In theory, the only technology capable of hacking a system run by artificial intelligence is another, more powerful AI system. That\u2019s one reason why the U.S. Army incorporated a powerful AI capabilities into its drone systems that is expected to provide the ultimate cybersecurity \u2014 at least, for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an arms race,\u201d said Walter O\u2019Brien, CEO of Scorpion Computer Services, whose AI system runs and protects the Army\u2019s UAV operations. \u201cNow I have an AI protecting the data center, and now the enemy would have to have an AI to attack my AI, and now it\u2019s which AI is smarter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army\u2019s drone operations got its AI upgrade after the military contracted with Stryke Industries and their sub-contractor Scorpion Computer Services, the Army announced this month. By adding the AI system to the Universal Ground Control Station, the idea is that it will help run drone operations and will provide the most robust cybersecurity possible. But the arms race to great bigger, better AI systems has only just begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DARPA made artificial intelligence and how it could improve cybersecurity a key tenet of a 2016 event, when it tried to find and repair flaws in software at machine speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The addition of Scorpion\u2019s artificial intelligence system Scenario Generator, also called ScenGen, will give operators at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, the ability to control groups of predator drones, like the MQ-1C Gray Eagle at once, to form protective or offensive swarms, O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ScenGen can be used for war planning, testing internal systems and automating regression testing \u2014 which basically makes sure adding additional code won\u2019t break the code currently in place. And it works at a breakneck speed by \u201cthinking\u201d of 250 years of human work every 90 minutes, O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cScenGen basically thinks of everything that could happen,\u201d he said. \u201cImagine two chess computers playing each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s possible ScenGen\u2019s biggest impact is cybersecurity. AI systems\u2019 complexity and ability to adapt mean they react quickly to cyber attacks and can identify and protect every potential point of entry into the system its protecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a smarter AI \u2014 perhaps one using quantum computing \u2014 were to hack a system like ScenGen, the results would be catastrophic, he said. Those type of systems don\u2019t exist yet, but he said it\u2019s only a matter of time until they are developed in the coming decades. \u201c[ScenGen is] kind of like the ultimate skeleton key. Nobody outside of scorpion has the source code to this because it\u2019s so dangerous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The global artificial intelligence within cybersecurity industry is already growing in the private sector and is estimated to reach $18.2 billion by 2023, according to a report from P&S Market Research. A large chunk of that growth is due to better threat-learning algorithms being used to protect businesses from cyber attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even AI software used to provide cybersecurity is at risk from cyber attacks, if attacked with a stronger machine, said Roman Yampolskiy, an associate professor at the University of Louisville and director of the university\u2019s Cyber Security Lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a viable threat and many cybersecurity systems are subject to attacks including cybersecurity systems for intrusion detection and anti-virus software,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cIt happens a lot, intrusion detection systems can be trained away from \u2018normal\u2019 behavior, in what is known as behavioral drift. Antivirus software can be disabled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added sometimes human error is to blame, such as some cases where users were given permission to train the AI system to achieve certain tasks, but the training went wrong \u2014 producing \u201cdisastrous consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA single failure of a superintelligent system may cause a catastrophic event without a chance for recovery,\u201d Yampolskiy wrote in a paper he co-wrote on \u201ca timeline of AI failures,\u201d published in Cornell University\u2019s library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ScenGen\u2019s best protection digitally is ScenGen itself, but other security measures are in place to prevent the AI system from getting into enemy hands, O\u2019Brien said. The source code is never connected to the internet and is under \u201clock and key.\u201d The code that is executed for customers only work in specific subject areas that have been licensed for that use, so code that\u2019s meant to be used on UAVs couldn\u2019t also be used on helicopters, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AI system can\u2019t be physically moved without authorization from two high-ranking members of Scorpion, so no one person can decide to move the system, O\u2019Brien said, and Redstone Arsenal has significant physical security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if someone were to get ahold of the system, they wouldn\u2019t know how to use it, O\u2019Brien said. The system doesn\u2019t use a traditional coding language like C++ or Java, opting to use their own invented language that takes years for operators to fully learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, O\u2019Brien said, there will be a day when ScenGen is obsolete and hackable by AI quantum computing systems, and he said it\u2019s essential to prepare for the day that quantum computers are available publicly and able to run complex AI systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like a cyber nuclear weapon,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the next war is a cyber war, it\u2019s won by whoever is best at math.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Army\u2019s drone operations got its AI upgrade after the military contracted with Stryke Industries and their sub-contractor Scorpion Computer Services, the Army announced this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[106,29,32],"tags":[],"coauthors":[893],"class_list":["post-9738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"M5JVJBKFKRGTNHDMP6D6QZ476Y","arc_canonical_url":"\/dod\/2018\/01\/24\/the-next-cyber-arms-race-is-in-artificial-intelligence\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n