TJ Vasquez
For many of us, AI has become a regular component of our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. So much of what we do and how we exist in today’s landscape has something to do with the rise of AI-powered technology. Take AI in cybersecurity, for example.
Machine learning has taken online security measures to new heights. With the way AI development is expanding, it’s safe to assume that these security measures are only going to become more sophisticated.
Let’s explore the current role of AI in cybersecurity as well as the benefits of using AI for security maintenance.
AI in the Cybersecurity Space
Cyber-related attacks are getting more and more common. The methods that hackers use to access user data are becoming more complex and difficult to prevent. Because of how prevalent and serious cybersecurity issues have become, professionals in the field are discovering new ways that artificial intelligence can improve online security measures.
Cybersecurity personnel are utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning programs to perform complex, multi-step security protocols. Such protocols involve decision-making, problem-solving and other components that would normally call for human intervention. These same individuals utilize AI capabilities to evaluate data, point out behavior patterns, and prevent, detect, and mitigate threats in real-time.
AI’s Cybersecurity Functions
In the field of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence can effectively detect a potential attack or data breach and prevent the malicious user from being successful in his or her efforts. These tools are capable of detecting security-related issues both inside and outside the confines of the network.
An example of this includes cybersecurity teams launching an AI program that determines whether a hacker has gained access to the network in question. This is accomplished by having the cybersecurity AI program comb through the network’s data history and generate reports that cover any suspicious activity.
Additionally, these tools can prevent potential or active attempts to breach the network. This is done by determining which data sets the hacker is attempting to access and locking down additional security measures to block entry.
Along with detecting potential attack attempts and preventing active attacks, AI in cybersecurity can also be automated to
- reduce the need for human workers to dedicate countless hours to the more repetitive and mundane elements of cybersecurity
- save time when it comes to completing the tasks at hand, as machines are most often faster and more efficient than their human counterparts
Automated functions enable cybersecurity professionals to automatically launch and manage threat detection, threat responses, and remediation activities.
Benefits of Using AI
Artificial intelligence in cybersecurity presents security professionals with several benefits that human-only cybersecurity can’t provide. In addition to identifying potential risks, launching the correct response, and evaluating data as it comes, AI programs stand to enhance cybersecurity measures across the board.
Let’s explore a few of the main benefits of AI in cybersecurity.
AI Helps Mitigate Vulnerabilities
AI programs have been trained using countless pieces of data. These datasets effectively teach the algorithm to detect even the most seemingly normal activities that are covering a breach attempt. On top of performing exceptionally, the success of these tools also helps reduce the need for human labor in repetitive, data-heavy tasks.
AI Performs Exceptional Threat Detection
AI can more reliably pinpoint malicious activity and impending attacks than older, more traditional software systems. Though traditional software serves a purpose, it is not sufficient to use alone in the face of mountains of new attack methods emerging every week.
AI algorithms are specifically trained to notice malware, spyware, specific patterns, and even small or seemingly insignificant anomalies in network activity.
AI Enhances Protective Measures
When AI-driven technology leads cybersecurity measures, these programs and tools seek to establish a set of behaviors deemed either normal and abnormal. In a cybersecurity setting, artificial intelligence programs accomplish these feats by repeating their own long-form training exercises. They use relevant data, which helps reinforce the finer points and detection procedures that yield the right results.
AI Accurately Predicts Risks
AI systems are far more capable of predicting risks than human security personnel. The training protocols these programs undergo continue until the algorithm creates an effective and successful process to follow.
Developing the best possible risk prediction methods involves several key steps. These may include examining records, evaluating users, viewing different applications, and creating a baseline of behaviors. AI programs can als imitate a hacker’s methods in order to detect weaknesses in the system that it can then restore.
Current AI Implementations
Plenty of big-name companies are using AI to enhance cybersecurity measures. For example, the Department of Homeland Security uses an AI framework known as AVATAR. This AI evaluates the movements, demeanors, and appearances of individuals the monitoring tools detect. By combining machine learning techniques, massive datasets, and AI in cybersecurity, the AVATAR system can detect even minuscule variations in the way a person behaves.
Along with the Department of Homeland Security’s AVATAR program, the technological giant IBM has several AI programs designed for cybersecurity. Such program options include:
- IBM Watson
- IBM Security QRadar SIEM
- IBM Security QRadar SOAR
- IBM Security QRadar EDM
- IBM MaaS360 Advisor
The Future of AI in Cybersecurity
Managing and mitigating vulnerabilities is the key to protecting any company’s network security. Any standard business (that deals with any sort of private information) faces security risks every single day. To reduce the risk of experiencing a breach, it’s essential to recognize the risks, evaluate them, and take the right steps to stop them in their tracks.
As such, the future of AI in cybersecurity depends on the capabilities of these machine learning programs. Time will tell where the limit may be on AI’s potential to keep preventing and reducing attacks through the evaluation of human patterns as they’re depicted in data.
Presently, we can assume that AI’s potential will continue to skyrocket as these programs learn more and more effective measures that consistently protect networks against attacks.
Stay tuned for more on artificial intelligence and how the expansion of machine learning capabilities stands to change the world. The sky’s the limit for AI development, so there will always be new information to discover as technology continues to advance.
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