In the rapidly evolving digital environment, cybersecurity stands as a cornerstone of organizational integrity. With each technological advancement, a new wave of cyber threats emerges, challenging existing defense mechanisms. Cybersecurity is evolving. In this blog, I will share some ideas on where we are headed next.
Why AI in Cybersecurity Is a Valuable Tool
When it comes to doing pure security work, there are certain places we must focus most of our time and energy, and our budgets, as we lead our teams. We cannot miss things like incident response, threat hunting, and looking at indications of compromise because that's where it all starts.
And AI has a beautiful ability to empower smarter decisions plus faster and more accurate assessments, especially when looking at indicators of compromise. Third-party testing has confirmed how effective AI powered endpoint protection platforms can be, and even which ones are the most effective.
And there is more room to grow in how we use AI in security. Take your incident response team, for example, which tends to be one of the most critical functions in any security team and one of the most costly and hardest to staff. I think AI will have a bigger impact to help with that security function, and others, in the future.
By utilizing machine learning algorithms, AI can analyze vast amounts of data in real time, enabling security teams to swiftly detect anomalies and potential threats. Additionally, AI can automate repetitive tasks, such as reviewing logs and alerts, freeing human analysts to concentrate on complex cases that require deeper understanding and critical thinking.
Also, AI’s predictive analytics capabilities elevate incident response by forecasting potential attack vectors based on historical data. By simulating various attack scenarios, AI assists organizations in refining their response protocols, ensuring preparedness for a range of threats.
I recently appeared on the Unsupervised Learning podcast to discuss this topic. View the complete podcast here or watch excerpts in the videos below.
AI in Cybersecurity: What the Leaders Are Doing
Companies at the forefront of the AI in cybersecurity evolution are doing things like sandboxing their own data lakes and then using AI to plug into that to make great automated decisions. There is a ton of power in that. If you are a bigger company and have a lot of data, that is a fantastic way to go.
I think it's also important to look at the industry vertical or type of company you are in to determine the need to focus on AI in security.
For example, if you are a lumber distributor, you are creating boards that will be used to build somebody's house. You might be concerned about protecting your financial data, factory operations, and company trade secrets. However, your attack surface is significantly different than a company developing security software, right?
A secure software developer may have a product they are selling into a highly regulated environment. This type of company inherits a portion of its attack surface, which then becomes part of its supply chain and the attack surface for its customers. Each organization might see a different role for AI, and I think it's imperative that we place the need for AI in the proper context of corporate risk management.
The Irreplaceable Value of Human Oversight in Cybersecurity
While AI has transformed the cybersecurity landscape, and will continue to do so, it’s essential to recognize it is a tool for humans to use and not a replacement for the human members of cybersecurity teams. Watch this clip for more:
