We’ve all heard about AI and how it’s the next big thing to happen in technological circles. The touted intelligence of a machine that requires no manual programming, but instead learns and grows by itself based on a multitude of input data that allow it see things that we, as fallible human beings, would tend to overlook. Perhaps the best thing about machine learning is that we enable the machine to think and interpret data and come with conclusions on its own. With sufficiently reliable and huge input data sources, machine learning can enable a solution which could provide near perfect security.
Although machine learning is still in its nascent stages currently, it is generating a big buzz in the cybersecurity domain. Imagine this, a security solution that can adapt to your unique environment and learn all the ins and outs in your network like the palm of its figurative hand. A watchdog that maintains constant vigilance, tirelessly working toward improving itself to become a shield that can be used to repulse even zero day attacks. The way it could do this is by learning to interpret how the customer environment is supposed to function versus how it should definitely not. It will be possible for a machine learning enhanced security solution to achieve this by constantly training itself against large datasets of inputs it can get from your target environment. Then, once it reaches a stage where the program starts to “think” for itself it will start rooting out vulnerabilities that might have been left undiscovered otherwise. It would be a powerful tool that enhances the job of your overly stretched security personnel, your SOC teams. Highlighting the risks that the learning algorithm has discovered will definitely go a long way in ensuring the security of your business is always maintained to a higher degree. It will be able to detect malicious activity and put a stop to it faster than any human response team could. Integration of machine learning with security solutions that span your endpoints, network, IOT enabled machines will be like essentially creating a digital entity that can “talk” to your computers, check the pulse of your servers, keep tabs on the health and well being of your overall network. It will be a personal doctor to your systems, a security guard that will detect even the tiniest of intrusions in your network and a tireless protector that will purge out malicious activity wherever it is encountered. This is the projected path of machine learning in digital security. We live in an exciting time where such wondrous technology is ever closer to the realm of reality.
Machine learning in security can be a great addition to securing your business. It can leave you free to pursue ways to improve your business while leaving your security concerns to be handled by a tireless, ever improving entity that will dedicate itself to protect your business interests. At least, that’s what I envision when I think about the implications of introducing machine learning into security.…