Cybersecurity: How Artificial Intelligence Can Give Your Business Real Protection

“The predictions of the future in sci-fi movies are rapidly becoming today’s reality, as we engender reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning solutions. This allows businesses to carry out tasks and make critical decisions, while machines learn and become better,” said Dwayne Russell, General Manager of MC Systems, the technology company of The Jamaica National Group.

Russell was sharing an assessment of the technological landscape, as he explored how artificial intelligence can provide businesses with agile, yet robust security.

He further noted that cybersecurity is at the zenith of business needs when considering customer, employee and business data, its storage and integrity, as well as, remote collaboration.

Combatting Sophisticated Attacks with Proactivity

Cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are projected to cost businesses $5.2 trillion worldwide by 2025. According to CNBC, on average, cyber-attacks cost businesses US$200,000, forcing several companies into closure.

Russell cautioned that although sophisticated, these threats are surmountable. “Artificial intelligence adds clarity to instances where attacks need a faster and more detailed response than humans may be able to provide, to detect, track and intercept these attacks. It is critical to explore the volatility of potential threats, including zero-day attacks,” he explained.

The MC Systems General Manager said that a“Zero Day Attack” is one in which a hacker manages to exploit the system’s vulnerabilities, before software developers/vendors can find a solution.

“These sophisticated attacks usually exploit vulnerabilities such as: bugs, broken algorithms or missing data encryptions. Artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms analyse data, such as behavioural patterns, to inform and enable cybersecurity systems when threats are imminent. A heuristic analysis empowers data security and IT teams to detect unknown viruses, as well as new variants already existing in cyberspace,” he said.

Enterprise Level AI

Dwayne Brown, senior manager cyber security at The Jamaica National

Group further informed that although artificial intelligence undertakes several protective functions, there is even greater value which enterprises can tap into. Artificial Intelligence solutions that have a global footprint will collect telemetry from different end points, he added.

Telemetry is a highly automated communications process in which measurements are made and other data collected and transmitted for monitoring, display and recording.

An endpoint is any device such as: laptops, desktops, mobile phones, tablets or servers, which conducts back and forth communication with the network that it is connected to.

“New insights are collected in its machine-learning knowledgebase. Artificial Intelligence at the enterprise level can learn and become “smarter” based on insights collected globally. As such, a vulnerability, like a zero-day attack, which happened in a separate geographic region, can be detected and prevented by the AI,” he noted.

As it relates to protecting your business from exposure brought on by members of staff, AI can analyse general behaviours on your network, therefore, it immediately flags any abnormal user or network actions, since AI looks at behaviours in general. Artificial Intelligence responds and interprets faster than the human mind, empowering enterprises to be proactive rather than reactive as they face increased sophistication of threats.

“Artificial intelligence is ‘the real deal’ when it comes to combating increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks,” he maintained.

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