ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot whose ability to generate very human-like and accurate responses has been causing quite a stir since its launch in November 2022. Amazingly, it managed to hit the milestone of 100 million monthly active users within only two months.
The software’s potential to help hackers design sophisticated phishing tools that can be used within malicious emails has sparked the debate within the cybersecurity industry. While some proclaim it to have the potential to revolutionize the entire industry, others point out its potential risks and vulnerabilities.
The primary issue with ChatGPT is its lack of security measures. This means that threat actors and scammers, regardless of their level of experience, can eaisly generate sophisticated phishing messages with near-perfect grammar in a matter of seconds. This has become a major problem in the US, where Americans collectively lost close to $40 billion to email phishing scams in 2022.
A further concern is regarding its impact on job security. While the chatbot isn’t powerful enough to completely take over an analyst’s role, it can significantly reduce the number of hours put into researching risk score computations and document-sifting. This could potentially lead to lesser demand for analysts in security operation centers (SOCs).
Admittedly, ChatGPT also offers several advantages to cybersecurity businesses, such as its superior data analysis capabilities, ability to automate repetitive tasks, and its ability to be used for generating complex policies should not be forgotten.
Fortunately, ChatGPT isn’t the only game in town by far. Microsoft’s $10-billion investment in Open AI is a prime example of how they aim to expand the capabilities and knowledge of the software. The development of ChatGPT-like software such as Google’s Bard and Microsoft Bing’s feature can only improve the industry’s safety.
While of course this new technology will cause disruption, it is possible to reap the benefits with the right intentions. Businesses can make use of ChatGPT’s capabilities to externalize and correlate data more intelligently, optimize its models and find anomalies quicker. By training its datasets to evaluate when their texts have been used maliciously, its protection will improve further.
By investing wisely, companies can make the most of this unique opportunity to increase the security of their clients periodically whilst also saving time and money. However, it is important to be cautious, as companies need to be mindful of not geeting caught up in the hype and losing their focus on income generations.
Ultimately, the most effective way to ensure safe use of ChatGPT-like software is through education and awareness. Providers need to collaborate with cell carriers and make sure users can easily recognize the signs of phishing scams, as well as take sufficient measures to protect themselves from them.
That being said, ChatGPT’stechnology should still be looked upon as a valuable addition to the cybersecurity industry. Companies just need to tread carefully and possess the necessary knowledge and expertise to use it safely and make sure that their cyberinfrastructure remains secure.
