Generative AI’s widespread growth ‘will make the job of cyber criminals easier’

▶ Technology set to affect every function across sectors within next 12 to 18 months, Visa executive says

Visa’s top cyber security executive has sounded a warning over cyber criminals using generative artificial intelligence.

Generative AI is going to affect every function in all sectors in the next 12 to 18 months, Subra Kumaraswamy, senior vice president and chief information security officer of the US payments company, told The National.

The advent of modern technology and its broadening adoption will distinguish generative AI’s expansion from previous industrial revolutions, which were specific to certain sectors, he said. The widening, low-cost availability of the technology opens up a new, possibly more potent avenue for cyber criminals, which should put businesses on higher alert.

“Generative AI is going to be applicable to every function and industry – health care, financial, education, entertainment – hence the opportunity for bad actors because they can also use AI in the same way,” Mr Kumaraswamy said.

He said the cost of entry is very low “or you can get it for free”, pointing to the paid tiers offered by generative AI service providers.

Generative AI platforms, like any other service, vary in cost depending on their power or user specifications – from as low as Anthropic’s $0.25 for a certain amount of tokens to $20 a month for the top-tier offerings from Google and industry leader, ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

“That makes it easier for everybody to consume [generative AI] versus a supercomputer, [where] you invest billions of dollars,” Mr Kumaraswamy said. “It’s going to be very hard to differentiate if a person is using it for a good or ethical use.”

Because the barrier to entry is very low, cyber criminals can potentially discover and access vulnerabilities in information technology systems, he said.

Previously a smart hacker needed to spend hours figuring out how to exploit IT vulnerabilities. “Now, generative AI bots can make it easier for them,” said Mr Kumaraswamy.

Visa acknowledges that cyber criminals are using generative AI to target the financial sector – already one of the most frequent and lucrative targets of illicit digital activity.

The top companies, in finance and elsewhere, need to “spend the time understanding how generative AI [can] be weaponised” against them, Mr Kumaraswamy said.

The rise of AI has brought with it benefits, challenges and perceived risks. Authorities have been rushing to regulate the sector as innovations outpace existing guidelines. The global cost of cyber crime is projected to reach $13.82 trillion by 2028, compared with an estimated $9.22 trillion this year, expanding at a compound annual rate of more than 8.4 per cent, data from Statista shows.

If cyber crime were a country, the 2028 figure would make it the third-largest economy in the world, behind only China and the US.

“There will be a lot more opportunities in cyber security as technologies evolve … the bad guys are out there trying to figure out a way to disrupt or compromise you,” ” Mr Kumaraswamy said.

“Cyber security is going to play a very crucial role to help the economy grow. It’s the guardrail and safety net.

“There will be more companies that will be using AI to help their businesses get stronger in cyber security. Same thing with consumers … there will be new kinds of technologies that will eventually be able to use AI.”

Cyber security is going to play a very crucial role to help the economy grow. It’s the guardrail and safety net

SUBRA KUMARASWAMY

Senior vice president and chief information security officer at Visa