Publication date: 02.05.2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) has already transformed various industries, including several that were long thought to be by nature "human"—for example, the legal profession. However, despite AI technology's enormous promise to assist legal practitioners in simplifying their processes and providing better client service, some are taking advantage of its compelling powers for selfish benefit. As a result, lawyers must understand these cyber risks in order to ethically and safely incorporate artificial intelligence into their operations.
The impact of AI on data security
The vulnerabilities to data security caused by artificial intelligence technologies have been widely discussed. For starters, the usage of AI has immediate data security consequences in terms of how these platforms gather, use, and store user information; nevertheless, some wrongdoers have discovered dangerous use cases for artificial intelligence that generate new cyber risks on a scale that many may be unprepared to combat.
Lawyers' exposure to data security risks
Lawyers, in particular, should be aware of artificial intelligence's data security threats, as they manage sensitive client information. Many law firms retain data that would be highly valuable to criminals, ranging from their customers' financial information to personally identifying information such as addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers. Because trust is so important in a lawyer-client relationship, law firms must adhere to the strictest data security standards.
Access to data by artificial intelligence
One of the most harmful applications of artificial intelligence is when scammers use the technology to strengthen their phishing operations. Scammers can now copy people more realistically and convincingly than ever before by training an AI model with a library of messages written by the person they want to impersonate, allowing the AI model to replicate their writing style with uncanny accuracy. If a lawyer falls victim to one of these scams—say, an email pretending to be from their boss, a client, or a trusted contact—they may unintentionally allow wrongdoers access to their and their clients' personal information.
Similarly, lawyers may fall victim to AI-powered false visuals or sounds known as "deepfakes." Although the most negative attention has been focused on deepfakes used for blackmail, reputational damage, or disseminating misinformation, there are also alarming business applications for deepfakes. A fraudster, for example, could make a convincing audio tape imitating a lawyer's client in order to obtain authorization for a specific activity or charge. This might have catastrophic consequences for both lawyers and their clients.
The use of artificial intelligence for cyber-attacks
Law companies and lawyers are particularly attractive targets for hackers who utilize artificial intelligence technologies to automate cyberattacks. Hackers can train models to automatically probe a network for vulnerabilities to exploit, and these models can often detect these vulnerabilities before the network operator is even aware of them, leaving them with little time to repair them before the damage is done and their data is compromised.
Tools to fight cyber-attacks
Fortunately, bad actors' malicious technology is not the only emerging technology. AI has demonstrated considerable potential in the cybersecurity field to assist fight against these attacks. For example, models have been built to assess the authenticity of texts, photos, and audio samples. Furthermore, the same technology that hackers use to probe for network vulnerabilities may be used by organizations to proactively uncover flaws that must be repaired before they are used.
However, as useful as these technologies are in preventing and minimizing the cyber threats posed by AI-powered attacks, there is no better way to limit their impact than to be proactive. By training their workers on appropriate cybersecurity procedures, law firms can reduce their vulnerability to potential cyber threats. To protect the integrity of their data and systems, lawyers must learn how to detect fraudulent messages and audiovisual materials, as well as adopt proper practices such as access control and password protection.
Conclusion
Whatever perspective you take, artificial intelligence is a powerful instrument that, like any other, may be used for either good or bad. Nonetheless, we must not allow the harmful actions of a few wrongdoers to deprive those who use the technology for legal, useful purposes of the benefits of this invention. Understanding the possible security risks posed by this technology is the first step toward developing an environment in which artificial intelligence may be used to improve the world.
You can also read about: