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The Rising Tide of Cyber Threats: How Artificial Intelligence Amplifies the Risk in Insurance Industry

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7 October 2023
Karun Arathil

Technology has brought about tremendous benefits and conveniences in today's hyperconnected world. However, it has also given rise to a dark underbelly of cyber threats, which have only grown more sophisticated with the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI). In this blog, we'll explore how AI has become a double-edged sword, enhancing our capabilities and increasing the risks of cyberattacks.

Artificial Intelligence has revolutionised industries ranging from healthcare to finance, offering unprecedented opportunities for automation, data analysis, and decision-making. AI systems can process vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and make predictions faster and more accurately than humans ever could. This transformative power has brought benefits, such as improved customer experiences, more efficient operations, and innovative products.

Unfortunately, cybercriminals are quick to adapt and exploit the very technology that drives these advancements. The 2023 Stanford AI Index1 reported that the number of AI incidents and controversies related to the ethical misuse of AI has increased 26 times since 2012.

Here's how AI is contributing to the rise of cyber threats:

  • Automated Attacks: AI-driven malware and bots can autonomously seek vulnerabilities, exploit weaknesses, and propagate attacks at an alarming speed. This automation makes it challenging for traditional cybersecurity measures to keep up.
  • Sophisticated Phishing: AI can generate highly convincing phishing emails by mimicking the writing style of trusted individuals or adapting content based on the recipient's interests. These attacks are more complex to detect and more likely to succeed.
  • Adversarial Machine Learning: Attackers use AI to manipulate or deceive machine learning models. They can bypass security systems, evade detection, and even poison data used for training, leading to false positives and negatives in threat detection.
  • Personalized Attacks: AI enables cybercriminals to customise attacks for specific targets, exploiting vulnerabilities unique to individuals or organisations. This makes it increasingly difficult to rely on one-size-fits-all security solutions.
  • Deepfakes and Social Engineering: The rise of deepfakes is a growing concern in cybersecurity, as AI-generated videos and audio can be used to impersonate individuals and perpetrate fraudulent activities such as impersonation-based attacks, corporate espionage, and fake insurance claims. With the recent advancements in generative AI, deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated and realistic, making them harder to detect and prevent. This poses a significant risk to organisations, as deepfakes can be used to manipulate video evidence in court cases or to create fake insurance claims.

As AI continues to fuel cyber threats, organisations must respond with equally advanced cybersecurity strategies specifically tailored to the risks posed by AI. This may involve investing in AI-based security tools and technologies, as well as developing policies and procedures that take into account the unique risks associated with AI:

  • AI-Powered Defense: Deploy AI-driven cybersecurity solutions that can analyse vast datasets in real-time, detect anomalies, and respond to threats swiftly. These systems can adapt to evolving attack techniques. Insurers may need to invest in new technologies or services that can help them detect and prevent deepfake fraud, such as advanced video and audio analysis tools.
  • Employee Training: Raise employee awareness about the risks associated with AI-powered attacks, especially in recognising sophisticated phishing attempts and social engineering tactics.
  • Adaptive Security: Implement dynamic security measures that can adapt to changing threat landscapes. Regularly update and patch systems to minimise vulnerabilities.
  • Ethical AI Use: Promote ethical AI use within your organisation. Ensure transparency and accountability in AI algorithms to prevent misuse.
  • Collaboration and Information Sharing: Work with cybersecurity communities, share threat intelligence, and collaborate with other organisations to stay updated on emerging threats. It is also important for organisations to stay up to date with the latest developments in AI and cybersecurity and to work closely with experts in these fields to ensure that their strategies are effective and up to date.

By taking a proactive and strategic approach to cybersecurity, organisations can help mitigate the risks posed by AI and protect their systems and data from cyber threats.

Insurance companies play an important role in helping businesses mitigate the risks associated with cyber security threats by providing products that offer coverage for cyber-attacks and data breaches. These products can help companies to recover from financial losses and reputational damage from a cyber attack. With the increasing use of AI in enterprises, new cyber insurance products may emerge to address AI-related risks specifically. However, most existing cyber insurance products cover a broad range of cyber threats, including AI-related ones. Therefore, if an enterprise is using AI extensively, it may be able to negotiate additional coverage or specific endorsements to its current policy to address any unique risks associated with AI.

It is worth noting that the cyber insurance market is still evolving, and insurers are constantly updating their products to keep up with new threats and technologies. As AI develops and becomes more widespread, insurers may introduce new products or coverage options tailored to AI-related risks.

Armilla Assurance2, a Canadian insurtech firm, has recently launched a new product that offers performance guarantees for AI products. This product aims to assist companies in managing the risks associated with developing and deploying AI systems. Armilla Assurance has partnered with Swiss Re, Greenlight Re, and Chaucer to underwrite policies that provide performance guarantees for AI products. By offering performance guarantees for these systems, Armilla Assurance intends to help companies mitigate the risks associated with AI and provide greater assurance to their customers and stakeholders.

The product is an example of how the insurance industry is evolving to meet the needs of companies developing and deploying new technologies. As AI becomes more prevalent in society, we will likely see more products and services like this emerge to help manage the risks associated with these technologies.

Reference

1. https://aiindex.stanford.edu/report/

2. https://www.armilla.insure/featured-blog/armilla-assurance-launches-armilla-guaranteed-tm-warranty-coverage-for-ai-products-in-partnership-with-leading-insurance-companies