How to use AI in cybersecurity management

With the exponential increase of cyber threats such as ransomware, phishing or social engineering, organizations are desperately looking for effective solutions to protect their data and systems.   

In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a primary tool to strengthen cyber defenses and anticipate the threats of the digital age. 

By 2027, AI will contribute to a 30% reduction in false positive rates for application security testing and threat detection."

- Gartner

Trends in AI for Cybersecurity  

The attack surface has expanded exponentially with the adoption of new technologies such as the cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT) and remote working; and hackers - or cybercriminals - who are becoming increasingly sophisticated, are now using more complex methods to breach organizations' defenses.  

The average cost of a data breach has risen to $4.35 million."

- IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2024

• Increased use of AI in the cloud.  

• Development of more specialized AI models  

• Increased integration of AI with other security technologies 

Applications of AI in cybersecurity management 

AI solutions can identify shadow data, monitor data access anomalies, and alert cybersecurity professionals to potential threats from users accessing critical data or sensitive information; reducing detection time and resolving the problem in real time.    

Among others, applications of AI in cybersecurity management are:   

Proactive threat detection 

• Behavioral analysis: AI can analyze network and user behavior to identify anomalous patterns that indicate an attack in progress. 

• Malware detection: Machine learning algorithms identify new malware variants-even if they have not been seen before.  

• Vulnerability analysis: Artificial intelligence can detect vulnerabilities in computer systems before cybercriminals attack.  

AI models can help balance security with user experience by analyzing the risk of each login attempt and verifying users through behavioral data, simplifying access to verified users and reducing the cost of fraud by up to 90%."

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Incident response automation  

• Automated threat response: Automate response to common threats, such as blocking suspicious IP addresses or quarantining infected files.  

• Incident investigation: AI helps security analysts investigate incidents faster and more efficiently.  

• Security orchestration: AI orchestrates different security tools to provide a more effective response to incidents and risks.  

Security management optimization 

• Risk analysis: AI can help enterprises identify and assess security risks more accurately.  

• Patch management: Patch management ensures that systems are kept up to date. AI automates these processes, making it easier to detect incidents.  

• Security training: AI is not only used to automate and drive security processes, but also helps train professionals and users at the enterprise level.   

AI-driven risk analytics can produce incident summaries for high-fidelity alerts and automate incident responses, speeding investigations and classifications by an average of 55%."

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Some examples of AI applications in cyber security  

• Strengthening firewalls with AI: AI-based firewalls can learn to adapt to normal network behavior and block only suspicious traffic.  

• Real-time phishing detection: AI phishing detection systems can analyze emails and websites to identify and block phishing attempts in real time.  

• Predictive threat analysis: Predicting what types of attacks are most likely to occur in the future, allowing companies to take preventative measures is also an example of applying AI in cybersecurity management.  

Cybersecurity leads today's business needs tasked with improving digital transformation processes. Getting to a connected and secure environment is the next big challenge for professionals in the technology and ICT sector.  

With La Salle-URL's Master's Degree in Cybersecurity Management you will be prepared to generate and implement information security policies to achieve business objectives. 

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CYBERSECURITY MANAGEMENT

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