AI and the Changing Face of Cybersecurity Posture

In the world of protecting assets from cyber threats, posture is essentially table stakes. All the  advanced security measures begin where posture leaves off. Develop a strong cybersecurity posture, and your network, devices, identities, and data are much more difficult to breach.

However, the challenge for many companies is recognizing that a secure posture is a moving threshold. A company’s security posture from five years ago was significantly weaker than those that we are seeing today. As threat actors have developed new attack vectors, techniques, and malware, posture has had to evolve to meet potential incoming threats.

The latest concern amongst security professionals is the exploitation of AI and machine learning tools like ChatGPT to develop never-seen-before cybersecurity threats. Since its launch late last year, attackers have tried to use generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, to create polymorphic malware.

BlackMamba, ChatGPT’s polymorphic proof-of-concept malware, is forcing security teams to evaluate whether their security posture is strong enough to withstand this latest evolution in cyber threats. AI has raised the stakes, and with it, it is pushing organizations to reconsider posture, the building block of cybersecurity.

Strategizing your cybersecurity

There are actually three different types of cybersecurity strategies organizations tend to follow. The first are those who are reactive to events around them. They offer protections based on history and develop training and strategies to prevent the data breaches, network takeovers, and ransomware attacks of yesterday.

These companies, who are very much like generals who prepare to fight the previous war, tend to check boxes for compliance without seriously considering the security of their network.

The second type of strategy is being deployed by companies that have a vision into the future but lack the budgets to implement leading cybersecurity solutions. As a result, they often end up taking the same approach as reactive companies.

The last type of company is proactive. These organizations, which are often in the financial industry or in e-commerce, recognise the need to be ahead of the game. In addition to thinking about the risks they are currently facing, they tend to look for cybersecurity tools that are preparing for attacks of the future.

They are upgrading their security posture and ensuring that they have AI tools in place to secure their network against AI-driven attacks. It’s a different mindset that takes posture to a different level in protecting the network.

How this impacts the posture

As you might imagine, the strategy adopted by an organization has a major impact on posture. Proactive organizations are already viewing posture through an AI lens. They recognise the changing nature of attacks and can easily envision AI-based attacks trying to breach their network.

Their posture is being proactively upgraded in a way that will future-proof their protection against new and unknown threats. These solutions don’t overlook the threats of today; they are fully capable of handling any malware, ransomware, or other attack thrown their way. However, they won’t be caught unaware when future iterations of BlackMamba come to their network doorstep. They will be far better off than companies that are purely reactionary to evolving cyber threats.

(The author, By Ric Smith, is the Chief Product and Technology Officer at SentinelOne, a cybersecurity company headquartered in California and listed on the NYSE. The views expressed herein are those of the author and need not reflect our Editorial Views).