Is artificial intelligence a friend, foe or frenemy? NIST wants to find out

Artificial intelligence is fast becoming cybersecurity’s ultimate double agent. The same tools that help defenders spot anomalies, detect intrusions and speed up response times are also making it easier for adversaries to scale and automate their attacks. AI can generate code to patch vulnerabilities, or it can exploit vulnerabilities whenever it finds them. It can help identify phishing attempts or draft realistic attacks designed to trick even the most savvy recipients. That dual-use nature of AI is exactly what the National Institute of Standards and Technology is trying to untangle in a series of virtual working sessions that bring government and industry experts together.

The first two NIST Cybersecurity Artificial Intelligence Profile working sessions were held in August and were extremely interesting and informative, with lots of experts from government, industry and education participating. The first broke down the various ways that AIs function, as well as how to ...