Placing your faith in AI – how it can benefit your cybersecurity strategy

Guest Post by Mike Fry, Security & Cloud Business Unit Director, Logicalis

2023 will always be remembered as the year in which the progress and capability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) truly accelerated – with 2024 likely to build on this progress. Following the launch of ChatGPT in late-2022, the technology and its various capabilities have moved from a science fiction concept in most people’s minds to an everyday reality and the uptake of it will only increase in the months and years to come.

Everyone now has access to sophisticated AI models, and that includes cybercriminals. The financial impact of cyberattacks continues to rise and having a system that can deal with every sort of threat – including those of the AI-driven variety – is imperative. As we enter this era of widespread AI, companies should be looking at implementing security systems and strategies which also leverage the technology to remain one step ahead.

Cyberattacks can take place in different ways, including malware or ransomware attacks which aim to steal data or hold it for ransom. But how do organisations best rebuff such attacks? There is also a skills gap in the IT industry which is particularly pronounced in the cybersecurity sector, leading to fatigued and overwhelmed teams trying to tackle more incidents. All this leads to a higher chance that an important Indicator of Compromise (IoC) will be missed, which is where AI comes in.

A Helping Hand

Integrating AI into security strategies and deploying powerful AI-enhanced threat detection means that technology can bridge some of that gap and reduce the chances of a breach. AI can also automate repetitive tasks for cybersecurity teams, mitigating any fatigue issues and safeguarding the business.

However, AI shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for people. By incorporating AI into security defences, organisations can better equip staff to manage risk and help them make better-informed decisions. The technology can proactively combine external data and combine it with internal data to help determine what the next move should be. In all cases, the IT team has the ultimate say in how much and what sort of work the AI does, as well as where it can be most effective.

A Faster Response

AI can catch connections for threat and risk insight, highlighting potential issues that staff may miss due to turnover, inexperience, or the passage of time. In other words, it finds commonalities to add more context and catch what otherwise may be missed. As AI can read more data than a human is capable of, it can reduce detection and response times, enable deeper and more consistent investigations, and empower analysts to make data-driven decisions when it comes to threats.

It can also assist in alert prioritisation, allowing investigations to be conducted thoroughly in a fraction of the time it may otherwise take. For example, IBM has developed a framework which allows analysts to visually depict a timeline of events showing the progression of a threat, resulting in faster and more accurate threat detection or prevention.

A Comprehensive End-To-End Tool

At any stage of a data breach, AI enables organisations to be better prepared and recover faster. AI security intelligence programmes can deliver an all-encompassing analytics solution on a single platform. This comprehensive suite of solutions means that a business’ data will be kept as safe as possible, and the system will continuously improve over its lifespan, learning from previous attacks and allowing companies to reassess and redefine their incident response strategy.

Such solutions offer an unparalleled flexibility and peace of mind that your business is ready to deal with any threat efficiently, effectively, and promptly – which is the expectation of cybersecurity defence around the world. This is more critical than ever as AI-driven cyberattacks become more commonplace and sophisticated.

As well as helping to tackle the rising threat level, deploying AI means that IT teams can focus on more high-level issues, while errors caused by fatigue and repetition will be reduced. It also means that other departments can focus on business-critical tasks, confident that cybersecurity is being effectively managed.

When it comes to deploying AI, working with industry leaders can also help ensure that any strategies and solutions put in place are effective, supporting seamless integration and transition – benefitting organisations both today and in the future.

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