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AI for good or evil? AI dangers, advantages and decisions

This article is part of the Information Security issue of November 2019, Vol. 20, No. 4
AI isn't inherently moral -- it can be used for evil just as well as for good. And while it may appear that AI provides an advantage for the good guys in security now, the pendulum may swing when the bad guys really embrace it to do things like unleashing malware infections that can learn from their hosts. It's imperative that CISOs and all security team leaders stay aware of the lurking AI dangers. AI defined When people talk about AI in cybersecurity, the terms machine learning and deep learning tend to be used interchangeably with artificial intelligence. Michelle Cantos What's the difference? "AI is a big subfield of computer science, and it examines the ability of a program or machine to accomplish tasks that normally require human intelligence like perception, reasoning, abstraction and learning," explained Michelle Cantos, strategic intelligence analyst for security vendor FireEye. According to Sridhar Muppidi, vice president and CTO for IBM Security, machine learning is a big part of AI, which is primarily used to ...
Features in this issue
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AI for good or evil? AI dangers, advantages and decisions
Good guys and bad guys both use AI, but the bad guys don't need to worry about complying with rules and regulations. What can security leaders do to level the playing field?
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Enterprises feel the pain of cybersecurity staff shortages
It's hard enough keeping up with today's threats on a good day. But when your IT organization is spread thin, especially in terms of cybersecurity staff, the challenges mount.
News in this issue
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When cyberthreats are nebulous, how can you plan?
Security planning is tough when you're short-staffed and hackers have smart tech too. You'll need solid skills and, most of all, a willingness to use your imagination.
Columns in this issue
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Report shows CISOs, IT unprepared for privacy regulations
Several data management principles are common across new and developing privacy regulations, but Internet Society reports that many U.S. organizations are falling behind.
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CISOs, does your incident response plan cover all the bases?
Security incidents, let's face it, are essentially inevitable. How do you cover the key bases -- education, inventory, and visibility -- in planning for incident response?