KOTA KINABALU: The challenges and risks posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to cybersecurity have increased dramatically, said Sabah Science, Technology and Innovation minister Datuk Arifin Arif.
He said Nov 30, 2022, will be remembered in history as the day ChatGPT, an AI chatbot or generative AI, was launched.
"It is considered a game-changer in the field of AI due to its ability to generate high-quality text that is contextually relevant, making it highly versatile and capable of handling various natural language processing tasks.
"On the flip side, this same capability can be misused to influence users, disseminate false information, plan and create malicious source code, launch cyberattacks, or engage in other dangerous activities in the context of cybersecurity.
"In fact, other generative AIs similar to ChatGPT have emerged, but they were created by cybercriminals, such as FraudGPT and WormGPT, which are claimed to be used to build malicious software, identify application system vulnerabilities, determine targets, and write fake emails," he said.
Mohd Arifin was speaking during the launch of the BIMP-EAGA Cyber Security Summit themed 'AI in Cyber Security: Harnessing the Power, Navigating the Risks at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here.
Mohd Arifin added on Nov 1, 28 countries, including the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the European Union, signed the Bletchley Declaration, the world's first intergovernmental declaration on AI, in which they agreed that AI has the potential to pose near-term risks to global humanity.
For Sabah, in the last three years, online fraud losses in Sabah have exceeded RM100 million through 4,687 cases.
This year, as of September, has recorded the highest losses in history, valued at RM28 million through 1,243 cases.
"While the amount of losses in Sabah is relatively small compared to the whole country, we need to take early and proactive action to minimise risks and control any cybersecurity incidents from spreading and escalating beyond control.
"Based on this background, this conference has been organised with a carefully chosen theme, urging all of us to prepare ourselves, our organisations, and our surroundings to face these extremely challenging issues."
Present was the Sabah Computer Services director Ernywati Dewi Abas.