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Running head: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 1

Artificial Intelligence

English Composition II (EH 1020)

February 25, 2021

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Artificial Intelligence in Fighting Cyber Crime

Cyber insecurity has led to different methods evolving to help curb it, including artificial

intelligence. Those in support of this new technology believe that it can work beyond human

capacities, hence detecting threats and stopping them faster. Those opposed to it see it as a platform

the attackers are using to diversify their attacks. However, these discussions are all based on the

need to secure the business environment and free it from cybercrime. Artificial intelligence has

increased visibility in the attack environment for businesses to take the right precautions in

preventing it. For example, the system flags the anomalies making the security analyst work on

them and save time and save the business costs (Anwar & Hassan, 2017). The experts also suggest

using intelligent systems in accurately detecting and remediating the attacks in real-time in the

future. Artificial intelligence can also solve difficult situations that humans have no answer for but

have some information on what to be expected. Artificial intelligence is a tool that enables

companies to remain visibly aware of the evolving threats. This ensures that the security analysts

take a right to measures and quickly respond to the business's issues. However, artificial

intelligence has opened up a new wave of threats that negatively impact businesses' operations. The

poisoning attacks are capable of manipulating the input and giving out output that is similar to the

attacker's goals. Therefore, although artificial intelligence is an essential technology for combating

cybersecurity threats, it is essential to consider the dangers it poses to the business environment

because it is capable of changing the business operations if, in any case, it becomes a pathway of

attacks.

Literature Review

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The issue of artificial intelligence in fighting cybercrime can be understood by first looking

into cybercrime and the failure of the different methods adopted. This will be followed by an

analysis of the two sides of the controversy, the pro, and the con. The pro side supports artificial

intelligence in curbing cybercrime, whereas the con side is against this method, especially in

businesses.

Brief Summary of Cyber Crime

The issue of malware and cybercrime can be traced back to connected computing days

because it coincides with the evolution of the internet. The internet grew, allowing for the crimes to

become more complicated, with a significant wave of attacks happening in the 1980s using emails'

proliferation. The Nigerian Prince Scam is one of the earliest forms of cyber-attacks delivered to

several inboxes requesting money to set up a transfer and later to share it. However, the growth of

cybercrime was seen in the 2000s when social media came into life (Taddeo, McCutcheon

&Floridi, 2019). People started putting all information in profile databases, and this led to identity

theft. The cyber attackers were now interested in accessing bank accounts and accessing personal

information for their benefit. Cybercrime has grown into an industry that is totaling nearly half a

trillion dollars yearly. The hackers have gone on a spree with several incidences, such as the

Russian hackers' attack on the Ukrainian energy company. The attacks have led to organizations

changing the approaches they give to cybersecurity. Attention is on preventing them before they

occur. The reason businesses are struggling to deal with cybercrime is due to the economic losses;

in 2020, the loss was predicted to be over $3 trillion, with 74% of businesses being hacked

(Mosteanu, 2020).

The argument for Adopting Artificial Intelligence in Businesses

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As the threat of cyber insecurity is continually evolving, businesses must adapt survival

measures. Artificial Intelligence is centrally placed because it can detect threats irrespective of their

shape in attack and defense. This is a multifaceted tool capable of collecting data, organizing it, and

protecting it against outside forces' access. AI increases data security systems' efficiency by

spotting the potential threats early enough before they come to fruition. It also squashes the

incoming attacks at speeds that are above human capabilities. According to Mosteanu, the benefits

of AI go beyond anticipating the attacks (2020). It makes organizations ready for the proper

response at all times since cybercriminals keep intensifying their attacks.

Artificial Intelligence Downside against Fighting Cybercrime

Those opposed to using AI in preventing cybercrime state various reasons why it is

detrimental to businesses. Terrorists in the 21st century no longer need bombs and sophisticated

weapons but rather the ability to hack into the company or government systems. Through this, they

can bring the operations of critical infrastructure to their knees and acquire a ransom. AI is prone to

manipulations that are aimed at causing malfunction. According to Li and Zhang, the attacks can be

input or poisoning attacks. The input attacks are fed to the AI system to alter the output (2017).

This is because the AI System has a machine at its core responsible for manipulating the input to

give an output. When the attackers alter the input, then the output is corrupted. The poisoning

attacks are manifested by corrupting the process, causing a malfunction desired by the attacker.

This can include poisoning the data used in a process. These attacks are capable of causing great

harm to the business and affecting the efficiency of operation.

Artificial intelligence was designed to ensure that the system takes the attacks before they

cause harm to the business database. However, cybercrime has evolved, and the AI attacks are

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different from the traditional attacks it was designed to detect. The attacks are enabled by the

limitations in the algorithms that cannot be fixed. This means that various methods can be used to

execute attacks, including physical objects. For example, the attackers can transform a stop sign

into green light using an AI attack by using pieces of tape on the sign (Anwar & Hassan, 2017). At

the same time, it is possible to weaponize data, requiring the collection, storage, and use of data to

be reviewed. AI attacks are affecting the most critical parts of society. This includes the military,

law enforcement, and civil society. This poses a threat to the privacy of these institutions, mostly

because they deal with critical information. According to Soni, AI security compliance programs

must be introduced to protect against this new version of attacks (2020). This approach will reduce

the risk of successful attacks and lower the impact when they occur. The Regulators should also

ensure the government and institutions at high risk of AI attacks have adhered to the compliance

set. This is especially in areas that would have a severe impact on society. This is because AI

technologies have brought many high-end attacks, such as Capital One, that compromised the data

of more than 100 million Americans (Mosteanu, 2020). This shows that irrespective of the

approach used to mitigate the attacks, they persist.

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References

Anwar, A., & Hassan, S. I. (2017). Applying Artificial Intelligence Techniques to Prevent Cyber

Assaults. International Journal of Computational Intelligence Research, 13(5), 883-889.

Li, X., & Zhang, T. (2017, April). An exploration on artificial intelligence application: From

security, privacy and ethic perspective. In 2017 IEEE 2nd International Conference on

Cloud Computing and Big Data Analysis (ICCCBDA) (pp. 416-420). IEEE.

Mosteanu, N. R. (2020). Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security–A Shield against Cyberattack as

a Risk Business Management Tool–Case of European Countries. Quality-Access to

Success, 21(175).

Mosteanu, N. R. (2020). Artificial Intelligence And Cyber Security–Face To Face With Cyber

Attack–A Maltese Case Of Risk Management Approach. Eco forum Journal, 9(2).

Soni, V. D. (2020). Challenges and Solution for Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity of the

USA. Available at SSRN 3624487.

Taddeo, M., McCutcheon, T., &Floridi, L. (2019). Trusting artificial intelligence in cybersecurity is

a double-edged sword. Nature Machine Intelligence, 1(12), 557-560.