US intelligence agencies search for hackers and analyze codes

An initiative led by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), the main federal research agency for the United States intelligence community, is developing a research project that accelerates the identification of hackers based on the codes they use. Cyber ​​attacks.

Christopher Rees, who manages the research program at IARPA and holds a doctorate in computer science and engineering, highlighted the critical need to develop technologies that can speed up investigations to identify perpetrators of cyberattacks.

“The number of attacks is growing faster than the number of forensic experts available to investigate these attacks,” Rees said. The Wall Street Journal. He highlighted that the lack of forensic evidence often allows hackers targeting smaller companies or organizations outside critical infrastructure sectors to escape detection.

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The research project, which is expected to last 30 months, is not intended to replace human investigators who are critical of identifying the social and political dynamics that explain why a particular hacking group chose a victim. However, using artificial intelligence to analyze the codes used in cyberattacks could make investigations more efficient, as Reese pointed out.

IARPA is currently accepting proposals from researchers, with research expected to begin next summer. It often takes months or even years for law enforcement officials to identify the hackers behind a major cyber attack. Hackers take steps to hide their identities online and share tools with other groups, making it more difficult for investigators to track down a suspect.

Jordan Ray Kelly, senior director of Americas cybersecurity consulting at FDI Consulting and former chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) cyber division and head of strategic initiatives, told the WSJ that hackers often get it wrong. The key is to find a positive outlook.

Reese acknowledges that the research faces challenges, particularly as advances in artificial intelligence develop and hackers use AI to write code. This could mean that different cybercrime groups are using AI-generated malicious tools, he added.

• The potential interference of AI in cyber investigations has raised concerns in many countries.
• Interior and defense ministers from the G7 nations noted in a statement following their Dec. 10 meeting that emerging technologies, including the creation of artificial intelligence, will make it “more difficult for parties to identify, investigate and prosecute cyber attacks” by law enforcement agencies.
• Despite the concerns, AI could help law enforcement agencies combat the growing number of cyberattacks.
• IARPA’s research and use of AI to analyze code will help law enforcement sift through massive amounts of data and piece together information from past cyberattacks, as noted by Tim Gallagher, managing director and head of the digital investigations practice at Nordello, one of the legal investigations.
• Gallagher, a former special agent in charge of the FBI’s cyber division office in Newark, N.J., noted that authorities collect vast amounts of data from cyberattacks around the world and receive evidence of intrusions from their partners in other countries.
• “They don’t have enough people to analyze this data. That’s where they’ll look for technical solutions,” Gallagher said.