The Future Effects of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing on Cybersecurity

As we continue to witness the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine, we have seen, for the first time, an overflowing technological approach to warfare, cyber warfare. Ukraine has been able to gather support for its IT Army to defend itself against Russia’s resourceful cyber army (Linden, 2022). This has highlighted the importance of developing and integrating cyber warfare strategies, specifically for the US to remain a cyber superpower on the global stage. Inspired by the Center for a New American Security’s “When the Chips Are Down” publication, I plan on researching the United States’ strategic competition with well-resourced and capable opponents, such as China (Wasser et al., 2022). This research project, on the other hand, will focus on applying economic concepts, such as Game Theory and Nash Equilibrium to cyber warfare defense strategies, with the use of advanced technology such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing (Attiah et al., 2018). Now, more than ever is an urgent point in the information revolution, where the US must be able to withstand asymmetric cyber warfare by strengthening its cyber capabilities and cybersecurity defense strategies. Cybersecurity is essential to the military systems used by the United States and its allies and partners to defend themselves and their interests. At a fundamental level, the day-to-day functioning of modern society hinges on dependable access to information; critical infrastructure, transportation networks, and digital communication cannot effectively function without it. However, while policymakers recognize the critical importance of defensive and offensive cyber strategies, the myriad of factors and nuances required to develop policies and plans that protect its integrity, mitigate risk, and reduce second-order consequences have received insufficient attention. Therefore, this research will be pursued in order to provide legislative stakeholders with the information necessary to develop these defense strategies.

Hello, my name is Areej Ali, and I will be presenting my research on the effects of emerging technologies on cyber warfare.

I will specifically investigate the role that artificial intelligence and quantum computing will play in the expansion of this new frontier.

As the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine continues, we have witnessed for the first time a technologically advanced approach to warfare, cyber warfare. Ukraine has gathered support for its IT Army to defend itself against Russia’s formidable cyber army. This has emphasized the significance of developing and integrating cyber warfare strategies, particularly for the United States to maintain its cyber superpower status on the international stage.

In fact, cyberattacks on the Ukrainian government and military have increased by 196% in the first three days of combat, compared to the beginning of February 2022. According to Check Point’s cybersecurity researchers, the same sector worldwide and in Russia did not exhibit a similar increase.

Here is a figure depicting a timeline of major cyberattacks during the first week of the invasion. As you can see, the number of cyberattacks only continued to increase.

These attacks were performed via sophisticated technologies, such as artificial intelligence to automate cyberattacks and increase them both in numbers and difficult to mitigate. This leads me to my research question, which is how are critical and emerging technologies accelerating advancing threats in cyber warfare?

Both artificial intelligence and quantum computing have had a substantial impact on the development of technology and warfare as we know it. Through the algorithms that power artificial intelligence systems, artificial intelligence can collect vast quantities of information.

Based on the principles or patterns in the data used to create the algorithms, these algorithms might teach artificial intelligence new talents. Despite its impressive powers, it is feasible that artificial intelligence might be used against humans, so creating a vulnerability.

Quantum computing may use quantum mechanical engineering to do simultaneous computations. A quantum computer is faster and more effective than any other computer now available. Quantum computing poses a threat since, in theory, a single quantum computer may surpass all supercomputers in the world.

In this study effort, I investigated more than fifty cyberattacks in order to get insight into attack strategies. This research also demonstrated how AI and quantum computing may minimize cyberattacks in the future, particularly in a world where everything is linked to digital technology.

Here are some insights that I will talk about.

This research discovered that the link between AI and cyber warfare has evolved dramatically as a consequence of the digital era. Because of technology breakthroughs that enable a government to reach beyond its national and international boundaries, cyber warfare with the help of AI has grown simpler. Secured software system faults, rather than other issues such as hardware failure, are the major source of cyberattacks.

When an error happens and several threads are accidentally halted, it is common for someone to attempt to handle the problem using a queuing method. The ability to successfully handle several concurrent threads while conducting heavy traffic operations, such as data transfers, is critical to this process. Delays while preserving security are one of the most serious challenges. The technique contains a criterion termed “efficient feedback control” to guarantee minimum delays. The efficient feedback control’s goal is to modify idle time to learn about changes in traffic dynamics by limiting queue length to a specified value.

Separately, Quantum computing might be a hazard to cyber security. Because of the weaknesses in code-breaking and public-key encryption, the United States is vulnerable to cyber-terrorism threats. Experts are concerned that, as technology advances, computers’ processing powers may be able to crack encryption keys in the future. During this study, I discovered that a new sort of computer based on quantum mechanics may break modern-day cryptography, rendering communications unsecure as if they had never been encoded, unleashing global disaster. However, this is just a speculative worst-case scenario. All contemporary quantum computers lack the computational power to carry out such a large threat. Fortunately, major and significant technical improvements would be necessary for any government or cyber terrorist outfit to employ quantum computing in this manner.

The use of AI and quantum computers in contemporary combat has security problems. Digital advancements that have enabled our greatest strengths may also be our biggest dangers. As a country seeking to lead the world in the digital sphere, we must endeavor to secure our cyberspace and make it robust to future threats. While AI is being used as a weapon, to instruct robots, and to train drones and autonomous vehicles to inflict damage rather than good, it may be hidden and not seen as a destructive instrument.

When it comes to quantum computing and the race to construct a quantum computer, additional levels of protection are critical. To develop supremacy and defend itself in the process, the United States must begin to take safeguards to construct a security system, as well as expand technical training and collaboration with the private sector.

We must encourage and incentivize new technical cyber security training for people and businesses to secure their computer systems. To keep technology progressing, the US government’s research funding must be increased.

In conclusion, there are techniques to enhance cybersecurity using AI and quantum computing that may be useful for minimizing vulnerabilities in future cyber warfare scenarios:

• AI will increase the pace of danger detection while reducing mistakes.
• Quantum computing will allow quantum key distribution (QKD) by distributing cryptographic codes among users while assuring total security and reporting unauthorized intrusions.
• Research on quantum-safe encryption will be required to remove the danger presented by quantum computing in revealing encryptions.
• AI may be used to monitor network security and data centers in order to detect anomalies and respond to vulnerabilities by understanding their causes.
• Quantum machine learning may accelerate the development of algorithms that improve cybersecurity measures.

I would like to acknowledge the Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities, & Research, my mentor Tracy Mason, Laura Powers, and Dr. Lee. Thank you!

Here are my references… Thank you for listening!