*By Otto Pohlmann
Talk about the importance of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the corporate environment is not new. On the contrary, they are increasingly essential tools in the daily lives of companies and professionals. These are technologies that can shape and even transform entire business models.
The point is that most of the solutions developed with these proposals meet specific functions in day-to-day work, such as process automation and speed in the analysis of digital data. Much more can be done with machine learning and AI, including bolstering an organization's cybersecurity strategy. They are powerful resources against actions of hackers.
Protecting corporate information and data has become one of the main concerns of managers and leaders today. The advancement of digital transformation in recent years has brought many benefits, there is no doubt, but it also has its downside: cyber attacks have become a very common problem for both small business owners and large corporations.
In the first half of 2022 alone, the number of attempted invasions almost doubled compared to the same period in 2021, jumping from 16.2 billion records to more than 31.5 billion, according to a survey by the company Fortinet. An analysis by NordVPN, in turn, indicates that cybercriminals have already profited more than R$ 88 million in the country with the sale of information and data of Brazilians in the dark web.
The big problem with cybersecurity is the feeling that hackers are always one step ahead of the companies' protection strategy. Even the most powerful antivirus software cannot meet all demands, which can lead to serious problems in the future – especially when you need to predict any attacks that may arise on the corporate network.
But how is it possible to anticipate something that hasn't happened yet? The answer to this question is precisely the adoption of artificial intelligence and the machine learning in the day-to-day of organizations. The two technologies are premised on the identification of patterns through the analysis of data and processes in the most different areas of activity. This goes for listing tasks, determining actions and, of course, observing potential threats.
The development of a cybersecurity solution with AI and machine learning seeks to address this issue. That is, detect and prevent threats in applications and programs even before they are executed in a endpoint (device). In other words: as soon as the threat enters the company's system, the tool must already start its protocols to neutralize and eliminate it.
This is an anticipation of zero-day attacks, the name given to invasions hackers that exploit vulnerabilities still unknown by professionals responsible for programming/application. With AI, it is possible to anticipate and predict which actions the malware unknown will run within the network.
Of course, this possibility is still new for many companies, which leads to a need for internal preparation within the corporation. So that the two tools can be used correctly and in their fullness, it is necessary to create policies and rules of use so that the solution itself can act in what it was designed for. In addition, it is essential that professionals establish parameters for controlling devices and managing passwords and other information considered sensitive.
If artificial intelligence was capable of revolutionizing and transforming entire businesses through the speed in the flow of information and the agility in processing this data, it was only a matter of time before cybernetic protection tools also bet on AI and the proposal of the machine learning. With them, the difference in hours, or even minutes, that companies took to act (and that resulted in great losses) can be resolved in real time. Digital security has finally taken over status smart.
*Otto Pohlmann is CEO of Centric Solution, a technology company that provides end-to-end solutions to meet security and GDPR requirements, with a focus on implementation, training and support, in order to help sustain the development of businesses of all sizes and sectors
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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