We’re sure you’ve heard of ChatGPT, a revolutionary tool that has taken the internet by storm since its release in late November 2022. It’s a natural language processing tool that’s powered by artificial intelligence technology; it was introduced by OpenAI, the same company that created DALLE2 and Whisper. Currently available to the public for free, it’s the fastest growing app of all time, reaching 100 million active users in just 2 months.
Here’s what you can do with ChatGPT:
Thanks to its absolutely extensive knowledge, you can ask it to write code, write stories in the voice of a specific author, tell you jokes, come up with ideas, and much more.
You can ask it about historical events and it will give you the answer - with current societal implications included!
You can have an ongoing conversation as the tool is able to remember what’s been entered previously in the same session.
You can ask for recommendations and tips on common issues.
Even though ChatGPT is much more advanced than previous iterations of similar tools, there are still some things to keep in mind. It’s in its testing phase and simply not perfect; users need to take its abilities with a grain of salt. Currently, it has limitations on toxic responses and will not engage with harmful responses and just like with any AI tool, the quality of the answer depends on the quality of the question. While just anyone could log in and play around with it, its true power and ability will be unleashed with a ChatGPT expert who can make the most of it.
Another important aspect to keep in mind is that its answers are not always correct. Trained to provide answers that feel right to humans, ChatGPT has been found to give incorrect answers from time to time. The tool can be extremely useful in a number of applications, but should be used cautiously.
ChatGPT for Cybersecurity
ChatGPT poses an interesting threat to cybersecurity; one of the aspects included in the tool’s terms of service is a ban against creating malware, which could include ransomware, viruses, keyloggers, spam, and any other attempts to cause harm. However, shortly after its launch, cybercriminals were using it for these exact reasons; ChatGPT isn’t expected to create new cyberattack trends or launch widespread attacks, but it will facilitate the day-to-day creation of spam.
Possibly the most dire effect that ChatGPT could have on cyberattacks is its ability to simulate human-like responses and behavior; right now, the vast majority of spam emails and phishing attempts are clearly spam and easy to ignore. But if ChatGPT can simulate realistic copywriting using correct and natural sounding English grammar and hackers take advantage of this to capture more victims, the success rate of cyberattacks could absolutely skyrocket.
And while ChatGPT has some tools in place to prevent such actions, such as requiring an email and phone number for registration and refusing to create phishing emails specifically, it can and will create templates for other kinds of emails that can be used by cybercriminals, like emails informing people they’ve won a contest, pushing them to open an attachment or click a link.
Although ChatGPT does pose a threat to cybersecurity, it can also be used effectively to prevent cyberattacks and help cybersecurity professionals with their jobs. For example, it can write decent risk management framework policies and give recommendations for tools to use. As the tool gains experience on the market and learns more and more about cybersecurity, it will be able to provide more accurate and detailed information regarding cybersecurity problems and tips.
It also has lots of potential in terms of efficiency and streamlining some of the more tedious parts of cybersecurity. For example, it could significantly reduce the time spent on writing a security incident report or detecting malware.
ChatGPT Prompts for Cybersecurity
If you’re a cybersecurity professional looking to harness the power of ChatGPT in your role, look no further:
Requests for ChatGPT
I want you to tell me how this set of data is stored and shared and give me effective solutions to protecting the data.
I want you to tell me if this data is suspicious or susceptible to data breaches.
Advice from ChatGPT
What’s the best cybersecurity strategy for my company?
How would you protect this data from malicious users?
Questions for ChatGPT
What is the best way to create firewalls?
Can you write me a risk management framework for my company?
The future of cybersecurity with ChatGPT
Cybersecurity’s future could be changed immensely as ChatGPT both gains experience and more and more people start using it. The sector can benefit from tips and tricks and help with basic code writing or malware detection, but cybersecurity also has lots to think about. Here’s what to keep an eye out for:
Even if ChatGPT is helping you write frameworks or code, it should be reviewed and tested before put into action: the tool isn’t perfect.
Lots of people are having fun entering random requests into the tool, asking for jokes and sample bios from The Bachelor, but the tool does have a significant ability to create cyberattacks and should be treated with caution.
Despite its seemingly massive bandwidth, ChatGPT has limitations: it is unable to actually think like a human, despite its human-like responses. And it cannot take emotion or judgment into account.
Many professionals are concerned with ChatGPT’s potential to replace them at their job but in cybersecurity, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It certainly can help the efficiency of cybersecurity professionals, freeing up their time to focus on more pressing matters and helping them detect problems faster, but it is also able to create as many problems as it solves. As ChatGPT gains both knowledge and popularity and it becomes the preferred tool of cybercriminals to create realistic scams, more and more cybersecurity professionals will be needed to combat it. What are you waiting for?
