Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?

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Artificial intelligence technology has been a buzzword in cyber security for a decade now — cited as way to flag vulnerabilities and recognise threats by carrying out pattern recognition on large amounts of data. Anti-virus products, for example, have long used AI to scan for malicious code, or malware, and send alerts in real time. But the advent of generative AI, which enables computers to generate complex content — such as text, audio and video — from simple human inputs, offers further opportunities to cyber defenders. Its advocates promise it will boost efficiency in cyber security, help defenders launch a real-time response to threats, and even help them outpace their adversaries altogether. “Security teams have been using AI to detect vulnerabilities and generate threat alerts for years, but generative AI takes this to another level,” says Sam King, chief executive of security group Veracode. “Now, we can use the technology not only to detect problems, but also to solve and, ultimately, prevent them in the first place.”