Very smart people at organisations like the ISF (Information Security Forum) & Gartner consulting produce some excellent predictions of terror for everyone to be scared of.
They help by projecting forward to look at the kind of threats we’re going to face in cyber security in the next 5 years.
My diagram provides a good overview of the ones I suspect will cause a few sleepless nights (No I haven’t employed a professional graphic designer – it’s all my own work, scanned in.):
Automated Misinformation
Pretty much every point on this list is underpinned by smarter AI capability. Think deliberate, automated & targeted false information – targeting organizations & corporates. This could be anything from a sea of misinformation to false profit warnings, artificially created scandals & fake board level announcements. We can do much of this at the moment but think how powerful it would be with evolving AI personas driving it at a relentless pace. Are the PR & Comms team ready for this?
Unexpected Outcomes
No knows the future – not even Mystic Meg but the experts see a headlong rush into AI projects leading to new vulnerabilities. In science terms, ‘unexpected outcomes’ is a terrifying phrase which could mean anything from a button you didn’t know about to thermonuclear war & the eradication of life on Earth. Realistically, cyber criminals will quickly exploit any gaps or vulnerabilities in AI decision-making. This we can be sure of.
Opaque Algorithms
Mmm….I was going to put legacy systems collapsing, as few people realize how much institutions like the Stock Exchange rely on old code. Still, imagine you’re turned down for some form of insurance – you query it – who knows how the algorithm works – the business probably won’t. Who knows what could happen? My point is they are getting ever more complex mathematically & the pool of those who understand them is already small. People on Facebook are already blaming the algorithm for things going wrong. Will we see forms of discrimination we don’t even know about? How important is that that we understand how important decisions about us are made?
Robot Takeover
We all know it’s coming but maybe not in the way we imagine. People get excited about robot waiters but the real challenge will come as AI replaces thousands of ‘middle’ jobs. We’re not the first generation to face disruption but if we fail to plan for this, I’m convincved we’ll face serious civil unrest. One option is to offer everyone a basic universal income – regardless of whether they work or not. If you want to earn more, you can apply for one of the few jobs open to humans. (I’ll cover this in more detail later.)
Crazy Adventures in Cyber Security 