AI is viewed by 48% of security experts as a major security threat to their organisation, according to a new HackerOne security research platform survey of 500 security professionals.
Their main worries about AI include the following:
- Leaked training data (35%)
- Unauthorized usage (33%)
- The hacking of AI models by outsiders (32%)
These concerns emphasise how vital it is for businesses to review their AI security plans in order to address shortcomings before it becomes a major issue.
While the full Hacker Powered Security Report will not be available until later this fall, further study from a HackerOne-sponsored SANS Institute report disclosed that 58% of security experts believe that security teams and threat actors could be in a "arms race" to use generative AI tactics and techniques in their work.
According to the SANS poll, 71% of security professionals have successfully used AI to automate routine jobs. However, the same participants admitted that threat actors could employ AI to improve their operations' efficiency. Specifically, the participants "were most concerned with AI-powered phishing campaigns (79%) and automated vulnerability exploitation (74%).”
“Security teams must find the best applications for AI to keep up with adversaries while also considering its existing limitations — or risk creating more work for themselves,” Matt Bromiley, an analyst at the SANS Institute, stated in a press release.
So what is the solution? External assessment of AI implementations is advised. More than two-thirds of those polled (68%) said "external review" is the most effective technique to identify AI safety and security risks.
“Teams are now more realistic about AI’s current limitations” than they were last year, noted HackerOne Senior Solutions Architect Dane Sherrets. “Humans bring a lot of important context to both defensive and offensive security that AI can’t replicate quite yet. Problems like hallucinations have also made teams hesitant to deploy the technology in critical systems. However, AI is still great for increasing productivity and performing tasks that don’t require deep context.”
