Artificial Intelligence is making strides in many industries and cybersecurity is one of them.
In an era with data breaches (e.g. Equifax) and U.S. allegations of Russian interference in its elections, cybersecurity has never been more important. This became even more apparent after the global WannaCry and NotPetya ransomware attacks back in May and June of 2017, respectively. According to Morgan (2017), 58% of companies, who are prime targets of cyber attacks, don’t have the necessary security measure in place to protect themselves. Yet Gammons (2017) states, that security threats such as malware, ransomware and phishing are on the rise. More alarming is the fact that over half (52%) of the companies who suffered a security attack in 2016 have decided not to change their cybersecurity strategy. Furthermore, a shortage cybersecurity specialists is only further aggravating the situation Morgan (2017).
In light of these problems, traditional means of ensuring cybersecurity might soon belong to the past. According to Choudhury (2017), U.K.-based firm called Darktrace intends on implementing Artificial Intelligence, specifically machine learning, in the field of information security. The company’s latest model, Antigena, which is modeled after a human immune system, responds independently to foreign security threats without compromising a firm’s business operations. Moreover, Antigena, which has been commercially available as of 2016, is capable of adapting to evolving threats. Yet, Darktrace does not intend on replacing cybersecurity specialists, but in fact complementing them:
“Once a threat is identified, Antigena automatically responds by taking proportionate actions to neutralize it and buy security teams enough time to catch up”.
On a related note, Takahashi (2017) states that McAfee CTO shares a similar opinion. The CTO reasons that A.I. is unable to thwart cyberattacks by itself as human hackers are better in thinking of creative means to breach security defenses. Furthermore, it is only a matter of time before hackers themselves deploy A.I. in their endeavors. Ultimately, Artifical Intelligence should amplify the abilities of existing cybersecurity specialists, which are in a shortage.
References
Choudhury, S.R. (2017). Cyber threats are growing more serious, and artificial intelligence could be the key to security. CNBC. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/17/darktrace-on-why-artificial-intelligence-is-key-in-cybersecurity.html
Gammons, B. (2017). 6 Must-Know Cybersecurity Statistics for 2017, Barkly Blog. Retrieved from:
https://blog.barkly.com/cyber-security-statistics-2017
Morgan, J. (2017). Will artificial intelligence take over cyber security? Big Data Made Simple. Retrieved from: http://bigdata-madesimple.com/will-artificial-intelligence-take-over-cyber-security/
Takahashi, D. (2017). McAfee CTO says human-machine teams will stop cybercrime better. Venturebeat. Retrieved from: https://venturebeat.com/2017/07/14/mcafee-cto-says-human-machine-teams-will-stop-cybercrime-better/
