Cybersecurity companies are using AI to understand trends

The fast-growing digital transformation adoption across organisations has further accelerated with the continued pandemic and the culture of Work from Home and remote working status. Experts believe that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have both negative and positive effects on cybersecurity. AI algorithms use training data to learn how to respond to different situations. They learn by copying and adding additional information as they go along. Cyberattack surface is continuing to grow rapidly. Analyzing and improving an organization’s cybersecurity posture needs more than mere human intervention.

With deeper involvement of AI, which includes two subsets, deep learning, and machine learning algorithms, uses behavioural analysis to better detect anomalies. With the help of these technologies, companies can respond faster to online threats and prevent them from happening in the first place. AI and machine learning are now becoming essential to information security, as these technologies are capable of swiftly analyzing millions of data sets and tracking down a wide variety of cyber threats — from malware menaces to shady behaviour that might result in a phishing attack.

Security and privacy are imperative in the new age of emerging technologies where cybercriminals are becoming more complex and sophisticated in their attacks. Cyber-attacks today are more sophisticated, frequent, intense and high in volume as several new technologies are deployed by threat actors. Threats may occur as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, Ransomware, Social Engineering, sometimes vulnerabilities may reside in the cloud or attacks may occur due to third-party software. Malware trends and phishing trends are other kinds of attacks.

AI presents many advantages and applications in a variety of areas, cybersecurity being one of them. With fast-evolving cyberattacks and rapid multiplication of devices happening today, AI and machine learning can help to keep abreast with cybercriminals, automate threat detection, and respond more effectively than conventional software-driven or manual techniques. AI-based cybersecurity systems can provide the latest knowledge of global as well as industry-specific dangers to better formulate vital prioritization decisions based not merely on what could be used to attack your systems but based on what is most likely to be used to attack your systems. AI enables the experts to analyze a vast amount of data and allows cybersecurity teams to adapt their strategy to a continually altering landscape.

S Mohini Ratna, Editor, VARINDIA