In the high-stakes world of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the game, dramatically enhancing defensive capabilities in the fight against cybercrime. But like many watershed technologies, the potential for misuse is ever present, as malicious actors weaponize AI to boost the volume and impact of their attacks. A new white paper from Secureworks, a Sophos company, delves into this dual role, exploring AI's immense potential and inherent risks – and arming organizations with key insights and recommendations. Even as AI-powered attacks evolve at breakneck speed, organizations can tip the scales in their favor with the right strategic approach.
“AI and automation offer organizations unparalleled capabilities in detecting and responding to cyber threats, improving visibility, and enhancing the efficiency of security teams. By reducing operational costs and minimizing disruptions, AI provides both immediate and long-term ROI.”
From the White Paper: A Practical Guide to (and Benefits of) AI in Cybersecurity
Right place, right time
AI couldn't have come at a better time for cybersecurity. The annual cost of global cybercrime is expected to reach $10.5 trillion USD this year1, while active ransomware groups are growing 30% year on year2. AI-powered tools are already helping organizations make a dent in these numbers, reducing detection and response times, accelerating threat containment, and automating tasks to drive up efficiency. In the Secureworks Security Operations Center, machine learning automates remediation of over 50% of noisy alerts. Automated alert prioritization reduces analyst workload by more than 50%, driving an 80% reduction in customer notification times.
Upsides vs downsides
Both generative and non-generative AI (GenAI and Non-GenAI) play a role in these wins. GenAI exerts a powerful predictive force, helping security teams simulate attack scenarios and get out in front of threat actors. It enhances threat detection accuracy, reduces false positives, and automates security workflows. Non-GenAI is more reactive and analytical, helping organizations detect, classify, and respond to threats with efficiency and accuracy. Together, a broad spectrum of AI technologies work together, alongside human expertise, to strengthen cyber defenses, streamline operations, and ensure a fast and proactive approach to securing digital environments.
But it's not all upsides. GenAI, in particular, opens the door to bad actors, making it easier to create convincing deepfakes and sophisticated social engineering attacks. Cybercriminals also exploit AI to manipulate data for malicious purposes and create malware that bypasses traditional security measures. To get ahead of these threat actors, organizations need to develop strategies that balance AI innovation with risk mitigation.
BENEFITS OF AI-DRIVEN CYBERSECURITY
Faster threat detection and response
AI analyzes vast amounts of security data, quickly identifying anomalies and malicious activity. Automation reduces response times, minimizing potential damage from attacks.
Predictive and proactive security
AI leverages threat intelligence, machine learning, and automation to identify attack patterns and predict threats before they materialize. This shifts organizations from a reactive to proactive approach that minimizes risk and strengthens resilience.
Enhanced incident response and investigation
AI-powered tools help organizations identify and prioritize risks, streamlining investigation and mitigation processes. Isolating compromised systems and automating response workflows greatly reduces dwell time.
Automation of security operations
AI filters out false positives, reducing alert fatigue for security teams. Automation of repetitive and time-consuming tasks reduces the burden on analysts, freeing them up to focus on more strategic tasks.
Cost savings and ROI
Extensive automation reduces the need for human intervention, cutting costs and driving up efficiency. AI-driven tools help prevent costly breaches, minimizing downtime, financial losses, and reputational damage.
Enhanced human expertise
AI augments analyst expertise, making security teams more efficient, accurate, and proactive. Actionable insights and contextual information help analysts make faster, data-driven decisions.
Building a human-AI partnership
Critical to the success of AI in cybersecurity is close integration with its skilled human counterparts. AI may supercharge productivity but there's no replacement for analyst expertise in a robust security strategy. As the white paper drives home, human oversight and critical thinking are essential to getting the most from AI systems. This means developing adaptive security strategies that integrate diverse AI training datasets with robust human oversight, continuously validating and auditing AI for performance and vulnerabilities.
“Tight coupling of AI capabilities with the “human in the loop” is essential to maximizing success.”
From the White Paper: A Practical Guide to (and Benefits of) AI in Cybersecurity
The power of collective expertise
Secureworks exemplifies the fusion of AI and human expertise in its Taegis platform and expert-led managed services. This combination of advanced tools and skilled personnel helps our customers successfully navigate the evolving cybersecurity landscape. AI is embedded across Secureworks solutions and security operations. Our AI systems are trained on vast quantities of human-validated data, continuously driving up performance, efficiency, and accuracy. Hundreds of AI models leverage this proprietary data to enhance threat detection, prioritization, and response. As this data expands in both volume and diversity, our AI systems and security analysts will keep on getting better, continuously enhancing our customers' cybersecurity postures.
Now part of Sophos, we are strengthening this mission, pooling the technology and expertise of two industry pioneers as we continue to push the boundaries of AI in cybersecurity.
Secure your future with AI
Organizations that integrate AI into their security frameworks will be better equipped to navigate the evolving threat landscape. AI-powered solutions from Secureworks and Sophos offer unprecedented opportunity to strengthen your cyber defenses. To discover how AI could transform your security posture, download the white paper here. Or reach out to our team to find out more about our AI-powered cybersecurity solutions.
Sources:
- Cybersecurity Ventures Cybercrime Report 2024
- Secureworks Counter Threat Unit™ (CTU), State of the Threat Report 2024