Friend or Foe? AI at Play in Cybersecurity
AI is a double-edged sword in cybersecurity. This talk explores its dual role.
Why AI excels: Vast open-source training data and profit-driven, coding-optimized models make AI a fast, multi-domain expert at writing and finding vulnerabilities in code.
Gatekeeping: Projects like Claude Mythos and Project Glasswing raise hard questions about who should access these powerful tools.
The asymmetry: AI is fundamentally reshaping the defense/offense balance—and demands responsible deployment.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become a major force in the technology landscape, raising the critical question for security professionals: Is AI a friend or a foe in cybersecurity?
This talk will explore AI's dual role, starting with its proven excellence in coding, fueled by extensive open-source training data and models tailored for efficient, profitable business use cases. We will then examine AI's powerful capability to find code vulnerabilities at high speed, acting as an expert across multiple technical fields simultaneously.
The presentation will shift to the crucial topic of "gatekeeping" these advanced cybersecurity tools, discussing projects like Claude Mythos and Project Glasswing, and addressing the complex question of who should have access.
Finally, we will analyze the evolving asymmetry in cybersecurity—the balance between defense and offense—and how AI is fundamentally changing the game. Ultimately, AI is a double-edged sword that demands careful handling and responsible deployment.
Outline:
AI is excellent at coding
Let’s of training data thanks to open source
Models tailored to be good at coding
Great business use case beings profits
AI is excellent at finding code vulnerability
AI can be experts in multiple fields
AI can work very fast
Gatekeeping tools for cybersecurity
Claude Mythos and Project Glasswing
Who shall have access?
The asymmetry in cybersecurity
Defence vs offence
Ai can be a game changer
Conclusion
Ai is a double-edge sword
Should be handled with care
After having a career as a Data Scientist and Developer Advocate, Cheuk dedicated her work to the open-source community. Currently, she is working as a developer advocate for JetBrains. She has co-founded Humble Data, a beginner Python workshop that has been happening around the world. Cheuk also started and hosted a Python podcast, PyPodCats, which highlights the achievements of underrepresented members in the community. She has served the EuroPython Society board for two years and is now a fellow and director of the Python Software Foundation.