AI Solutions and a Host of Cyber Threats
Our current data-centric system is one of freer data sharing and access across an enterprise. This integrated, non-segmented paradigm, for all the problems it solves, still creates vulnerabilities. Machine learning solutions, meanwhile, seemingly get more advanced every time they pop up in the news. At this juncture, they have already become viable, reliable tools for organizations looking to enhance their data security practices.
On top of the simple fact of exponentially increased efficiency (beyond what humans can do), solutions utilizing artificial intelligence allow an organization’s IT professionals to devote more attention to multiple issues. This is becoming a necessary advantage, as cyber criminal schemes continue to grow in complexity, leaving IT teams fighting to keep pace. Both financial and time costs present tall hurdles when it comes to monitoring data, potential network intrusions, and the like. Professionals are therefore always looking for new ways to surmount these challenges. Indeed, a majority of respondents to a Ponemon survey (79%) stated that uncertainty about their sensitive data’s location represents a substantial security risk. AI-based solutions can greatly assist here, not just with data monitoring, but with all aspects of managing sensitive data and access to it. Machine learning trials, according to CIO, have already resulted in demonstrable efficiency gains.
As I said, however, hackers are consistently getting smarter. The variety of cyber dangers lurking out there is a good reason for IT teams to maintain concerned vigilance. Take the return of the “DarkHotel” group, for example. An advanced hacking group active for over a decade, DarkHotel generally uses compromised Wi-Fi hot spots in luxury hotels to hit business travelers with malware. Now, they have struck again. While it’s not known how these compromises occur, one constant in their campaigns is their ever-changing tactics in delivering their malware. That holds true now, with the strain being different, but their target in this instance has also changed. Not content with another hotel, the story here was one of cyber espionage against political targets. Specifics there aren’t yet known, but the nature of the attack and the phishing emails involved have experts pointing in that direction.
Truly, you know the state of cyber risk has grown when the FBI is warning parents about their children’s smart toys. Several high profile breaches have already made the news in recent years. CloudPets experienced one in April that exposed over two million recorded messages from parents and children, along with 800,000 emails and passwords. In 2015, VTech got hacked for records of more than 200,000 kids. Among the recommendations the FBI gives for consumers to combat this are an advisory to turn off the toy when not in use, and to avoid sharing any unnecessary personal information. “Many devices don’t have GPS services and there is no reason to give it your real address. People have to think about the consequences,” says Alan Brill, a senior managing director at Kroll.
Everyone’s data is at risk these days, and everyone has to step up. Whether it’s an artificial intelligence, a company’s IT division, a federal agency, or concerned parents, all can contribute in their own ways to their information’s security.