Monday, June 12, 2017

Can Artificial Intelligence Help with Cyber Security?

Can Artificial Intelligence Help with Cyber Security
Our security experts at Cadamier Network Security in Denver are often asked: can artificial intelligence help with cyber security? We know cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated every day. We can see the extensive damage done recently by the WannaCry cyber attack which shows the ongoing problems that governments and companies have not successfully addressed, despite being warned.

The cyber security industry is currently examining the ability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to give organizations a quick and strong response to a cyber attack. It may have the ability to respond in real time when there is a cyber attack or data breach and could provide big advantages.
                                               
According to the Research and Development Branch of the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCD COE) and Estonian Academy of Sciences, the speed of processes and the amount of data that is used to defend the cyberspace may be too much to handle without automation. It is a challenge to develop software with conventional fixed algorithms (hardwired logic on decision-making level) to effectively defend against the constantly evolving attacks on networks. But the solution may be to use methods of artificial intelligence that add flexibility and learning capabilities to software. It’s possible to enhance cyber defense capabilities by increasing the intelligence of the defense systems. Some useful applications already exist.
           
Unfortunately, many businesses today are still using outdated network security techniques. Many people in the security industry are looking toward a new method of security which is based on Artificial Intelligence. Proponents of using Artificial Intelligence believe machines are far better than people at processing vast amounts of data and finding the hidden attacks. It is often pointed out that this need developed from the failure of signature-based techniques to be able to stop current threats, the huge amounts of security threat data; and the challenges of changing the size and scale as we address the security threat data.

Deep learning develops a machine to think more like a human with the ability to make decisions with great accuracy and this AI next-generation security products may be able to identify and kill malware as fast as the attackers can create it. The advantage of deep learning comes from the vast speed and processing power of modern computers. A deep learning algorithm paired with elastic cloud computing resources can consume hundreds of millions of samples of training data in hours. This may be able to create a neural network classifier so accurate and fast that it can outperform even highly trained human experts.

Artificial Intelligence may change security technologies and their design by being able to identify unknown malware from benign programs. This would be accomplished by training the deep learning neural networks on tens of millions of variants of malware, as well as known benign programs. According to a CNBC article, sometimes it takes days for organizations to realize their systems have been breached. This gives the hackers time to look for the crucial information inside the network. Cyber attackers not only steal data but they often alter data without detection. Cyber criminals often change their attacking methods with every target, which may limit the effectiveness of security defenses based on known files and attacks.


Our security experts at Cadamier Network Security in Denver help defend your organizations from network cyber attacks. Can artificial intelligence help with cyber security? As hackers and cyber attackers use more sophisticated weapons to steal information and hold data hostage, there will also be the need to improve responses and defenses. You can rest assured that our team will explore leading-edge AI options to find the best-fit security defenses for our clients.