AI cyber monitoring: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast
Summary
Max Heinemeyer, chief product officer at Darktrace, whose technology helps solve the problem of companies getting hacked, is seeing hackers increasingly develop sophisticated attacks using advanced AI. Large language models such as ChatGPT mean it is no longer simply a case of teaching users the basics of good security hygiene, such as checking for spelling mistakes and bad grammar in email messages. Targeted email attacks can be very personalised, drawing on the huge volume of personal data that is readily available on the internet and social media. But there is a very real sense that such monitoring is a bit like the Hollywood blockbuster Minority Report, where machines watch people in the background to predict if a criminal activity is about to take place. While there are legal and ethical arguments over such technology being used in policing to target criminal activity, questions need to be asked about the societal impact of using AI to monitor email and other forms of electronic communications.