A Revolution In Warfare Made Possible By AI

Artificial intelligence is revolutionising warfare and espionage in ways similar to the invention of nuclear arms and ultimately could destroy humanity, according to a new US government-sponsored study.

Advances in artificial intelligence, or AI, and a subset called machine learning are occurring much faster than expected and will provide US military and intelligence services with powerful new high-technology warfare and spying capabilities, says a report recently produced by two AI experts produced for Harvard’s Belfer Center.

The range of coming advanced AI weapons include: robot assassins, superfast cyber-attack machines, driverless car bombs and swarms of small explosive kamikaze drones.

According to the report, “Artificial Intelligence and National Security,” AI “will dramatically augment autonomous weapons and espionage capabilities and will represent a key aspect of future military power.”

The report also offers an alarming warning that artificial intelligence could spin out of control: “Speculative but plausible hypotheses suggest that General AI and especially superintelligence systems pose a potentially existential threat to humanity.”

The 132-page report was written by Gregory C. Allen and Taniel Chan for the director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, (IARPA), the US intelligence community’s research unit.

The report predicts that AI will produce a revolution in both military and intelligence affairs comparable to the emergence of aircraft, noting unsuccessful diplomatic efforts in 1899 to ban the use of aircraft for military purposes.

“The applications of AI to warfare and espionage are likely to be as irresistible as aircraft,” the report says. “Preventing expanded military use of AI is likely impossible.”

Recent AI breakthroughs included a $35 computer that defeated a former Air Force pilot in an air combat simulator, and a South Korean program that beat a person at Go, a chess like board game.

AI is rapidly growing from the exponential expansion of computing power, the use of large data sets to train machine learning systems, and significant and rapidly increasing private sector investment. Just as cyber weapons are being developed by both major powers and underdeveloped nations, automated weaponry such as aerial drones and ground robots likely will be deployed by foreign militaries.

“In the short term, advances in AI will likely allow more autonomous robotic support to warfighters, and accelerate the shift from manned to unmanned combat missions,” the report says, noting that the Islamic State has begun using drones in attacks.

“Over the long term, these capabilities will transform military power and warfare.”

Russia is planning extensive automated weapons systems and according to the report plans to have 30 percent of its combat forces remotely controlled or autonomous by 2030.

Currently, the Pentagon has restricted the use of lethal autonomous systems.

“Imagine a low-cost drone with the range of a Canada Goose, a bird which can cover 1,500 miles in under 24 hours at an average speed of 60 miles per hour,” the report said. “How would an aircraft carrier battle group respond to an attack from millions of aerial kamikaze explosive drones?”

AI-derived assassinations also are likely in the future by robots that will be difficult to detect. “A small, autonomous robot could infiltrate a target’s home, inject the target with a lethal dose of poison, and leave undetected,” the report said. “Alternatively, automatic sniping robots could assassinate targets from afar.”

Terrorists also are expected in the future to develop precision-guided improvised explosive devices that could transit long distances autonomously. An example would be autonomous self-driving car bombs.

AI also could be used in deadly cyber-attacks, such as hacking cars and forcing them to crash, and advanced AI cyber capabilities also will enhance cyber warfare capabilities by overwhelming human operators. Robots also will be able to inject “poisoned” data into large data sets in ways that could create false images for warfighters looking to distinguish between enemy and friendly aircraft, naval systems or ground weapons.

Electronic cyber robots in the future will automate the human-intensive process of both defending networks from attacks, and probing enemy networks and software for weaknesses used in attacks.

Another danger is that in the future hostile actors will steal or replicate military and intelligence AI systems.

The report urged the Pentagon to develop counter-AI capabilities for both offensive and defensive operations.

GPS Spoofing

One question being asked by the Navy in the aftermath of deadly collision between the destroyer USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker is whether the collision was the result of cyber or electronic warfare attacks.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson was asked about the possibility and said that while there is no indication yet that outside interference caused the collision, investigators will examine all possibilities, including some type of cyber-attack.

Navy sources close to the probe say there is no indication cyber-attacks or electronic warfare caused the collision that killed 10 sailors as the ship transited the Straits of Malacca near Singapore.

But the fact that the McCain was the second agile Navy destroyer to be hit by a large merchant ship in two months has raised new concerns about electronic interference.

Seven died on the USS Fitzgerald, another guided-missile destroyer that collided with a merchant ship in waters near Japan in June. The incidents highlight the likelihood that electronic warfare will be used in a future conflict to cause ship collisions or groundings. Both warships are equipped with several types of radar capable of detecting nearby shipping traffic miles away. Watch officers on the bridge were monitoring all approaching ships. The fact that crews of the two ships were unable to see the approaching ships in time to maneuver away has increased concerns about electronic sabotage.

One case of possible Russian electronic warfare surfaced two months ago. The US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration warned about possible intentional “GPS interference” on June 22 in the Black Sea, where Russian ships and aircraft in the past of have challenged US Navy warships and surveillance aircraft.

According to the New Scientist, that first reported the suspected Russian GPS spoofing, the Maritime Administration notice referred to a ship sailing near the Russian port of Novorossiysk that reported its GPS navigation falsely indicated the vessel was located more than 20 miles inland at Gelendzhik Airport, close to the Russian resort town of the same name on the Black Sea.

The navigation equipment was checked for malfunctions and found to be working properly. The ship captain then contacted nearby ships and learned that at least 20 ships also reported that signals from their automatic identification system (AIS), a system used to broadcast ship locations at sea, also had falsely indicated they were at the inland airport.

Todd Humphreys, a professor who specialises in robotics at the University of Texas, suspects the Russians in June were experimenting with an electronic warfare weapon designed to lure ships off course by substituting false electronic signals to navigation equipment.

On the US destroyers, Mr. Humphreys told Inside the Ring that blaming two similar warship accidents on human negligence seems difficult to accept.

“With the Fitzgerald collision fresh on their minds, surely the crew of the USS John McCain would have entered the waters around the Malacca Strait with extra vigilance,” he said. “And yes, it’s theoretically possible that GPS spoofing or AIS spoofing was involved in the collision. Nonetheless I still think that crew negligence is the most likely explanation.”

Military vessels use encrypted GPS signals that make spoofing more difficult. Spoofing the AIS on the oil tanker that hit the McCain is also a possibility, but would not explain how the warship failed to detect the approaching vessel.

“One can easily send out bogus AIS messages and cause phantom ships to appear on ships’ electronic chart displays across a widespread area,” Mr. Humphreys said

Mr. Humphreys said he suspects Navy investigators will find three factors behind the McCain disaster: The ship was not broadcasting its AIS location beacon; the oil tanker’s collision warning system may have failed or the Navy crew failed to detect the approaching tanker.

Washington Times:

You Might Also Read:

Intelligence In The Age of Cyber Warfare:

US Warship Collisions Raise Cyber Attack Questions:

The Next Big Conflict Will Turn On Artificial Intelligence:

 

« 4 Ways to Simplify Your Business Data Management
US Navy’s State-of-The-Art AI Drone »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

ZenGRC

ZenGRC

ZenGRC - the first, easy-to-use, enterprise-grade information security solution for compliance and risk management - offers businesses efficient control tracking, testing, and enforcement.

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)?

Watch this webinar to hear security experts from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SANS break down the myths and realities of what an NGFW is, how to use one, and what it can do for your security posture.

NordLayer

NordLayer

NordLayer is an adaptive network access security solution for modern businesses — from the world’s most trusted cybersecurity brand, Nord Security. 

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

Maryman & Associates

Maryman & Associates

Maryman & Associates are specialists in computer forensic investigations, incident response and e-discovery services.

Vade Secure

Vade Secure

Vade Secure provides protection against the most sophisticated email scams such as phishing and spear phishing, malware and ransomware.

IDpendant

IDpendant

IDpendant offers a wide range of services, including authentication technology, client security products, single sign on systems, encryption solutions, card and mobile device management systems.

Slovak Security Policy Institute (SSPI)

Slovak Security Policy Institute (SSPI)

Slovak Security Policy Institute is an independent non-governmental organization that focuses on research and analysis of security challenges including defence and cyber security.

Myra Security

Myra Security

The fully automated Myra DDoS Protection reliably protects web applications, websites, DNS servers, and IT infrastructures.

Aporeto

Aporeto

The Aporeto platform protects cloud applications from attack by authenticating and authorizing all communications with a cryptographically signed identity assigned to every workload.

National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine (NAAU)

National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine (NAAU)

NAAU is the national accreditation body for Ukraine. The directory of members provides details of organisations offering certification services for ISO 27001.

SixThirty CYBER

SixThirty CYBER

SixThirty is a venture fund that invests in early-stage enterprise technology companies from around the world building FinTech, InsurTech, and Cybersecurity solutions.

Help AG

Help AG

Help AG provides leading enterprise businesses and governments across the Middle East with strategic consultancy combined with tailored information security solutions and services.

NTT Group

NTT Group

NTT offers agile, scalable technology services to bring it all together seamlessly, securely, and sustainably. We help you adopt a holistic security approach across your network, clouds, applications.

Oasis Technology

Oasis Technology

Oasis Technology are experts in cyber security. In addition to pioneering the game-changing TITAN anti-hacking device, we provide extensive cyber security consulting services.

DigitalPlatforms

DigitalPlatforms

DigitalPlatforms SpA is an Italian group with the mission of providing end-to-end solutions and Internet of Things and Cyber technologies to companies that manage critical infrastructures.

ZILLIONe

ZILLIONe

ZILLIONe is one of Sri Lanka´s top enterprise technology solutions providers.

NoviFlow

NoviFlow

NoviFlow is a leading provider of terabit networking software solutions for Communication Service Providers (CSPs).

IT Voice

IT Voice

IT Voice specializes in Managed IT and VoIP solutions. Our focus is simplifying the technology so our customers can stay focused on what they do best.

Cypherleak

Cypherleak

Cypherleak provide Automated Cyber Risk Monitoring & Ai powered cyber recommendations.