According to Bugcrowd’s Inside the Mind of a Hacker – 2023 report, nearly three-quarters (72%) of white hat hackers express skepticism regarding generative AI’s ability to replace human creativity in security research and vulnerability management.
Nonetheless, the surveyed hackers recognize the significance of generative AI tools like ChatGPT in their work, with 21% acknowledging that AI already surpasses their capabilities. Moreover, 55% believe that these technologies have either increased or will increase the value of ethical hacking and security research.
Furthermore, a substantial majority (78%) foresee AI causing disruptions in the way hackers conduct penetration testing or bug bounty programs within the next five year period.
Many of the respondents have already incorporated generative AI into their work processes, utilizing it for automating tasks, analyzing data, identifying vulnerabilities and validation. The report highlights a rising trend of hackers utilizing AI chatbots to aid in report writing, with AI-generated initial text serving as a valuable starting point.
Among the AI chatbots used by respondents, the top three choices were ChatGPT (98%), Google Bard (40%), and Bing Chat AI (40%).