Articles

Artificial Intelligence: Playing a Bigger Role in Cybersecurity for SMB’s

Posted by Lee-Anne A. Coleman, JEI TECH 21-03-2022 10:26 AM

AI (artificial intelligence) is starting to play a key role in cybersecurity defence systems for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Most businesses are becoming aware of how prevalent phishing attempts, identity theft and ransomware attacks have become in recent years and one of the ways to help businesses put a stop to it, is by sharing the technology industry’s response to more sophisticated attacks.

Whenever we talk about AI integrated into technology, the most common application that our clients are aware of is how facial recognition cameras can integrate with AI. With an appropriate data set, AI can proactively suggest a course of action based on a target’s background, prior behaviours, and other factors.

This has obvious benefits for enhancing the security of any physical location, however, AI is becoming more central to every facet of cybersecurity, as well. While the applications are still growing in widespread popularity, many business owners will soon be faced with this question: should I put my business on a ’Smart Network’ or just on ’a network’?

As more businesses utilize key SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) apps like Slack, Office 365, GSuite and Salesforce to power their operations, the more attractive those services have become to cybercriminals. It is possible to now leverage AI to heighten defences so that businesses can continue to work with their favourite SaaS applications, but can also rest assured that their access to those mission-critical programs remains 100% secure.

AI is like adding another layer to an organization’s security stack that constantly evolves into a better version of itself. AI is also entering the cybersecurity space as a tool for research and marketing purposes. Some AI-enabled applications can cross-analyze multiple publicly available databases to help businesses find their ideal clients’ names, email addresses, phone numbers and other relevant information in real time.
AI is absolutely exploding, right now. The fact that technology can learn, become smarter and more efficient, means ultimately that the businesses who harness AI now, are poised to gain significant competitive advantages in their industry. In other words, the gap between early adopters and laggards is widening.

The main driver for AI-based technology is simple: since cybercriminals have access to more advanced technologies, they have continued to devise new methods of infiltrating networks. Since those are built on the back of AI, the solution for SMBs who want to operate securely, must meet those strategies with equally sophisticated cyber defence tools. With the proper AI infrastructure, SMBs can not only outpace the innovation curve of cybercriminals, but they can also enhance their security across every area of the organization.

Lee-Anne A. Coleman, JEI TECH.
https://jei.tech