Microsoft Adds AI into Security
Having included features from OpenAI's GPT4, Microsoft has now announced its Security Copilot built on large language models
Microsoft has taken the inclusion of artificial intelligence into its product portfolio at a frenetic pace. Having already included OpenAI’s GPT4 into its Office Suite, the company has now unveiled Security Copilot as the first-ever security product built on tech innovations around large language models.
The Microsoft Security Copilot, according to its website, empowers “your defenders to detect hidden patterns, harden defenses, and respond to incidents faster with generative AI”. It is an AI-powered security analysis tool that enables analysts to respond to threats quickly, process signals at machine speed, and assess risk exposure in minutes. It is available for preview only.
Taking the automated path on cyber security
Microsoft Chairman Satya Nadella has said that the product will be the next big step forward into the new world of cyber operations that augment every security role by combining advanced AI models with security-optimized infrastructure, threat, intelligence, and skills. The company has invited prospective users to sign up and get updates on the new technology.
According to reports, the new AI-based tool provides capabilities including explanations of vulnerabilities, threats and alerts from Microsoft’s own security products as well as third-party tools. It also answers queries around the enterprise environment and incidents via natural language while summarizing incident analysis and providing recommendations.
Simplifies the work for security analysts
Company officials have said that these capabilities could result in simplification of security incident responses for enterprises from hours and possibly days to a matter of some minutes. It could also help the IT divisions ascertain the real reasons behind the challenges by assisting human analysts who could potentially overlook them.
Nadella, who told delegates at Microsoft’s Secure event last week, that the company perceived these developments as the entry point for cyber defense, especially in the given scenario where cybersecurity experts are in dire need for the industry. The technology helps skilled analysts to focus on the next level of cyber risks, Nadella said, adding that Security Copilot could transform every aspect of the security operations center productivity from threat detection to response.
Could this be the umbrella that Microsoft needed?
Incidentally, Security Copilot is not the same as Microsoft Security portfolio. Those in the know suggest that the latest innovation could be just the connector that brings together all of the company’s security services and also allows for integration with third-party products and data somewhere in the near future.
The company believes that Microsoft Security Copilot could be the first generative AI security product that uses the power of GPT for artificial intelligence to create a full cybersecurity solution that covers the entire enterprise and machine speed and scale. They said, unlike the present scenario where companies pitch autonomous SOCs, this product could well be the first one to bring everything into one seamless solution.
What’s more, the latest announcement from Microsoft also signals a shift from a timeframe where the role of AI was limited to detection. With this innovation, we can potentially have AI improving a mission critical challenge in security operations – the analyst experience or AX as it is widely known as.
Of course, there could be challenges that the solution throws up once it goes live. However, before that Microsoft needs to get it off the preview status and make it available for a larger audience out there.
