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Cybersecurity, Privacy, and AI
The diverse use and rapid proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises unique value for industry, consumers, and broader society, but like many technologies, to recognize these benefits to the greatest potential, new risks from these advancements in AI must be managed. In NIST's Applied Cybersecurity Division (ACD), our key concern is how advancements in the broad adoption of AI may impact current cybersecurity and privacy risks and risk management approaches.
Cybersecurity, Privacy, and AI
There is a critical need to work towards a goal for the development and application of standards, guidelines, tools and practices to improve the management of cybersecurity and privacy in the age of AI, ensure the responsible adoption of AI for cybersecurity and privacy protection purposes, and identify important actions organizations must take to adapt their defensive activities to AI-enabled offensive techniques. To meet this need, we’re announcing the launch of the Cybersecurity, Privacy, and AI Program.
Mission
To support and provide guidance to industry, government agencies, and other organizations as they transition their cybersecurity and privacy risk management approaches and activities in order to recognize the full potential of AI as well as respond to the new and modified cybersecurity and privacy risks of the changing AI landscape.
Direction
The Cybersecurity, Privacy, and AI Program team will work with stakeholders across industry, government, international bodies and academia to take a leading role in U.S. and international efforts to secure the AI ecosystem. This includes coordination with other NIST programs, federal agencies, and commercial entities (to ensure a holistic approach to addressing AI-related cybersecurity and privacy challenges).
Understanding the Issue
There are risks, opportunities, and challenges at play when it comes to cybersecurity, privacy, and AI. For example:
- Cybersecurity. In the area of cybersecurity, AI may create new opportunities such as the use of AI technology to augment defensive capabilities, but also challenges for implementing cybersecurity measures such as adapting existing defensive activities to thwart AI-enabled cyber-attacks as well as protecting AI systems and their components.
- Privacy. With respect to privacy, AI creates new re-identification risks. AI’s predictive capabilities could also reveal greater insights about people as well as amplify behavioral tracking and surveillance. At the same time, the analytic scope and broad reach of AI could be used to power personal privacy assistants that could help people better manage their privacy preferences across their online activities.
As an initial effort, NIST is launching a community profile effort, considering how to adapt existing frameworks, such as the Cybersecurity Framework and the Privacy Framework.
Want to learn even more about Cybersecurity, Privacy, and AI program details?
Read the Blog