Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are on a seemingly never-ending wave of popularity. As these technologies become more integrated into daily life, with the advent of ‘smart’ devices ranging from lightbulbs to speakers to cars as part of the predicted 75.4 billion Internet of Things connected devices installed worldwide by 2025, cyber security professionals must consider their impact on the threat landscape itself.

Likewise, AI-powered software like OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT is on the rise. GPT-3 amassed 590 million visits from 100 million unique users in January 2023 alone. Unfortunately, as with other AI and ML applications, it too has the potential to cause harm. While many users have turned to the chatbot to generate ideas, others have been using it for more nefarious purposes. When surveyed by Blackberry Security, 73 percent of cyber security professionals said they were either ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ concerned about ChatGPT’s potential as a cyber security threat.

While AI and machine learning can massively benefit both companies and people, these benefits can also be harnessed by malicious actors. Cyber security professionals must therefore utilize these applications to prevent threats before they can be launched.