Week 9 Blog

The future of intelligence will be filled with numerous challenges stemming from rapid-fire technological advancements that are only getting smarter and more complex year in and year out.  

Chief among these, and the most pressing topic of the day, is the rise of artificial intelligence (AI.)  Keeping pace with this innovation will be vital, requiring investment in technical expertise and agile adaptation.  The rise of AI is taking place on a level playing field, as the expertise and equipment required to take advantage of this new frontier are cheap and widely available.  

The evolution of AI can lead to significant escalation of current national security threats related to cyber attacks.  Data breaches, disruption of infrastructure operations, acts of espionage, and social engineering exploitation are just a few examples of current threats that will only be magnified by a significant multitude as AI systems grow more advanced, and allow an adversary to gain the upper hand with significantly less effort than is required today.

To combat this threat, intelligence agencies must be poised to develop tools to combat enemy AI, possibly utilizing AI software to do so.  Employing advanced systems that can detect anomalies or system intrusions in real-time will be critical, in order to catch an enemy in the act, rather than long after the damage has been done.  Protecting the systems of U.S. Intelligence agencies, in order to prevent adveraries from learning, stealing, or exploiting its secrets, can be the difference between preventing a major attack, or enduring devastating losses.

As platforms such as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), spy satellites, high altitude platforms, and more become more reliant on automation, it is critical that these technologies are not only protected from cyber intrusion, but also become smarter, and more reliable as fully automated systems.  AI can help to accelerate future development of unmanned systems, but the Intelligence Community must remain vigilant to outside threats, as the bridge narrows globally in what even the smallest team of technical experts can achieve on a suddenly very level playing field.

It has been a blast this term, thank you all very much for being an excellent group to learn with!

-Alex Enriquez

References:

Breeden II, J. (2023, August 23). US issues threat warning after hackers break into a satellite. Defense One . https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/08/national-intelligence-office-issues-cyber-warning-government-and-commercial-satellites/389671/

CISA’s Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence. (n.d.). Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. https://www.cisa.gov/ai

Goin, A. (2023, February 10). The new face of military power—How AI & ML are improving drones. GovDevSecOpsHub . https://govdevsecopshub.com/2023/02/10/the-new-face-of-military-power-how-ai-ml-are-improving-drones/