Black October shows how criminals use AI to cause real-world chaos but heres how you can protect yourself

The world has been plunged into a cyber-security crisis, known as “Black October,” which exposed how vulnerable much of the world’s online infrastructure is.Major security incidents, hacks and flaws across the globe have shown how easily online data stored by governments, companies and individuals can be hacked.“Artificial intelligence is dramatically accelerating the discovery of software weaknesses [and] vulnerabilities and criminals can exploit them before a government or a company can even have enough time to respond,” Scott Schober, CEO of New Jersey-based Berkeley Varitronics Systems, told The Post.“They know they’re ahead of the curve.Governments can’t keep up.”He added that criminals don’t even have to be especially technical to use AI nefariously.“AI can write the scripts for you.

You don’t have to be a programmer anymore,” Schober added.“It’s like getting a master’s degree without attending a day of college.”One of the most major incidents was when serious flaws in PHP — the programming code which serves as the backbone which 70% of the world’s internet sites are built on — were found, which could have allowed hackers to break into servers and take control without a password.Other “Black October” incidents have included malicious software distributed through LiteLLM, a tool used by AI developers, and many other companies rushing to fix flaws in their programming.The threats posed to the real world are serious.

For example, cyber attackers can try and disrupt or poison water supplies, cut off electricity or overload sewage processing plants.This is particularly dangerous in smaller municipalities without dedicated cybersecurity teams.Seven states have confirmed attempts to cyber sabotage water plants: New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, South Dakota, Alabama and Georgia.More than 30 Minnesota water systems were attacked in July, while a Georgia attack led to a boil-water advisory in one county, according t...