Cybersecurity and AI: A match made in heaven?

Breakthroughs in AI are poised to revolutionize society, particularly transforming cybersecurity by enabling more proactive and intelligent threat detection and response. AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and anomalies, improving the ability to detect and mitigate cyber threats in real-time. Additionally, AI-driven automation can enhance the efficiency of cybersecurity operations, reducing the burden on human analysts and allowing for more rapid responses to incidents. However, experts caution that beyond the hype, significant privacy risks and potential abuses by malicious actors remain. AI systems could be exploited to launch sophisticated attacks or make incorrect or unfair decisions, impacting individuals and organizations alike. Privacy-preserving machine learning, which includes techniques such computing on encrypted data, aims to mitigate these privacy risks. Legal frameworks such as the EU AI Act and the Council of Europe's AI treaty are being developed to address these challenges and ensure responsible AI deployment.

This talk presents a balanced perspective on these developments, highlighting both the transformative potential of AI in cybersecurity and the critical need for robust safeguards.