Concerns about GenAI's impact on cybersecurity worldwide 2024

According to a 2024 survey among global business and cyber leaders, nearly half of respondents highlighted the advance of adversarial capabilities, such as phishing, malware development, and deepfakes, as their greatest concern regarding the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on cybersecurity. In addition, 22 percent of respondents were most concerned about data leaks and exposure of personally identifiable information through GenAI. Other key concerns included software supply chain risks and technical security of AI systems. 

AI-powered malware...

With the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, concerns have been rising around its possible usage in cyber crime.Trained to create human-like texts in a shorter time without spelling errors, phishing e-mails written by ChatGPT would consequently be harder to detect, for instance. In addition, there is growing concern about AI-powered malicious software, commonly known as malware, as deep learning algorithms would allow hostile actors to target specific victims and remain undetected until specific conditions are met.

...Versus AI-powered cybersecurity

Risks aside, the advantages brought by AI to cyber criminals can also bolster cybersecurity. In particular, generative AI-powered solutions can search through vast amounts of data to identify abnormal behavior and detect malicious activity. Looking forward, companies will have to adapt and stay up to speed so that generative AI does not end providing overall cyber advantage to attackers.