Microsoft's vice chairman and president Brad Smith has called on governments to form a “collective defence” against an increase in security threats fuelled by artificial intelligence.
Speaking from Riyadh, Mr Smith told On the Record that countries must work with the corporate sector to keep people and data safe.
"The only defence that will work is a collective defence that relies on a partnership between governments and trusted companies," he said. “I think to some degree, the whole digital sovereignty issue is creating the risk that more governments will prioritise trying to keep everything under their own control without, in my view, appreciating that the only defence that will work is a collective defence."
He said such a partnership would include "an ability to access data, analyse it, share it and act on the threats we see".
With AI able to act as a “force multiplier”, attacks are already becoming faster, more automated and more difficult to detect, Mr Smith added.
"AI is a huge tool. Unfortunately, in this case, it’s become weaponised,” he said.
He has seen a "huge step" in sophisticated ransomware attacks carried out using AI. "Think about something as simple as how a ransomware attack might start," he said. "It's somebody who wants to figure out who you are, who your friends are, who your family members are, and send something to you that is very convincing, maybe referring to somebody you know and trust using language that is going to be perfectly written in your own language, even using your own expressions.”
When it comes to global cyber security threats, Mr Smith explained that Microsoft was aware of major Chinese and Russian activity. He considers the US government to be the most secure in the world.
"The US government is, I think, really at the top when it comes to strong cyber security protection,” he said. "But part of it is every day we work so closely with every part of the United States government. It's that partnership, that really collective action, the combined teamwork, that makes all the difference in the world."
Such collaboration will be essential to governments around the world as AI-driven security threats increase. Vulnerability in one country can eventually mean vulnerability in all.
"I do think one of the things we need to recognise is that, as AI becomes more powerful, as countries focus more on digital sovereignty, cyber security is the ultimate shield that nations need,” Mr Smith said. “Unless they have this kind of effective cyber security shield, then all of these other advances, and even this notion of sovereignty itself, are going to prove illusory.”
