drive sales. Reports show that some of these paid advertising get hijacked.
According to a prediction by Adloox, the ad verification company, social ad fraud cost advertisers about $16.4 billion in 2017 alone — or about 20.5 percent of total global digital ad spend. But as artificial intelligence is deployed to identifying customer behavior in order to improve the performance of promotions, the likelihood of social ad fraud is reduced as well. With the accuracy of data that artificial intelligence offers it is easier to detect fraud of all sorts.
Artificial intelligence is here to stay. We must be open to embracing the solutions it offers us. We created cyberspace to make life easier for humans, now is the time to allow AI to keep that space safe for us.
