The Important Role of Artificial Intelligence in Network Defense

AI Can Detect Zero-Day Attacks Better

A zero-day attack is one that hasn’t already been logged by a threat intelligence system that powers a cyber defense tool. For example, if an attacker used ransomware that encrypts a computer’s data at a certain point in time, its threat signature would most likely be shared with dozens of threat mitigation systems. However, a new ransomware could fly under the radar until an attack has been recognized, studied, and reported.

A system powered by AI doesn’t need threat signatures to identify potential attacks. Instead, it can detect a threat based on its behavior or the behavior of the attacked system. Consider the following simple example. Suppose an AI-powered threat monitoring system regularly logs and studies the amount of traffic heading into and exiting network ports. The system establishes an acceptable baseline, or state, that signifies normal data movement through the network.

But then there’s a sudden spike in data moving out of the network. Because this could signify an attempt at data exfiltration, the AI system could send an alert. It can shut down certain ports, block the source of the incoming attack, or a combination of all of the above. Essentially, AI and ML can implement what is referred to as a 5D approach—Deter, Detect, Deny, Delay, and Defend. Professionals in the cybersecurity field recognize this as the most effective approach.

And enhances Incident Response

AI can respond to threats automatically. It saves IT teams many hours every week and focus threat response where it truly matters. For instance, suppose you have a powerful threat detection system that surfaces many threats a day. But because the system is so sensitive, your IT team quickly gets inundated with alerts, resulting in alert fatigue. Conversely, actual threats may be detected too late or even missed. For example, if your system is hit with malware designed to launch an SQL injection, leveraging AI/ML by training the model with historical data, determining which SQL statements are valid and which represent an attack, can be responded accordingly by distinguishing between the two.

Additionally, AI can filter out the noise, choosing which alerts to send through to the IT team. An AI system can also perform actions to automatically mitigate. In that way, AI can instantly stop a threat that may take a human hours to detect and address.