Expert says AI could make cybersecurity teams obsolete

While artificial intelligence has helped hackers create stealthier malware and "hyper-personalized phishing," former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly believes it could also shift the power toward defenders, The Register reports.

At an AuditBoard conference in San Diego, Easterly referenced CISA's AI action plan as part of the effort to shift the advantage. She added that AI has the potential to repair flawed code to such an extent that security breaches could become uncommon, provided the technologies are built, deployed, and governed securely.

"I believe it will lead to the end of cybersecurity," she said. Easterly also flawed software, not advanced attackers, for most breaches, saying the issue is more of software quality rather than cybersecurity. She criticized vendors for shipping unsafe products and glamorizing hackers with names like Fancy Bear, even though many still exploit long-known bugs such as SQL injection and memory-unsafe code.

Easterly praised the White House AI Action Plan and urged businesses to hold vendors accountable.

"I think the great news is the current administration is continuing to champion the idea of secure by design for software broadly."