Businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on digital technologies to remain competitive. Today, even impactful tasks like data analysis and digital security are entrusted to automated programs. However, as technologies evolve, so do the tools hackers and scammers employ.
Creating and implementing safeguards against unknown threats is extremely difficult. People Security administrators aren’t always sure what they’re up against, and new attack patterns frequently go unchecked for long periods.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) fills this gap in knowledge by providing insight into future trends that will threaten the cybersecurity landscape.
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There is no panacea or cure-all to the disease of internet safety, and AI is no exception. Rather than thinking of AI as a single tool in your infrastructure, it’s better thought of as a supportive technology that enhances your existing security features.
Artificial intelligence’s power comes from four key features, including:
Data analysis is the crux of all artificial intelligence. Humans have an infinitesimally small learning speed compared to computers. A program can memorize billions of trends, correlations, and solutions in the time it takes you to change your browser tab. This capability allows a lone AI program to understand and defend against the ingenuity of millions of malicious actors.
Businesses receive impossibly large amounts of information each day and struggle to scale their infrastructure alongside growing operations. When the incoming data exceeds a certain point, it becomes nearly impossible to notice outliers that would typically raise a red flag.
AI detection catches unusual activities that humans might miss due to fatigue or unfamiliarity. These programs quickly learn what “standard operations” look like for each business and alert administrators when something too far out of bounds occurs.
Crime never rests, but humans do. Organizations can be attacked anytime, anywhere, and dedicating human resources to 24/7 monitoring isn’t feasible for many operations. AI monitoring provides instant alerts after detecting suspicious activity and can contain the situation until someone can assess the next steps.
Anomaly detection recognizes activity that falls outside the norm but doesn’t point out already discovered patterns. AI threat recognition registers the common indicators of known hacking strategies. It’s constantly looking for these signs and learning from the failed and successful attacks on other organizations.
For example, if an attacker downloaded a previously unknown malware to break into Yahoo, an AI program adapts and watches for that malware in the future. So, you’re relatively safe unless you’re among the first batch of targets for a new tactic. However, there are things that you can do to protect yourself, such as keeping updated anti-virus software on all your devices and running dark web scans to ensure your data is not available on it.
A SIEM combines both security information management (SIM) and security event management (SEM) processes. This pairing allows organizations to track and log security data for real-time monitoring and more straightforward analysis.
A SIEM receives information from various sources, such as logs, feeds, network data, and threat intelligence. Pulling from multiple sources makes an SIEM’s alert pings much more reliable than tools that only pull data from one place.
The large volume of incoming information also allows an SIEM to use artificial intelligence to analyze and rank potential threats based on severity. This means organizations won’t be overly distracted by minor threats and can adequately allocate resources to their most vulnerable areas.
Perhaps the most enjoyable part of a SIEM for security teams is its organization system. Rather than wasting time cross-referencing dozens of security tools, an SIEM organizes everything into a centralized dashboard for more efficient communication across departments. This enables a physical team to explain and justify security risk decisions more effectively, smoothing out the integration of new protocols.
AI benefits every sector but is particularly effective at bolstering a business’s cybersecurity score. However, the field’s massive growth spurt in recent years can leave administrators with decision paralysis over what to introduce first.
At Threatcop, we navigate this complexity with a forward-thinking approach, leveraging AI as a cornerstone of our cybersecurity arsenal. Our flagship solution, the Threatcop Security Awareness Training (TSAT) Tool, exemplifies our commitment to staying steps ahead of evolving threats and sophisticated hacking techniques. Harnessing the power of AI, our training tool dynamically generates phishing simulation email templates that are not just realistic but also remarkably effective in training employees to recognize and thwart potential cyber threats.
In a landscape where hackers increasingly employ AI-driven tactics to deceive and compromise, Threatcop stands as a beacon of defense. By incorporating AI into our security awareness training, we empower organizations to proactively address the evolving tactics used by cyber adversaries. Our AI-generated templates mirror real-world scenarios, providing a hands-on learning experience that enhances employees’ resilience against phishing attacks.
Machine learning models are becoming more sophisticated. They can make connections and understand relationships in ways resembling the human mind.
Until a few years ago, AI could not read unstructured data such as images. This allowed criminals to hide from anti-malware programs by sending deceitful messages as jpegs rather than simple text.
However, deep learning advancements enabled AI to read these images similarly to us. Many of the technology’s shortcomings are being worked through, and it’s quickly becoming a more and more effective tool against hardware and social engineering attacks.
Improvements like this are commonplace in AI as more and more money gets pushed into research. Keeping a close eye on these advancements is essential for improving your security and understanding what may be used against you.
The easiest way to introduce AI into your existing defenses is to use the right anti-malware service. Many of the most popular brands, such as Norton and Malwarebytes, use AI for threat detection by default. They automatically scan emails and network traffic to analyze and alert you to possible threats.
Quantum computing’s defining characteristic is its inconceivable speed, which processes information over 150 million times faster than a standard supercomputer. Pair this with AI’s predictive analytics, and an attack can be instantly detected, analyzed, and addressed.
The downside of this match made in heaven is the immense resource expenditure. Very few businesses can justify the use of even a small-scale quantum computer operation, and even fewer require it.
Additionally, quantum computing and AI harm cybersecurity as much as it helps. High-level criminals could use it to brute force passwords and instantly break through current password protocols. Users must create significantly longer and more complex passwords to keep up.
Like every good cybersecurity professional, AI must be studied to remain current. The landscape changes over time, and AI models require a constant feed of new data to stay effective. This allows for off-the-cuff adaptations in things like online recommendations and gives businesses the advantage of being the first ones at the table for a new trend.
The future of e-commerce and business cybersecurity lies in the expedient integration of AI models. Criminals will undoubtedly use it to assist their schemes, and white-hat professionals must be ready to match them.
However, it’s not enough to look at the existing models. Businesses must adopt a broad view and prepare for what will change next month or year. Remaining proactive and attentive to the field is the foundation of data safety and maintaining your reputation among clients.
David Lukic is Content Director and a Cyber Security Consultant at IDStrong. His great passion is to maintain the safety of the organization’s online systems and networks.
He knows that both individuals and businesses face the constant challenge of cyber threats. Identifying and preventing these attacks is a priority for David.
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