Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity: A New Era of Defense
Since generative AI became available to the public, there has been a sharp rise in successful phishing campaigns and ransomware attacks. Cybercrime is becoming even faster, more automated, and more professional. In one recent case, encryption occurred within just 8 seconds of initial access. However, machine learning and deep learning are also empowering defenders. These technologies are enabling early detection and mitigation, significantly enhancing cybersecurity solutions. In this talk, I will share striking insights from real-world cyberattacks, discuss the recent work of our CSIRT, and explore the evolving landscape of threat actors. Finally, I will delve into current challenges, trends, and the growing role of AI in cyber defence.
AI Summary
Key facts
- In 2024, phishing and business email compromises account for 64% of cyber attack entry points, showing a significant increase from previous years.
- Ransomware attacks are becoming faster, with instances of servers being encrypted in as little as 8 seconds from initial breach.
- Despite the use of AI in cybersecurity, 15% of ransomware victims still end up paying the ransom.
Ideas
- AI and machine learning significantly enhance cybersecurity defenses, enabling rapid detection and blocking of attacks.
- Despite advancements in AI-driven security tools, human intervention remains crucial for comprehensive incident response and threat mitigation.
- The landscape of cyber threats is evolving, with attackers leveraging AI for more sophisticated and faster attacks, including deep fake technologies and exploiting vulnerabilities within seconds.
Keywords
- AI in Cybersecurity
- Incident Response
- EDR
- Ransomware
- Phishing
Quotes
- “AI allows threat actors to attack new objectives so they don't need to know what they are attacking because they can ask LLM, 'Hey, what is that and how can I enter that?'”
- “EP EDRs with AI will slow down the attacker and gives us more time to respond to it.”
- “The threat actors will be faster in responding to new vulnerabilities, that means we have less time for patching.”
Recommendations
- Organizations must adopt AI-driven security tools like EDRs to enhance their defensive capabilities against rapidly evolving cyber threats.
- Rapid response and recovery strategies are essential to mitigate the impact of cyber attacks, emphasizing the need for effective incident response teams.
- Businesses should focus more on prevention, including hardening systems and improving patch management processes, to reduce the risk of successful attacks.
About the speaker
Sandro Bachmann
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