Future Forward - 59th Edition - Last Week in AI - AI Powered WAFs

Welcome to the 59th Edition of Future Forward - the Emerging Tech & AI Newsletter!

This newsletter aims to help you stay up-to-date on the latest trends in emerging technologies and AI. Subscribe to the newsletter today and never miss a beat!

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Each edition covers top AI news from last week and an AI-related topic - Primers/Tutorials/ Latest Advances/ How AI is being used.

Here's what you can expect in this issue of the Emerging Tech & AI Newsletter:

• A summary of the top AI news from the past week.
• A Primer on AI powered WAFs

AI News from Last Week

The field of AI is experiencing rapid and continuous progress in various areas. Some of the notable advancements and trends from the last week include:

Big Tech in AI:

1. Google released a report on the impact of AlphaChip on chip design.
2. NotebookLM adds audio and YouTube support.
3. Microsoft announces $1.3 billion to empower Mexico in Cloud and AI.
4. Meta launches Quest 3S, Llama 3.2, & More at Meta Connect 2024.
5. Google announced significant updates to its Gemini models.
6. Warner Bros. Discovery to Use Google AI Tech for Captions Programming.
7. Siri May Not Get Its Apple Intelligence Update Until January 2025.
8. Alibaba, Nvidia collaborate on advanced autonomous-driving solution, computing services.
9. Microsoft launches Correction tool to combat AI hallucination.
10. Apple working on AI-enabled HomePod with touchscreen and video conferencing features.
11. Chip giant Nvidia acquires OctoAI.

Funding & VC Landscape:

1. Visa has agreed to acquire AI-driven payments protection firm Featurespace.
2. Blackstone confirms $13 billion investment in Britain for AI data centre.
3. Nebius plans $1 billion AI infrastructure investment.
4. DeepOpinion Raises €11M.
5. Ujet Raises $76M in Series D Funding.
6. OxeFit Raises $17.5M.
7. Mendaera Raises $73M.
8. Mediwhale Raises $12M.
9. Tetrix Raises $5M in Seed Funding.
10. GEOX Raises $19M in Series A.
11. Quin AI Raises ￡1.5M in Seed Funding.
12. Prepared Raises $27M in Series B Funding.
13. DefectDojo Raises $7M in Funding.

Other AI news:

1. AI helps discover new geoglyphs.
2. 1,000,000 free public models are now available on Hugging Face.
3. GroqCloud's new LLaVA v1.5 7B model generates image analysis at great speed.
4. AI model identifies existing drugs that can be repurposed for treatment of rare diseases.
5. Advanced Voice was rolled out to all Plus and Team users by Open AI.
6. Intel Unveils Next-Generation AI Solutions with the Launch of Xeon 6 and Gaudi 3.
7. Duolingo launches AI-powered Adventures mini-games and Video Call feature.
8. Runway announced video-to-video.
9. An AI can beat CAPTCHA tests 100 per cent of the time.
10. Open AI announces academy.
11. Open AI released the Multilingual MMLU dataset.
12. CodeSignal’s latest report compares top AI models with human engineers.
13. OpenAI drops nonprofit status in large-scale reorganization.

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A Primer on AI Powered WAFs

Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) are essential security tools for protecting web applications from attacks. Traditional WAFs rely on predefined rules and signatures to identify and block threats. However, with the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, AI-powered WAFs have emerged as a more effective solution.

AI-powered WAFs leverage machine learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of data, including network traffic, application logs, and threat intelligence. This enables them to learn and adapt to new attack patterns in real-time. Unlike traditional WAFs that rely on predefined rules, AI-powered WAFs can detect and block even unknown threats.

Traditional Firewall vs AI Powered WAFs

Traditional:

• Rule-based approach: Relies on predefined rules and signatures to identify known threats.
• Limited adaptability: Slow to adapt to new threats, as rules need to be updated manually.
• High false positive rates: May mistakenly block legitimate traffic, leading to service disruptions.

AI Powered:

• Machine learning: Uses algorithms to learn from past attacks and identify patterns.
• Adaptive threat detection: Continuously adapts to new threats and evolves its detection capabilities.
• Reduced false positive rates: Can more accurately distinguish between legitimate and malicious traffic.
• Behavioral analysis: Can analyze user behavior and detect anomalies that may indicate an attack.
• Real-time threat response: Can automatically block attacks without human intervention.

Additionally, AI-powered WAFs can automate many routine tasks, such as signature updates and anomaly detection. This frees up security teams to focus on more strategic initiatives, such as incident response and risk management.

Key Advantages of AI-Powered WAFs

• Enhanced threat detection: AI can identify and block more sophisticated attacks that traditional WAFs may miss.
• Improved performance: AI can optimize WAF performance by prioritizing threats and allocating resources accordingly.
• Reduced maintenance: AI can automate many WAF tasks, reducing the need for human intervention.
• Faster response times: AI can detect and block threats in real-time, minimizing the impact of attacks.

Use Cases for AI-Powered WAFs

• E-commerce: Protecting online stores from fraud and data breaches.
• Financial services: Securing online banking and payment systems.
• Healthcare: Protecting sensitive patient data and medical records.
• Government: Protecting government websites and online services.

In conclusion, AI-powered WAFs are a critical tool for businesses looking to protect their digital assets. By leveraging the power of AI, these WAFs can provide a more effective, efficient, and proactive defense against cyber threats., AI-powered WAFs offer significant advantages over traditional WAFs in terms of threat detection, performance, and maintenance. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, AI-powered WAFs will play a crucial role in protecting web applications from a wide range of threats.

Interested in knowing more? Let us know in the comments and we will publish a detailed article.

Disclosure: The content in "A Primer on AI Powered WAFs" section was written with the help of Google Gemini and other AI tools. Please write to us in case of any gaps.

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