Artificial intelligence and its impact on SME cybersecurity

After reading this article, you will learn more about:

• What is artificial intelligence?
• Its use by cyber hackers
• How does it contribute to cybersecurity
• How can SMEs benefit from it?

A changing business world

The advent of the digital age brings both advantages and disadvantages to businesses. In an increasingly connected world where we constantly hear talk of Industry 4.0, it is essential for companies to be able to protect themselves against cyber threats.

The number of cyberattacks is constantly increasing; there were 2,244 per day in the United States in 2018 , and hackers continue to refine their methods.

Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword that can be used by businesses to protect themselves as well as by cybercriminals to carry out attacks. This article will explain more about how AI will change the face of cybersecurity in the coming years.

What is artificial intelligence?

Let's start by defining what artificial intelligence is. According to the Grand Dictionnaire technologique, artificial intelligence , or AI, is a field of study that aims to artificially reproduce the cognitive faculties of human intelligence in order to create systems or machines capable of performing functions normally related to it.

Simply put, AI aims to use machines to do human work. However, the reality is far from Terminator and Skynet. For now, what we call "artificial intelligence" are decision-making technologies that rely primarily on machine learning, or machine learning, and aim to facilitate tasks performed by humans.

Machine learning, on the other hand, allows a computer to learn on its own and recognize patterns and trends. This makes it very useful in analyzing big data and makes it both a powerful ally and a potential enemy when it comes to cybersecurity for businesses.

Artificial Intelligence and Hackers

As you will have understood, artificial intelligence and all the concepts it covers can be used both wrongly and wisely. Cyber ​​hackers can thus use AI to automate their attacks and increase their scope relatively easily.

For example, a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack , which involves using an army of zombies (devices infected with a computer virus) to bring down a server, can be made more powerful by AI.

Using machine learning, the program leading the attack can constantly optimize itself, changing parameters and signatures without any human interaction. As you can see, this is a highly simplified version of reality. Once such an attack is launched, recovering from it will be extremely time-consuming and painful, not to mention the associated costs.

Furthermore, artificial intelligence will serve web criminals in three ways: increasing the number of possible attacks, developing new types of attacks, and varying already known attacks, as we have shown with the example of DDoS attacks.

Artificial intelligence in the service of cybersecurity

While the use of artificial intelligence in cybercrime is painted as a grim picture, it can just as easily be used for protection.

First, AI and machine learning will significantly improve IT asset management by making it more resilient. These technologies will enable, for example, automated updates for devices connected to the network and the recognition of devices within it.

This last issue proves crucial in the prevention of IT risks, particularly in the case of large IT systems or when several people outside the organization regularly connect to the server. On the other hand, in a world of work where skilled labor is in high demand, particularly in the field of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence allows companies to automate security processes.

Current employees will therefore be relieved of certain cumbersome tasks that can be performed by AI. We are therefore talking about an alliance between man and machine that increases the productivity and agility of organizations.

In short, if cybercriminals increasingly rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning to carry out their attacks, businesses will have no choice but to follow suit and defend themselves in the same way.

How can SMEs benefit from artificial intelligence in cybersecurity?

The terms artificial intelligence and cybersecurity probably make some entrepreneurs and business leaders shudder, as these solutions are generally associated with very high costs.

However, integrating these solutions should not be much more expensive than traditional tools found in the traditional enterprise security portfolio.
For example, Symantec offers its Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) users a tool called Targeted Attack Analytics (TAA) . Based on machine learning, this solution allows for the automatic detection of cyberattacks and response to them.

On the other hand, if you're using a Fortinet Fortiguard firewall , you can already rely on machine learning to help prevent attacks. Fortiguard products rely in part on a self-evolving detection system that's been in development for over six years and is highly effective at detecting malware.

Nexxo can help you integrate AI into your business

If you've been considering integrating artificial intelligence solutions into your cybersecurity portfolio for a while, or are wondering if these solutions are feasible for your organization, contact us. With over 20 years of experience serving SMEs, we can help you make decisions that will have a major impact on your business strategy.

About Nexxo

Nexxo Solutions informatique is a company specializing in providing IT and technology services to Quebec businesses. Its mission is to offer Quebec companies IT services tailored to their needs. Acting as an external IT department, it handles all of a company's IT tasks, allowing it to focus on its business activities. It achieves this by collaborating closely with its clients and putting their interests at the center of its concerns.