Most security breaches can be traced back to human error. Hackers know it’s far more difficult to defeat advanced security defenses than it is to trick a human into opening the doors and letting them in. If the doors aren’t completely opened, the keys are essentially handed to hackers when organizations fail to require complex passwords, turn on security features or respond to security alerts. In many cases, IT teams are simply overwhelmed with alerts and don’t have the resources to identify and investigate legitimate threats.
Humans will always play a role in the effectiveness of security and the investigation of threats. However, the best way to address these issues is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the likelihood of human error and speed threat detection.
Organizations are already relying upon AI to shoulder a significant portion of the cybersecurity burden. In fact, research from Capgemini found that more than 60 percent of enterprises can’t detect attempted breaches without the help of AI. About 70 percent believe AI is necessary to respond to cyberattacks, and 73 percent are testing cybersecurity use cases for AI, especially for network and endpoint security.
AI is used to detect and predict threats, which reduces both the cost and time to respond to security incidents. The five use cases with the potential to create the greatest impact, according to Capgemini, are fraud detection, malware detection, intrusion detection, risk scoring, and behavioral analysis of both users and machines.
Of course, the bad guys aren’t oblivious to what AI can do. Hackers are targeting and executing attacks with more speed, intensity and precision than ever, using advanced AI hacking toolkits that are readily available on the dark web. AI also makes it possible for malware to change its own signature to avoid detection, while phishing and social engineering attacks are becoming even more believable. Even advanced captcha systems that require human action can be completed by AI tools. That’s why it’s important that organizations implement the latest AI tools.
The latest version of WatchGuard’s AI-based breach mitigation technologies is capable of accelerating zero-day malware breach detection from months to minutes. Major updates to ThreatSync, Watchguard’s correlation and response platform, include the latest release of its Threat Detection and Response (TDR) malware defense tools.
New ThreatSync capabilities via TDR include:
- Host Containment and Automated Response. Any compromised host machine is quickly contained and isolated from the network. Action is taken to stop infections from spreading and malware is eliminated.
- Accelerated Breach Detection. Malicious files on protected endpoints are identified and remediated in correlation with endpoint security. When unknown files are downloaded, they’re automatically sent to Watchguard’s APT Blocker for analysis.
- Network Process Correlation. In addition to identifying and blocking connections to malicious destinations, ThreatSynch automatically responds to unknown processes responsible for those connections. This provides valuable context to aid in the response to attacks and prevention of future attacks.
- AI Analysis. New AI capabilities automatically analyze and triage files and send suspicious files to APT Blocker for analysis. Security teams spend less time managing alerts without allowing legitimate threats to go undetected.
AI provides organizations with the only means to keep up with increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats and the flood of security alerts. Let us show you how advancements from WatchGuard improve the speed, accuracy and effectiveness of your security defenses.
