Combatting Cyber Threats With Artificial Intelligence ("AI") – Will The New EU AI Regulation Help? – Technology – European Union – Mondaq…

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In 2021 cyber threats have been trending to increased ransomwareattacks, commodity malware and heightened Dark Webenablement. INTERPOL reported that the projected worldwidefinancial loss to cyber crime for 2021 is $6 trillion, twice asmuch as in 2015, with damages set to cost the global economy $10.5trillion annually by 2025. Globally, leading tech experts reportedthat 60% of intrusions incorporated data extortion, with a 12-dayaverage operational downtime due to ransomware.

With the acceleration to cloud, companies are taking advantageof cybersecurity in an effort to meet the threat of fast-evolvingcyber attacks. AI and machine learning are a way to keepahead of criminals, automate threat detection, and respond moreeffectively than before. At the same time, moresophisticated, centralised security operations centres are beingset up to detect and eliminate vulnerabilities.

In April 2021, the European Union published its Proposal for a Regulationon Artificial Intelligence (the "AIRegulation"). At this early stage in the legislativeprocess, these are the key takeaways:

As expected, the debate around this legislation has alreadystarted. On the positive side, this regulation may become theglobal standard, in the same way GDPR has become. It may also makeAI systems more trustworthy and offer extra protections to thepublic. On the other side, it may stifle innovation, add more costsand red-tape, which may hinder start-ups from entering themarket. We will hear more on this around the world before itbecomes law, currently expected in 2023.

Cybersecurity AI systems play a crucial role in ensuring ITsystems are resilient against malicious actors. The new AIRegulations will undoubtedly affect these systems. Exactly howthese systems will be affected will depend on the system (e.g. forlaw enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition) which maylead to conformity assessments, explainability testing,registration, and more.

Considering the speed and agile process that technology isdeveloped today, companies and innovators should consider how mightthe future AI Regulation affect such technologydevelopment.

Matheson's highly experienced Technology and InnovationGroup will be keeping abreast of developments as the legislationprogresses. At this stage, we would be very interested to hear fromclients on their expectations or questions about thesedevelopments.

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

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Combatting Cyber Threats With Artificial Intelligence ("AI") - Will The New EU AI Regulation Help? - Technology - European Union - Mondaq...