Cybersecurity, AI and Information Systems Expert, Dr. Martin Nana Annan says Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the only effective way to counter the growing sophistication of cybercrime, as criminals increasingly deploy AI-powered tools that conventional cybersecurity systems cannot detect. Speaking at the Ecobank–JoyNews Business Financial Dialogue held at the Ecobank Auditorium on Tuesday, July 28, Dr.
Annan said AI is fundamentally transforming digital finance by shifting cybersecurity from reactive defence to predictive, real-time automation capable of identifying and responding to threats before they cause significant damage. “Artificial intelligence fundamentally alters digital finance by shifting from reactive defence to predictive real-time automation,” he said. According to him, while information technology has evolved rapidly and transformed lives and businesses, the rise of cybercrime has slowed confidence in digitalisation, particularly in the financial sector.
“One of the technologies in human life which has really moved so fast is the information technology. However, when we got to the digitalisation space, when cybercrime was prevalent, it has slowed down the advancement of this technology in enhancing the lives of the people because of cybercrime,” he said. Annan argued that as cybercriminals increasingly harness AI to launch sophisticated attacks, organisations must also adopt AI-powered security tools to defend their systems.
“Therefore, AI now becomes the only way to leverage and counter cybercrime because these criminals are using sophisticated algorithms that are difficult for humans to comprehend and also counter. But with the use of AI, we also leverage machine learning and other sophisticated algorithms to also counter the attackers,” he said. He explained that one of the clearest examples of AI’s impact on cybercrime is the emergence of polymorphic malware, which continuously changes its characteristics as it moves through a computer system, making it difficult for traditional antivirus software to detect.
“The malware that we send traditionally will go through the process as it started. But now with AI, the malware will begin to mutate. As it’s going through the system, it is changing its behavior in the system.
So, it renders antiviruses useless, which means that you also require an AI tool that will be able to detect th…
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