We're Not Prepared for AI Hackers, Security Expert Warns

Bruce Schneier knows we all have a lot to worry about these days, but the security researcher for the Harvard Kennedy School has one more thing that may keep you up at night: AI hackers. Schneier's eye-opening talk at the all-virtual RSAC 2021 conference examined the consequences, positive and negative, of artificial intelligence learning to hack all kinds of systems. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced him and other RSAC participants to present via video this year, but that comfortable setting didn't blunt Schneier's concerns. "Any good AI system will naturally find hacks," said Schneier. They find novel solutions because they lack human context, and the consequence is that some of those solutions will break the expectations humans have--hence, a hack.