Authors: Daniel Lentz
Mentors: Dave Norwood
Insitution: University of Utah
Information security as a field has suffered from a significant imbalance of power on the side of the attacker contra the defender. In a mirror of the historical advantages raiders possessed over settlements, attackers can act more flexibly, persistently, and are less bound by organizational bloat. To negate this advantage, defenders will have to adopt new strategies that recontextualize their position. It is suggested that defenders adopt a hybridized approach, utilizing generative AI and machine learning in tandem to develop a more fluid and dynamic strategy to overwhelm attackers. The adoption of this approach coincides with the addition of an employee type called a “Wallfacer” (a role inspired by the similarly named Wallfacer Inititative in Cixin Liu's novel The Dark Forest) - a specially selected employee given the task to act erratically to ensure that the generative AI and ML algorithms a consistently baffle both internal and external threats. Multiple Wallfacers will work in tandem with minimally intrusive oversight to ensure that nothing they do violates legal or company policy.