With cyber attacks now tougher to combat, engineers are turning to artificial intelligence to hunt and contain intruders.

THERE’S A WAR ON in cyberspace. Every day, thousands of attacks are mounted against computers and networks across the world, with hackers searching for vulnerabilities, trying to access restricted systems, steal data or corrupt networks.

And it’s not just banks or credit card companies: government and defence systems are also a target. In January 2019, the U.S. Democratic National Committee reported it was targeted by Russian hackers in the weeks after the 2018 midterm elections in an unsuccessful spear-phishing attack.

In February 2019, a hack of the Australian parliament’s computer network quickly spread to those of the nation’s major political parties — the Liberals, Labor and the Nationals. Luckily, hackers were detected early, and the Australian Signals Directorate — the agency responsible for foreign signals intelligence — were called in. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison later told parliament that “a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity” — diplomatic code for a foreign power. Experts pointed to China.

#computers #artificial-intelligence #defense #technology #cybersecurity #ai