LogRhythm Predictions: Critical infrastructure is due for another breach

James Carder, CSO and Vice President of LogRhythm Labs, gives his predictionsfor 2020. He says that AI adotpts the human biases, some unlucky people will have their biometric information stolen, and critical infrastructure is a prime target for ransomware.

Critical infrastructure in danger?

1. Because people train artificial intelligence (AI), AI adopts the same human biases we thought it would ignore. However, this hasn’t stopped the legal system from employing it. Just last year, a judge ordered Amazon to turn over Echo recordings in a double murder case.[1] With AI already primed to make biased decisions based on the information it receives, an insider could exploit this to feed it false information to more directly implicate someone of a crime. In making AI more human, the likelihood that it makes mistakes will increase.
2. Before we see adequate regulation and security to protect biometric data, there are going to be some unlucky people whose biometric information is stolen and used for repeat fraud. If your credit card details are stolen, you can easily change your account number. But what if your face gets stolen? Once that information is compromised, there’s no swapping it out. Before the industry catches up and understands how to properly protect it, we’re going to see the consequences of the increased adoption of biometrics.
3. Ransomware continues to be easy cash for hackers, recently reaching an average payout of $41,000 USD. Given ransomware’s proven track record, it’s time for hackers to take it to new markets. Critical infrastructure is a prime target: while most ransomware isn’t built to target this type of infrastructure, it can still be used in those environments, and shutting down a power grid is certainly going to yield a significantly higher than average payout – not to mention it could lay the foundation of distrust in the government’s ability to protects its citizens. Critical infrastructure is due for another significant breach anyway, making 2020 the perfect opportunity to introduce ransomware into this space.

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