Shubhendra Agrawal is the founder of MSG91 and is an absolute Finance man. Ideally a Mathematics freak and an Engineer who cares not very much about academics. MSG 91 is India’s number one A2P communication provider in India. The cloud communication platform mainly caters to businesses (B2B) all over India (and expanding globally) to perform effective and seamless business communications through various channels. The services provided by the platform are BulkSMS, Emails, Voice, Chat, Whatsapp, and RCS. MSG 91 has delivered 1 billion + OTP’s, Transactional and promotional SMS every month without fail and 15 K+active users use the service globally.
These days, AI chatbots are increasingly popular. People have grown accustomed to texting and vocal assistance services. All of these platforms make use of AI in some way. Implementing a conversational AI around the website is advantageous to the business. AI chatbots, on the other hand, are still robots with possible flaws. True, AI chatbot algorithms are more complicated than those found in most apps. As a result, security breaches are much less likely.
Threats associated with Conversational AI
System vulnerabilities are flaws in a computer system that attackers can exploit to cross authority boundaries. When the system has insecure coding, outdated hardware drivers, a misconfigured firewall, and so on, it is vulnerable. The majority of system flaws are caused by human error. SDL (Security Development Lifecycle) is a tool that can help you avoid mistakes like this. Because many chatbots store data in cloud-based services, which are well-protected against risks and vulnerabilities, the following article concentrates on the communication component and various aspects of data manipulations.
There are two domains in encrypted messaging. The first domain is data transfer security, which refers to the safe delivery of data, audio, and graphics to a server where the chatbot is housed. The second domain is concerned with how the user’s data is handled, saved, and shared on the servers (backend). Both identities cover the user’s domain’s lifespan. In the first domain, there are many dangers to user messages. The following essay examines how to make chatbot communication more secure. Not every one of them is commonly used because they are not required in many circumstances. The majority of the techniques listed below must be implemented if a company handles any user data.
Authentication and Permissions
It is not always necessary to verify the identity of the user (authentication). Authentication is normally not necessary when a user asks help, such as on a retail website. In this instance, the process does not require the user’s identify or connect directly to their data. The scenario is different when a user asks guidance and the chatbot uses the user’s data. Authentication and validation are required to ensure that a user’s login credentials are legitimate and trustworthy. A username, network interface, system ID, contact information, biometric authentication, certification, passphrase, and other methods of validation are the most common credentials. The user sends these credentials to the system, which generates a secure authorization that is used during the user’s session. Tokens are used in communications with banks (and other similarly protected services). After a certain amount of time, the system must generate a new token.
Personal data storage and sharing via the World Wide Web is never completely secure. A personal authentication verification (Personal Scan) barrier would authenticate the user’s acceptance by the bots while engaging with them. The personalized scan would therefore ensure that the user’s information will not be utilized by cybercriminals or other fraudulent agents if they interacted with a rogue chatbot.
SECURITY OF API
It’s an extra layer of protection. It is a feature that allows users to only transmit information to white listed IP addresses. It will also display the IP addresses from which the APIs are accessed. If API security is activated and users try to send an SMS from a different IP, they will receive an error.
Encryption from beginning to End
End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) is a communication system in which only the persons conversing can read the information. The discussion is encrypted in such a manner that only the document’s unique recipient, and no one else, can decipher it. A third party can tamper with and counterfeit data being transmitted. As a result, it’s crucial to make sure that only the parties involved have possession of the data encryption needed to decrypt the discussion. The user’s device creates two different encryption keys-public and private keys. Different protocols, such as the RSA algorithm, are used to offer encryption. The messages are encrypted with the public key, and the messages can be decrypted with the private key.
Anyone who transmits a signal to the encryption key owner can, of course, use the public key. Simply put, the public key can be shared by both ends of the chatbot to encrypt interaction. Identification and identity protection techniques sometimes employ encryption. Keeping the encryption key safe is crucial; otherwise, an attacker will be able to decrypt all messages sent to this user.
Messages that are self-destructive
Self-destructing messages are a realistic option in many circumstances when critical PII (personally identifiable information) is conveyed. Messages holding PII are automatically deleted once a certain amount of time has passed. Both the client and the chatbot may be involved. In connection with financial (banking) and healthcare chatbots, self-destructing communications are an important security practice. Personal data must be retained for no longer than is required for the objectives for which it is processed, according to Article 5 (e) of the GDPR. Although general talk is not considered personal, financial and healthcare information are. It can be difficult to tell what is and is not personal information when communicating with a chatbot, but it’s also regulated under GDPR and Protected Health Information (PHI) under US law. PHI states that any information about a person’s general health, the treatment of medical conditions, or the reimbursement for health care must be developed or collected by a Public Body and cannot be related to a specific person. GDPR compliance necessitates a level of privacy known as “intent.” This means that just the participant’s intent will be registered and maintained for auditing purposes, and that the user’s personal information must never be disclosed, also from the backend.
Summing Up
In the digital era, AI technology and conversational AI are indeed a gift and a curse. It can be leveraged to break into systems as well as guard them. As artificial intelligence’s application is harnessed across businesses, it will boost cyber security. Humans can only look into things to a certain level; however, AI can look into anything. With the ability to do in-depth analysis, businesses will be able to respond quickly to clients who pose a threat.