Officials: Artificial intelligence empowers amateur hackers

FedScoop reports that artificial intelligence was noted by federal cybersecurity leaders to have significantly lowered the barrier of entry to launching cyberattacks among unsophisticated threat actors.

AI has facilitated the creation of malicious code with fewer errors as well as more convincing spear-phishing and social engineering campaigns, said FBI Cyber Division Deputy Assistant Director Cynthia Kaiser at the Scoop News Group’s GDIT event.

Despite more sophisticated cyber threats fueled by AI, the technology was still noted by leaders to be more beneficial for network defenders, especially when accompanied with bolstering threat coordination with the private sector.

AI was regarded by State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and Technology Security to have yielded more actionable threat intelligence for the agency, resulting in more valuable insights that could be imparted not only with other agencies but also with its allies, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.