Comment: Threat from artificial intelligence: IT security needs a turning point

Dusseldorf. Many software manufacturers, online shops and Internet service providers are currently in a state of emergency: two security holes in the PHP programming language could allow attackers to remotely manipulate websites or spy on data.

Anyone who does not install the update immediately is running a high risk - the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warns against "short-term, large-scale exploitation".

Even after the update, “business as usual” should not return to business as usual in the technology industry or in the economy as a whole. Security researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to develop dangerous attack scenarios from seemingly inconspicuous errors - at a speed that was previously difficult to imagine. Many similar cases are likely to follow soon. And next time it could turn out much less smoothly.

By now it should be clear: AI-based attacks have begun a turning point in IT security. Like the military turning point, it requires a willingness to think differently, take decisive action and make significant investments. That could be inconvenient and expensive.