In a bid to enhance online security, Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google has unveiled plans to provide free artificial intelligence tools for countering the growing use of AI in both cybercrime and cybersecurity.
What Happened: On Friday, Google announced the launch of an open-source AI-powered tool. This tool will use file type identification to detect malware. The tool, already in use to protect products like Gmail and Google Drive, will be available for free, Bloomberg reported.
Additionally, Google will release a white paper at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, outlining its use of AI for cyber defense. The paper will also propose a policy agenda advocating for advanced AI research and regulations on autonomous cyber defenses.
In a statement, Kent Walker, the president for global affairs at Alphabet, said, "Our AI Cyber Defense Initiative reverses the ‘defender's dilemma,' where defenders have to be right all the time and attackers have to be right only once," adding," To keep up the momentum, we need policies that both mitigate the risks and seize the opportunities of AI."
Google will also make further investments in research grants and partnerships to advance AI-focused cybersecurity research initiatives.
This move comes as hackers are increasingly integrating AI into their cyber operations.
According to a report released by Microsoft Corporation this week, state-sponsored criminal groups are employing advanced language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT to improve their tactics and address technical challenges, the report noted.
Why It Matters: The use of AI in cybercrime has been a growing concern. In March 2023, experts flagged the potential for AI tools like ChatGPT to be used for cybercrime. “ChatGPT4 can empower bad actors, even non-technical ones, with the tools to speed up and validate their activity,” said Oded Vanunu, head of products vulnerabilities research at Check Point Software.
During the same month, it was reported that hackers were found to be using Bing’s AI chatbot to trick users into revealing personal information. These incidents prompted calls for aggressive AI regulations to mitigate potential risks.
However, AI has also proven to be an essential tool in identifying and combating hackers threatening critical infrastructure. U.S. intelligence agencies have increasingly turned to AI to trace cyber intrusions, particularly those from Chinese hackers.
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