How Machine Learning Malware Detection Helps Protect Your Network
The ever-evolving world of malware has created an unstable landscape that demands newer and newer technologies to keep the bad guys at bay. While they are capable of incredible feats, humans work slowly compared to computers, which can process countless tasks in only a few seconds. By leveraging this fact, forward-thinking companies are establishing formidable defenses against modern security threats, thanks to machine learning malware detection that utilizes powerful AI technology.
AI Malware Detection
Modern companies are under constant assault by diverse and sophisticated malware that is constantly evolving to elude and circumvent their security systems. Even regular updates don’t always do the job, since security systems always seem to be playing catch up with the unscrupulous entities that profit from hacks, ransomware and the theft of intellectual property.
The precarious cyber threat landscape forces companies to constantly track millions of internal and external data points across their users and infrastructure. It just isn’t practical to expect an internal team of people to effectively manage this volume of information.
Machine learning is ideal for bridging this gap because it can quickly recognize patterns to help predict imminent threats in substantial data sets. By using AI to automate the analysis, organizations can quickly detect threats and proactively isolate situations requiring a thorough human analysis.
Digging Deeper into Machine Learning
When most people imagine AI or machine learning, they think of sci-fi movies where ominous robots impose their will on the world. In reality, machine learning is a lot less intimidating and a lot more helpful.
Machine learning starts by using training data, known as “ground truth,” which are essentially correct question-and-answer pairs. This initial training helps the so-called classifiers (which power machine learning analysis) to accurately sort, classify and categorize observations. This process also helps the AI’s all-important algorithms (which are used to orient and organize classifiers) analyze new real-world data
A good example is identifying faces in online photos. In this case, a system’s classifiers will analyze the data patterns they have been trained on. This will usually not be actual eyes or noses, but other unique features that allow it to correctly tag a distinctive face among millions of photos.
How it Applies to Cyber Security
AI can do a lot to protect a company’s security, thanks to its ability to adapt to new threats and efficiently sift through mountains of data. Among its many abilities include:
Identifying Threats on a Company’s Network
Machine learning is able to detect potential threats by constantly assessing the behavior of a company’s network for any and all anomalies. Because AI is able to process an incredible amount of data, it can find critical incidents in near real-time. This allows it to detect and isolate unknown malware, insider threats and potential policy violations.
Promoting Safer Browsing
Machine learning is very good at predicting the types of “bad neighborhoods” that harbor bad actors. This helps prevent staffers from accidentally connecting to potentially malicious websites. AI analyzes internet activity to quickly and automatically identify the types of attack infrastructures staged for current and, more importantly, emergent threats.
Providing Endpoint Malware Protection
Machine learning algorithms have the ability to identify brand-new malware trying to run on endpoints. It spots new malicious activity and suspect files based on the behaviors and attributes of existing, known malware.
Safeguarding Cloud-Based Data
AI can analyze suspect login activity on cloud apps, conduct IP reputation analysis, and detect location-based anomalies to spot risks and threats in cloud platforms and apps.
Detecting Malicious Issues in Encrypted Traffic
Machine learning can encrypt traffic data elements in typical network telemetry to help identify malware in encrypted traffic. Instead of decrypting, AI has algorithms that can pinpoint suspicious patterns to uncover threats cloaked with encryption.
Machine learning means IT managers no longer have to manually enter endless lines of code; instead, they can simply automate policy to translate and execute their business intent.
If you’re hoping to secure your organization’s systems and streamline your company’s efficiencies, Fisher Technology can help. We manage everything from computers and servers to cloud environments, network equipment, mobile devices and applications. We can protect your business from hackers and malware while streamlining your operations with electronic document automation and leading-edge workflow solutions. Contact us to learn more.