Artificial intelligence key to do 'more with less' in securing enterprise cloud services Posted on : Mar 21 - 2018

Security professionals in the enterprise are facing an uphill battle to maintain control of corporate networks.

Data breaches and cyberattacks are rampant, sensitive information belonging to both companies and individuals is spilling unchecked into the underbelly of the Internet, and with the emergence of state-sponsored threat actors, it is becoming more and more difficult for organizations to keep up.

It is estimated the cyberattacks and online threats will cost businesses up to $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015.

Once cyberattackers compromise an enterprise network or cloud service, information can be stolen, surveillance may be conducted, or in some cases, ransomware attacks can lock down an entire operation and hold a business to ransom.

However, new technologies are entering the cybersecurity space which may help reduce the financial cost and burden on cybersecurity professionals pressed for time and often operating with limited staff and budgets.

Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and predictive analytics applications may one day prove to be the key to maintaining control and preventing successful hacks, data breaches, and network compromise.

These technologies encompass deep learning, algorithms, and Big Data analysis to perform a variety of tasks. The main goal of AI and ML is usually to find anomalies in systems and networks of note, whether it be suspicious traffic, unauthorized insider behavior and threats, or indicators of compromise.

Able to evolve over time, the purpose of AI technologies is to learn, detect, and prevent suspicious and dangerous activities with improvements and refinements the longer such applications and systems are in use. This provides companies with a custom cybersecurity system which tailors itself to their requirements, in comparison to an off-the-shelf, traditional antivirus security solution -- which is no longer enough with so many threats lurking at the perimeter.

In an interview with ZDNet, Paul Martini, CEO and co-founder of cloud gateway and security firm iboss said that enterprises are experimenting with these kinds of technology to "alleviate the staffing pressures caused by the well-known skills shortage in cybersecurity."

Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that by 2021, there will be 3.5 million vacancies in the cybersecurity market left unfulfilled. To make matters worse, a report from Capgemini estimates that only 43 percent of individuals in IT roles have the cybersecurity skills required for their jobs. View More