Top 5 stories of the week: What new technologies like ChatGPT may mean for Google

ChatGPT‘s capabilities are captivating the industry as enterprises begin to explore the use cases. Some experts have issued warnings about bad actors taking advantage of the tool to increase ransomware attacks — worried that it could democratize cybercrime, thus increasing it.  The tool is already so powerful that it even has some questioning the future of search engines like Google — which has ruled the most-used spot in the search tool category since 2000. Earlier this week, Google told CNBC that some employees had expressed concern internally about the search giant losing its edge to ChatGPT. 

Meanwhile, another competitor in the space, You.com, opened its search platform up to external developers so they can build their own apps for its search results page to integrate more AI capabilities — this also includes generative AI, the company noted.

Along with news of enhancing search engines, this week the Linux Foundation detailed news of its efforts to revamp mapping technology with the formation of the Overture Maps Foundation. The foundation will focus on incorporating rising technologies like augmented reality (AR)  into map building as interest in and tools for the metaverse are also on the rise. What this means for Google’s own map tool will be seen in time. The company incorporated AR into its maps feature back in 2019 and has continued to expand these capabilities since.

It also remains to be seen what direction the future of Google’s search engine may head as a result of ChatGPT’s sharp competitive capabilities. However, Google’s vast focus areas outside of search also made news this week. It debuted the OSV-Scanner this week in an effort to assist developers with identifying known vulnerabilities — and patches for them — in open-source projects. 

Its OSV-Scanner release comes at an opportune time. As we begin to learn more about ChatGPT’s possibility to be used to create ransomware with ease, many, including IBM researchers, predict that 2023 will see a rise in the number of attacks, hackers and in cyber-crime-as-a-service ecosystems.

Here’s more from our top 5 tech stories of the week:

1. Google releases vulnerability scanner for open-source software, backed by community-editable database
   Google has announced the launch of OSV-Scanner, a free vulnerability scanner designed to provide developers with access to vulnerability information about open-source projects, which it claims is the largest community-editable database for open-source vulnerabilities.

   OSV-Scanner enables developers to automatically match code and dependencies against lists of known vulnerabilities and identify if patches or updates are available.

2. How ChatGPT can turn anyone into a ransomware and malware threat actor
   Ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT at the end of November, commentators on all sides have been concerned about the impact AI-driven content-creation will have, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. In fact, many researchers are concerned that generative AI solutions will democratize cybercrime.

   While security teams can also leverage ChatGPT for defensive purposes such as testing code, by lowering the barrier for entry for cyberattacks, the solution has complicated the threat landscape significantly.

3. Creating the ultimate smart map with new map data initiative launched by Linux Foundation   
   Map data is voluminous and vast; the modern world relies on it not just for navigation, but for local search, routing, logistics, data visualization and other emerging innovations — including autonomous driving.

   To help usher in the next era of map building — particularly with the dawn of the metaverse, the rise of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) and the many other platforms and worlds not yet conceived — the Linux Foundation today announced the formation of the Overture Maps Foundation.

4. As Google weighs in on ChatGPT, You.com enters the AI chat
   One of the biggest topics underlying the hype bonanza since OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT two weeks ago has been: What does this mean for search?

   You.com, the search engine startup founded in 2020 with a moonshot bid to take on Google, announced today that it has opened its search platform to allow external developers and organizations to build their own apps for the search results page. 

   This includes generative AI apps, it says, that have never been seen inside traditional search engines, using generative AI technology that enables users to generate text (YouWrite), code (YouCode), or images (YouImagine) from plain English — all within the search results page.

5. 6 IBM cybersecurity predictions for 2023: Ransomware and CaaS will spike
   IBM Security and the X-Force threat research team shared six predictions with VentureBeat for how cyber threats will evolve in 2023.

   These predictions include a rise in ransomware attacks, a boom in the cyber-crime-as-a-service (CaaS) ecosystem, and hackers innovating new techniques to exploit MFA and EDR technologies.