From everything we have seen over the past two years, artificial intelligence has significantly transformed cybersecurity. It has enabled better and enhanced threat detection, improved cybersecurity threat prevention capabilities, and enhanced threat responses. As organizations increasingly lean on AI for different cybersecurity functions, they must balance innovation, privacy, and security and consider the ethical implications of using these technologies.
A Duty to Protect User Information
Companies must protect all the user information they collect. This raises the question of how much data they can collect and how much surveillance is justified. Collecting too much user data as part of their cybersecurity measures means there is more data for malicious actors to steal.
When a breach happens, people not only look to get data brokers to delete their information but also how to remove personal information from Google. This is especially important for people who want to live private lives but still understand that companies must collect some of their data for security reasons.
Removing Bias and Improving Fairness
The choice of data used to train AI cybersecurity models can introduce biases that lead to discriminatory and unfair outcomes. When this happens, certain demographics may be subjected to unnecessary additional security checks or other forms of unfair treatment.
Diverting significant resources to focus on demographics that provide little cybersecurity threat means fewer resources in other areas, which puts everyone in danger.
Cybersecurity companies employing AI solutions have an ethical obligation to make sure their training data is as free of bias as possible. This is the only way to guarantee fairness and that the innovations they have come up with function as expected.
Safeguarding Individual Rights and Privacy
One of the most common concerns for using AI in cybersecurity and other areas is how companies safeguard the privacy rights of individuals. They must collect, store, and use data transparently and gather informed consent before collecting it. These companies must also make sure individuals know how and why they collect the data they do.
Ethical Considerations in the Cybersecurity Arms Race
While there are conflicting reports about which computer virus came first, it is undeniable that there has been a race between defenders and attackers since the 1980s. Attackers try to come up with novel attacks and defenders work hard to thwart them. This paradigm also applies to modern cybersecurity in areas such as email phishing and social engineering attacks, and things are becoming even more complicated with AI being in the picture.
Cybersecurity experts are developing AI solutions for defensive and offensive purposes to keep their systems and data safe.
As this cybersecurity arms race continues, ethical considerations arise surrounding the misuse of the developed AI solutions. Crucially, experts want to be sure engineers make the use of these tools justifiable and responsible.
The AI cybersecurity landscape is still developing and evolving. Ongoing engagement and open dialog are crucial for ensuring an ethical AI landscape. Collaboration between all relevant parties will ensure the required measures are in place to guarantee the ethical use of AI in this industry, while also enabling everyone to leverage the technology as it advances.
Last Updated 8 months ago
