Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Stay Safe Online When Using AI
October 09, 2024 Fred SmithWhile artificial intelligence might offer valuable capabilities, always remember to stay proactive and educated about the risks. Here are essential tips to ensure you stay secure.
While artificial intelligence (AI) might offer valuable capabilities, always remember to stay proactive and educated about the risks. Here are essential tips, used with permission from Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, to ensure you stay secure while using generative AI.
Mind Your Inputs: AI systems learn from user inputs, so refrain from sharing anything you want to keep private, like your workplace’s company data or your personal details.
Tip: Avoid sharing sensitive or confidential information with AI models — if you wouldn’t post it on social media, don’t share it with AI.
Be Privacy Aware: Since AI models often scrape data from the web, what you share publicly online may be copied, in whole or in part, by AI tools.
Tip: Think about what you share with a wide audience — would you want an AI to have it?
How Hackers Use AI: Cybercriminals may use AI to fool you. Public tools can mimic a person’s voice or image (this is sometimes called a “deepfake”). Criminals can make a voice call to mimic a trusted person and steal money or to harass people by posting fake or modified images and videos.
Tip: Stay updated on cybersecurity best practices. Criminals using AI as a tool makes it more important that everyone protect themselves using the core 4 behaviors: strong passwords, multifactor authentication, software updates, and reporting phishing.
AI Is a Tool: While AI can assist with tasks, it’s important to maintain your expertise and not rely solely on AI-generated content. Prompting isn’t the same as creating!
Tip: Treat AI as a helpful tool rather than a replacement for your skills.
Remember: Follow the Core 4
As generative AI increases in popularity, adopting the “Core 4” cybersecurity behaviors is paramount for all of us.
1. Use strong, unique passwords (and a password manager!)
2. Turn on multifactor authentication for all accounts
Secure Our World — Stay Safe Online When Using AI Tip Sheet