Cyber AI - How is AI being used in cybersecurity?

Cyberattacks are taking place more frequently and at a faster rate than ever before.. Hackers and other malicious actors of all shapes and sizes are now targeting all types of businesses and organizations of all sizes, from small family companies to large enterprises and corporations. Even governments and entire nations are now targets for attacks. The sheer number of threats and the broad range of malicious techniques and strategies make it harder than ever for legitimate organizations to defend themselves. Because of that, we need ML (machine learning) and AI (artificial intelligence) systems if we want to have a chance of remaining secure in cyberspace. We also need people to be able to adopt and efficiently use cybersecurity AI in our companies and institutions. Here are some of the reasons why I believe cyber AI should be one of our primary priorities:

Cybersecurity and the current threat environment

The world today, always connected as it is, faces unprecedented threats in terms of cybersecurity. The number of malicious attacks, whether originating from extremely well-organized hacker groups or even nation-state actors, has increased exponentially during the last couple of years, and especially this year, as a result of the conflict in Ukraine..

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like things will improve significantly in the next period of time. In fact, the software created with malintent by the aforementioned groups seems to become more and more sophisticated. Not only that now there’s malware out there that can avoid being detected by traditional signature-based tools, but we’re also witnessing the scary advancement of AI-powered threats!

To get an idea of the overall situation, just last year, AV-Test identified almost 910 million malware samples and 219 million potentially unwanted applications. Furthermore, the institute recorded more than 42 million new malware in the first half of 2022. According to Verizon’s 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report, in 2021, ransomware increased by 13 %, which is as much as the previous five years combined, and about a fifth of the breaches were only identified after weeks or months had passed. Even the US Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that ransomware has evolved into a significant threat ti national security.

Whether we’re talking about attacks against web apps, Denial of Service, social engineering, system intrusion, or anything else done with malintent, it’s clear that the sheer number of cyber-aggressions attempts against enterprises, institutions, and even states is too big for cybersecurity specialists to handle. Here’s why I believe artificial intelligence could help:

Why cybersecurity needs artificial intelligence systems

Many of the attack vectors no longer rely only on traditional malware that can be relatively easy to detect and handle locally on devices or servers, for instance. Instead, many require the identification of patterns and behavior. And that’s exactly where machine learning and artificial intelligence shine.

They are better and much faster than humans at handling large datasets of information, as is the case in the cybersecurity world. Artificial intelligence systems can be used to detect threats, classify, and prioritize them. AI can even be used to automate incident response procedures and remediate breaches.

Without ML and AI, the number of threats and false positives that your company can handle in a singleone day can quickly overwhelm security analysts. Cyber AI allows them to manage larger numbers of threats in a significantly shorter time frame, and it also helps them handle much more complex threats. Not to mention that there’s a shortage of cybersecurity specialists available to hire - estimates are that there’s a workforce gap of 2.72 million cybersecurity professionals.

Key takeaways for cyber AI in 2022 and onwards

Many chief information security officers (CISOs) believe that machine learning and artificial intelligence systems offer the best solutions to respond to threats and protect their companies against advanced cyberattacks. And most of their plans, actions, and company investments will probably head towards a few key areas.

Online transactions security. Even before the pandemic started, e-commerce sales were increasing in volume and numbers, and the trend continues today. This results to an increase in online payment and,, unfortunately, a rising number of fraud attempts. Cybersecurity systems need to be developed urgently to be able to monitor payments in real-time. This means, among other things, that we need systems capable of identifying malicious behaviors to prevent things like account takeovers, identity spoofing, or usage of stolen credentials.

Ransomware shielding. According to Microsoft’s 2021 Digital Defense Report, ransomware and extortion are on a growth trajectory, and more often than not, ransomware groups usually gain access to companies’ endpoints by leveraging human behavior. Attackers send phishing emails that contain malicious files or links. When users open the attached files or follow the links, they unwittingly allow the ransomware to take over and encrypt files. Cyber AI is not a silver bullet for all that, but it can help. Using machine learning techniques, AI systems can be set up and trained to automatically patch and update endpoints, identify suspicious behaviors and patterns, and decrease the number of alerts cybersecurity analysts must deal with. People are still the key, since some alerts have to be reviewed by security teams, but cyber AI should help decrease the noise.

People. Cybersecurity needs humans to evolve. Although ML and AI can take the burden and help overwhelmed security teams, skilled cybersecurity employees are needed now more than ever. According to a report from IBM, companies say that data security is the most important way they are using AI, and 37% of respondents invoke limited AI expertise as an issue of successful adoption. The workforce gap must be addressed sooner rather than later, as the number of cyber-attacks has and will continue to grow. Specialists such as security analysts and data scientists are in great demand and not easy to find, so enterprises will have to continue to invest in human resources.

Is your business ready to use cyber AI?

It’s clear that cybersecurity is one of the most sensitive topics in any company’s future plans. Businesses need to adopt and use everything they can in order to protect their employees, clients, data, and processes. Considering how fast cyberattacks happen these days and how they’re targeting multiple threat surfaces, the only feasible way of handling them might be with the help of AI systems capable of responding to threats just as fast as they appear. Furthermore, we need AI to be able to cut through the noise, as well as skilled and experienced specialists to assess the real threats. How prepared your company really is for cyber AI?