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The world is perpetual evolution. Artificial intelligence, which has not yet delivered all its secrets, continues to profoundly transform all the sectors where it is introduced. There is now a world before and after the beginning of artificial intelligence. A good servant but also a vector of threats. Cyberattacks have indeed become increasingly sophisticated thanks to the use of AI. However, this same AI can also serve as a bulwark to counter threats and strengthen data and systems protection. How is this possible and to what degree can AI strengthen cybersecurity?
The digitization initiated by Algeria, as is the case all over the world, requires new challenges, mainly that of increasing the level of protection of our data and our systems, constantly exposed to cyber attacks. The latter can cause minor disturbances of computer systems but also, in more serious cases, lead to the total stop of the activities of a company, an administration …
According to Djallal Bouabdallah, specialist in digital transformation and cybersecurity, we are more than ever exposed to computer attacks. “In the era of all digital, the exposure to cyber risks has never been so wide,” he said, adding that “our systems, whether professional or personal, process enormous volumes of data, often critical, and are permanently interconnected. This makes them particularly vulnerable in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. ”
According to him, in Algeria as elsewhere, accelerated digital transformation exposes organizations to new risks, in particular “theft of data”, “sabotage or paralysis of essential infrastructure”. A situation that imposes more vigilance.
“Vigilance and anticipation capacity thus become major issues for digital resilience,” he said.
Today, AI is identified as a suitable tool to strengthen defense against digital threats, especially when human error is considered one of the main causes of risks in terms of cybersecurity.
Better integrate AI into the digital ecosystem for more efficiency
Artificial intelligence can thus play the role of rampart against cyber attacks, according to Mr. Bouabdallah. “Used intelligently, AI makes it possible to detect, in real time, suspicious behavior, to analyze enormous amounts of data to identify abnormal patterns and to react much faster than a human in the face of an emerging threat,” he explained, citing the example of certain AI-based tools capable of detecting so-called “Zero-Day” attacks, invisible for traditional solutions.
This specialist in digital transformation and cybersecurity nevertheless wanted to point out the fact that artificial intelligence can also represent a “weapon” in the hands of cybercriminals, which use it to make their attacks more difficult to detect.
As a result, he believes that “the degree of strengthening that AI can bring to cybersecurity depends on its good integration into the digital ecosystem”. The more it is coupled with other security tools (SIEM, new generation firewall, behavioral analysis solutions), the more intelligent and adaptive the defense, according to the specialist’s details. “AI allows the automation of the response to incident, prioritization of alerts and the orchestration of remediation,” he said.
This artificial intelligence must however be supervised by experts capable of interpreting its analyzes, because the AI is not infallible and can generate false positives or dead angles, recommended Mr. Bouabdallah.
He finally wanted to recall that the cyber attacks “have a direct and sometimes dramatic impact for the continuity of activity of companies or administrations: financial losses, violation of reputation, interruption of services, even endangering strategic or personal data”.
Watch out for “Dark ia”
In the Algerian context of digital transfer, it is essential to adopt a global approach, and this through the training of cybersecurity teams, the strengthening of data governance policies, investment in advanced detection technologies (IA, XDR, etc.) as well as the construction of a risk management culture, said the specialist. According to Mr. Bouabdellah, “the key lies in the combination of technology, human formation and awareness of all levels, with a strong involvement of managers to control the transformation safely”.
It is important not to forget the fact that cyber attacks are more and more sophisticated thanks to this same AI designed to counter them. Intelligent attacks are therefore possible.
In this sense, the cybersecurity specialist has underlined the need to take into consideration this aspect. “We must not obscure the ” dark side ” of the AI, sometimes nicknamed ” Dark ia ”,” he warned.
“Just as AI protects our systems, it can also be diverted for malicious purposes, especially on the Dark Web, where tools fueled by AI are used to automate attacks, generate fraudulent content or bypass conventional defenses”.
Cybercriminals are developing AI capable of designing adaptive malware, usurping digital identities via deepfakes, or piloting massive hyper-targeted phishing campaigns, said Bouabdallah.
This “legendary” Dark IA is no longer a myth: it exists and evolves as quickly as the defenses, alerted the specialist. According to Mr. Bouabdellah, it is the degree of innovation that can make the difference. “The battle between defenders and attackers is now playing at a level of permanent innovation,” he said, reiterating the importance of vigilance, which must extend to the ethical uses of AI, to prevent it from becoming a weapon against its own creators.