Category World News

Is artificial intelligence a feared-about-face threat or a worrying watershed for artificial intelligence?

Cybersecurity experts have responded in a variety of ways to Anthropic’s recent announcement that it discovered the first artificial intelligence-led hacking campaign in the world.

While some observers have raised the alarm about the feared start of a dangerous turning point, others have reacted skeptically, claiming that the startup’s account leaves out important details and raises more questions than answers.

Anthropic claimed that its assistant Claude Code was manipulated to carry out 80 to 90% of a “large-scale” and “highly sophisticated” cyberattack, with only occasional human intervention required, in a report released on Friday.

The attack was intended to infiltrate government entities, financial institutions, tech companies, and chemical manufacturing companies, according to Anthropic, the creator of the well-known Claude chatbot.

The San Francisco-based business, which attributed the attack to Chinese state-sponsored hackers, did not specify how it had discovered the operation or who among the “roughly” 30 people claimed to have been targeted.

There was no denying that AI-assisted hacking posed a serious threat, according to Roman V Yampolskiy, an expert on AI and cybersecurity at the University of Louisville.

Yampolskiy told Al Jazeera that “Modern models can write and adapt exploit code, sift through large volumes of stolen data, and orchestrate tools more quickly and affordably than human teams.”

They “slow down the entry-level skill gap” and make actors with strong management skills more likely to be successful. A junior cyber-operations team is being put in the cloud, which is rentable per hour.

Yampolskiy predicted that AI would increase both the number and the severity of attacks.

Jaime Sevilla, director of Epoch AI, claimed that the report did not contain much new information, but that previous research suggested that AI-assisted attacks were both feasible and likely to become more prevalent.

Sevilla told Al Jazeera, “This is likely to hit medium-sized businesses and government agencies hardest.”

“Instead of being valuable enough targets for focused campaigns and frequently underfunded in cybersecurity, AI makes them profitable targets.” Many of these organizations should start using vulnerability-reward programs, using AI to identify and fix weaknesses internally, and I anticipate that they will do so.

Some analysts have refrained from making any claims that are made by many analysts in favor of more information from Anthropic.

When American Senator Chris Murphy warned that if regulation wasn’t made a priority, Meta AI CEO Yann LeCun criticized the lawmaker for being “played” by a business that wanted to be “taken over” by a company.

In a post on X, LeCun wrote, “They are scaring everyone with dubious studies so that open source models are regulated out of existence.”

Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.

China “consistently and resolutely” opposed all types of cyberattacks, according to a representative for the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC.

According to Liu Pengyu, “We hope that relevant parties adopt a professional and responsible attitude and base their characterization of cyberattacks on factual allegations and speculation,” Liu Pengyu told Al Jazeera.

Anthropic had business incentives to highlight both the risks&nbsp of such attacks and its ability to counteract them, according to Toby Murray, a professor of computer security at the University of Melbourne.

Some people have questioned Anthropic’s claims, saying that the attackers could have managed to use less human supervision to accomplish extremely complex tasks, Murray said.

“Unfortunately, they don’t provide reliable information about the specific tasks that were carried out or the oversight that was provided.” Therefore, it’s challenging to interpret these claims in any way.

Given how effective some AI assistants are at coding tasks, Murray said he didn’t find the report particularly surprising.

He said, “I don’t see how hacks will be caused by AI-powered hacking.”

“But it might cause a change in the scale.” In the future, we should anticipate more AI-powered hacks, and that those hacks will have a greater impact on their effectiveness.

Analysts predict that AI will be crucial in bolstering defenses, despite the growing risks that cybersecurity will face.

A Harvard University research fellow with a focus on computer security and AI security, Fred Heiding, said he thinks AI will give cybersecurity experts a “significant advantage” over time.

“A shortage of human cyber-professionals is preventing many cyber-operations today. Heiding told Al Jazeera, “AI will help us overcome this bottleneck by enabling us to test all of our systems at scale.”

The biggest danger, according to Heiding, is that security professionals will have a window of opportunity to exploit the increasingly sophisticated AI they are using, despite the fact that Anthropic’s account is broadly credible but “overstated.”

He claimed that, “Unfortunately, the defensive community is likely to be too slow” to incorporate the new technology into automated security testing and patching solutions.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Saudi Arabia to Washington, DC, where the two leaders reached agreements involving arms sales, civil nuclear cooperation, artificial intelligence, and crucial minerals, and President Donald Trump designated Saudi Arabia as a significant non-NATO ally.

Trump made the announcement at a formal black-tie dinner at the White House on Tuesday evening that he would “take military cooperation even higher” by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a significant non-NATO ally.

Trump claimed that the designation was “something that is very important to them,” and that he was merely revealing it to you as a result of my desire to keep it a secret for tonight.

A US partner benefits from military and economic advantages without having to commit to any security obligations as a result of this designation.

Trump cited the signing of a “historical strategic defense agreement” between Saudi Arabia and the US.

According to a White House fact sheet, the defense agreement “fortifies deterrence across the Middle East” and “secures new burden-sharing funds from Saudi Arabia to pay for US defense costs.

Trump also disclosed that Saudi Arabia had consented to purchasing 300 American tanks while Trump had approved future deliveries of F-35 fighter jets.

“I’m pleased to announce that we are formally designating Saudi Arabia as a significant non-NATO ally, raising our military cooperation even higher.” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸🇸🇦 pic. twitter.com/PXXGGCBPGU

The Saudi-Saudi F-35 deal raises questions about Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”

The Saudi Arabian purchase of the stealth fighter jets would mark Riyadh’s first US sale of advanced fighter jets. 48 of the aircraft’s reportedly have been requested by the kingdom.

Washington views the move as a significant policy change that could alter the Middle East’s military balance, where US law mandates that Israel maintain a “qualitative military edge.”

Israel is the only Middle Eastern nation to have the F-35 so far.

Trump responded to an Al Jazeera interview with Kimberly Halkett about the impact of the jet fighter deal on Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” He said he was aware that Israel would favor Riyadh receiving warplanes of “reduced calibre.”

Trump addressed the crown prince, who was seated next to him in the White House, saying, “I don’t think that makes you too happy.”

They’ve been a fantastic ally, they claim. Israel has been a fantastic ally. Trump referred to the F-35 deal as “a level where they should get top of the line” as far as I’m concerned.

According to Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, a White House correspondent, Prince Mohammed’s nearly $1 trillion investment in the US included $ 42 billion in funding the purchase of the “most advanced of their kind in the world” F-35 fighter jets, according to Alan Fisher.

Fisher added that lobbyists and the Israeli government had tried to stop Saudi Arabia’s purchase of F-35s.

He continued, “Much more” than Saudi investment in the US was covered by the agreements.”

It involves supporting one another’s economies, industries, and defense. Although politics is not at the top of the list, both nations believe that these agreements could lead to a Middle Eastern political resumption, according to Fisher.

A “clear path” for a Palestinian state

The two nations also signed a joint declaration approving the conclusion of discussions over civil nuclear energy cooperation, which the White House claimed would lay the groundwork for a long-term nuclear energy partnership with Riyadh.

As long as Saudi Arabia and Israel maintain peace under the framework of the Abraham Accords, Israeli officials had suggested that they would not oppose the purchase of F-35s.

Prince Mohammed reiterated this statement during his meeting with Trump, saying that the Saudis would support the Abraham Accords only if there is a viable and guaranteed path to Palestinian statehood.

He stated, “We want to be a part of the Abraham Accords, but we also want to make sure that we secure a two-state solution’s clear path.”