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Hyper-connected environments, alongside the growth of cloud and mobile technologies, create a domino effect when it comes to security risks. The ONS estimates cybercrime is costing UK businesses £30bn each year, and accounted for almost 30 per cent of all crimes in the UK in 2017.
Some of the most significant advances in cyber security sector have come from the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. This convergence can be considerably advantageous to businesses wishing to identify security threats and working toward guarding against them. It helps by automating the complex processes adopted for detecting cyber-attacks and reacting to breaches.
Identify patterns, predict trends
Organisations are already leveraging AI opportunities to bolster their cybersecurity by identifying data patterns, vulnerable user behaviours and implementing predictive security trends in order to gain greater protection against more sophisticated attacks.
As with other data sets, greater accuracy comes from greater amounts of quality data. The goal is for AI-infused cybersecurity to completely automate prediction, detection, and response.
Automation and human analysis
There concerns that automation could lead to job losses within the security industry but automation doesn’t take away from the practical issues that can only be dealt with by human professionals. Both AI and machine learning are useful for complex issues where working in conjunction with a team of human analysts provide the best result. According to a report by PwC, five per cent or more of UK jobs by the 2030s will be in areas related to new robotics and AI which do not currently exist.
For the security industry to leverage the full potential of AI and machine learning, it has to understand and recognise 'what machines do best' as opposed to 'what people do best'. Improvements in AI can provide new tools for threat seekers, ultimately helping them protect new technologies and networks.
Learn from people, not just machines
EEN offered a vast range of companies within the cyber security and AI industry the chance to enhance their international network at the #Cybermatch2018 event in November. The brokerage event brought together a network of cyber security and IT specialists for one-to-one meetings, specifically designed for the cyber-intelligence sector.
