AI is the past, present and future of cybersecurity

The RSA 2024 conference brought together some of the brightest minds and most innovative companies in the cybersecurity industry. The consensus was clear: artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing cybersecurity, improving capabilities and making defense mechanisms more effective and robust.

I had the opportunity to speak with a variety of vendors and experts to learn more about their products and services, as well as what’s on the horizon. The dominant theme revolved around AI.

AI is not new

To be clear, although AI has received much more mainstream attention thanks to ChatGPT and other generative AI models and tools that have taken the world by storm over the past year and a half , cybersecurity is not new to AI. AI and ML have been buzzwords in the industry long before generative AI came onto the scene.

The mantra that it is impossible for manual methods or human beings alone to keep pace with the sheer volume of data and events has been true for years. Everyone recognizes that there are certain routine tasks that are easy to automate and performed in such overwhelming volume that AI and ML are fundamental requirements for certain elements of cybersecurity.

What has changed is that generative AI is democratizing access to cybersecurity. It allows people who are not security professionals to understand their security posture and allows security professionals to dig through the proverbial haystack to find the needles faster and easier.

AI: improving cybersecurity

Trend Micro: AI for Security and Security for AI

Rachel Jinvice president of product management at Micro Trendhave highlighted their dual approach to AI: “AI for security” and “security for AI”.

She explained that Trend Micro uses AI to improve its risk management outcomes, accelerate detection and response times, and improve overall security through automation and enriched insights. Their AI-powered initiatives aim to transform user experiences and streamline workflows, moving from reactive to proactive AI implementation.

Jin emphasized, “Our strategy aims to make security better and simpler through AI, transform user experience, and provide users with better insights and automated workflows.”​​.

Normalyze: securing data with AI

Amer DeebaCEO and co-founder of Normalize, explained how AI is an integral part of their mission to secure data in both cloud and on-premises environments. Deeba highlighted that Normalyze leverages AI to understand where sensitive data is located, who has access to it, and the associated risks.

“We bring it all together by connecting all the information in the environment regarding data configurations, vulnerabilities, access and sensitivity with this powerful, patented, AI-powered backend to help you connect all of these dots in a way that intelligent and understand attack paths that are specific to sensitive data and can lead to data breaches and compromises,” explained Deeba.

This holistic approach ensures that sensitive data remains secure throughout its lifecycle, from its entry into large language models (LLMs) to its management in various data environments.

Torq: Hyperautomation in Security Operations Centers

Leonid Belkindco-founder and CTO of Couple presented its new offer, “HyperSOC,” which integrates hyper-automation into security operations centers. Belkind explained that its solution addresses the unique needs of SOCs by automating repetitive tasks, reducing alert fatigue and improving the efficiency of human analysts .

He noted: “Advancements in generative AI over the past two years have not left the security sector behind. We are now augmenting the number of human analysts with AI analysts with the aim of not only using interesting technology, but also processing more security signals.

Belkind also noted that HyperSOC and the use of AI to augment human security analysts act as a force multiplier that helps security teams be more productive. According to Belkind, this approach not only improves response times, but also ensures that human ingenuity is applied where it is most needed, effectively expanding the capabilities of existing security teams.

Proofpoint: AI-powered email threat detection

In an interview with the CEO of Proofpoint Sumit Dhawan and CSOs Ryan Kalember, they highlighted the integration of AI into their threat detection systems. Kalember explained that AI helps identify and mitigate threats faster than traditional methods.

They described how AI enables Point of proof to protect the entire email delivery chain. Dhawan explained how businesses typically choose between detecting email threats before or after the email is delivered.

“We are the only ones that offer pre-delivery, post-delivery and at-the-click protection,” Dhawan proclaimed.

The Competitive Advantage of AI in Cybersecurity

The role of AI in cybersecurity is no longer just a competitive advantage; this quickly becomes an imperative.

The expanding and complex threat landscape requires advanced tools that can keep pace with emerging threats. As highlighted by various RSA 2024 leaders, AI enables organizations to manage and mitigate risk more effectively, providing a level of automation and insights unmatched by traditional methods.

Generative AI: the new frontier

Generative AI, in particular, is gaining ground due to its ability to create sophisticated defenses and simulate potential attack vectors. This capability allows organizations to anticipate and prepare for a wider range of threats. The integration of generative AI into cybersecurity tools is considered a turning point as it provides an additional layer of intelligence that improves overall security strategies.

AI enhances, not replaces, human analysts

Despite advances in AI, experts unanimously agree that AI cannot replace human security analysts. Instead, it serves to augment their capabilities, allowing them to more effectively deal with a complex and ever-expanding threat landscape.

Torq’s Leonid Belkind summed it up well: “No one should be afraid of losing their job to AI. However, everyone should be afraid of losing their job to a human who knows how to take advantage of AI to do this job better.”​

Cybersecurity and AI are inseparable

The RSA 2024 conference highlighted the transformative impact of AI on cybersecurity. From improving threat detection and data security to automating SOC operations, AI is at the forefront of industry evolution.

As the threat landscape continues to evolve, integrating AI into cybersecurity practices will not only provide a competitive advantage, but will also become essential to maintaining robust and resilient defenses. The future of cybersecurity is not just about adopting AI, but leveraging it to augment human expertise and achieve better security outcomes.