According to a BlackBerry report based on a survey of 1,500 IT and cybersecurity decision-makers, nearly 71 per cent believe that foreign states are likely to already be using the technology for malicious purposes against other nations.
The report also mentioned that the opinion varies on how that threat might manifest – nearly 53 per cent of respondents believe the top global concern is that ChatGPT’s ability will help hackers craft more convincing and legitimate-sounding phishing emails.
About 49 per cent believe that it will enable less experienced hackers to improve their technical knowledge and develop more specialized skills. The AI chatbot may increasingly be used for spreading misinformation too.
“ChatGPT will increase its influence in the cyber industry over time,” noted Shishir Singh, Chief Technology Officer, Cybersecurity at BlackBerry.
“There are a lot of benefits to be gained from this kind of advanced technology and we’re only beginning to scratch the surface, but we also can’t ignore the ramifications. As the maturity of the platform and the hackers’ experience of putting it to use progresses, it will get more and more difficult to defend without also using AI in defense to level the playing field,” he added.
The report also revealed that 82 per cent of IT leaders plan to invest in AI-driven cybersecurity within the next two years, and almost half (48 per cent) intend to invest in this tech before the end of 2023.
This reflects the growing concern that traditional, signature-based protection solutions are no longer effective in providing cyber protection against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, especially those driven by AI and Machine Learning.