The increased emergence of modern cyber technologies, such as big
data capabilities and artificial intelligence (AI), has resulted in
other technological sectors utilising such innovations. Cyber security
is such an industry that is increasingly adopting the emerging and
powerful technology, with AI seeking to provide a defence against the
fast growing threat of cyber attacks on businesses.
The use of AI software in this sector is becoming increasingly
achievable and implementable. In this blog we look at the possibilities
and benefits.
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) involves the use of machines carrying
out human-like tasks through deep learning, adjusting to new inputs and
language processing. The technology also involves large data processing
and subsequent analysis of data for trends and patterns, in which a
behaviour is programmed to react to certain patterns. AI technologies
include self-driving cars, chess-playing computers and marketing
analytics.
What are the advantages of using AI in cyber security?
In an interview with Computer Weekly, James Maude – senior security
engineer at Avecto – spoke about his predictions for AI. Maude commented
on the fact that introducing AI will save firms billions in cyberattack
damage, as well as relieving responsibilities from the current human
taskforce responsible for cyber security maintenance.
Indeed, the use of AI may combat the increasing and unsustainable
demand on IT professionals. A survey by Spiceworks found that knowledge
workers like IT professionals worked on average 52 hours a week. That’s
a whopping 12 hours beyond what the average professional works, and an
overworked cyber security team can be detrimental. It can reduce
productivity and make it difficult to respond to threats appropriately,
efficiently and effectively.
Ultimately, AI could be used to automatically identify malicious
software behaviour or potential attacks. The introduction of AI in cyber
security will increase the speed and efficiency of identifying threats
by searching and identifying security trends. In addition to this, AI
can mine through a significantly larger amount of web data.
But is having AI software in control of your cyber security really for the best?
The security surrounding such software is open to criticism, as some
experts say that the AI software could be susceptible to override, and
be susceptible to manipulation from outside threats. It is thought that
AI could assist attackers by automatically launching distributed denial
of service (DDoS) attacks via the internet of things (IoT).
Whatever your perspective on AI and other emerging technologies, it
remains to be seen whether they will be of significant aid or a
hindrance to society. 2018 will be a year of accelerated dialogue
surrounding AI, and it will be a subject of high debate for years to
come.
Although AI is a concept of the near future, SA1 Solutions can help
with cyber related problems in the meantime. We boast a range of IT
services including anti-virus and cloud solutions. Give us a call on
01792 43 90 87 to find out more, or drop us an email on
info@sa1solutions.com