Google CEO says that AI tips the scales in favor of defenders “disproportionately”

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By Benedict Collins
published

AI is a threat and a tool, Google CEO says

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said that AI could help strengthen cybersecurity against threat actors in a way that significantly benefits the defenders.

While AI tools such as ChatGPT have lowered the bar to launch successful cyber attacks, the services could provide just as much utility to speed up the detection and quarantine of cyber threats.

Speaking at the Munich Security conference, Pichai said, “We are right to be worried about the impact on cybersecurity. But AI, I think actually, counterintuitively, strengthens our defense on cybersecurity.”

 Defusing the defender’s dilemma

While many cybersecurity firms have had elements of AI such as machine learning in their products for some time, tools using AI for threat detection and monitoring have been cropping up only recently.

These tools, Pichai points out, can significantly reduce the time taken to identify and stop an attack, therefore reducing the defender’s dilemma. With every year that passes cyber attacks get faster and more advanced, and the dilemma suggests that attackers only have to be successful once while defenders must be successful every time.

Earlier at the Munich Security Conference, Google announced that it was launching their AI Cyber Defense Initiative which seeks to boost cyber resilience and skills using training, education and investments in AI research.

A number of tech giants and social media companies also signed a voluntary agreement to develop a shared framework for detecting and labeling AI generated deepfakes that could be used to disrupt electoral processes.

A joint report from Microsoft and OpenAI highlighted the risks posed by state-backed cyber groups using generative AI and large language models to enhance their ability to launch cyber attacks and spearphishing campaigns.

“AI disproportionately helps the people defending because you’re getting a tool which can impact it at scale versus the people who are trying to exploit. So, in some ways, we are winning the race,” Pichai said.

Via CNBC

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Benedict Collins
Benedict Collins
Staff Writer (Security)

Benedict Collins is a Staff Writer at TechRadar Pro covering privacy and security. Benedict is mainly focused on security issues such as phishing, malware, and cyber criminal activity, but also likes to draw on his knowledge of geopolitics and international relations to understand the motivations and consequences of state-sponsored cyber attacks. Benedict has a MA in Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy, alongside a BA in Politics with Journalism, both from the University of Buckingham.