A R T I F I C I AL IN TE LLIGE N C E : THE SMART ER APPROACH TO INFO RMATI O N S ECURI TY The Current Threat Landscape The news headlines are replete with stories of devastating data breaches, compromising the personal and professional data of millions. Cyber attackers spare no industry, infiltrating the assets of even the most sophisticated technology adopters, in turn impacting their executives, employees, and perhaps worst of all — customers and users. All of which beg the question: WHAT’S GOING WRONG? 2 A R T I F I C I AL IN TE LLIGE N C E : THE SMART ER APPROACH TO INFO RMATI O N S ECURI TY THE CURREN T THREAT L AN D S CA P E The answer lies not in changing the motives of bad actors, but rather, in the advanced techniques that help them evade traditional methods of system protection. Traditional AV solutions, which adopt a reactive approach to cyber attacks, are ineffective at preventing breaches, relying solely on continually updated signatures or patches to address known threats. But, threats are quickly evolving and multiplying, overwhelming these traditional systems. And, the damage has been staggering. SINCE 2014, SIGNIFICANT CYBER ATTACKS HAVE INCREASED BY 230% The Center for Strategic and International Studies has been tracking significant cyber incidents since 2006. They define a significant attack as one that targets “government agencies, defense and high-tech companies, or economic crimes with losses of more than a million dollars.”1 Their research concludes that significant cyber attacks have increased 230% since 2014. In recent years, armed with knowledge stolen from the CIA and tools lifted from the NSA, threat actors have demonstrated an elevated level of proficiency. To fully understand how these and other threats evade traditional defenses, it’s critical to understand their characteristics and methodologies. 1  Significant Cyber Incidents, (CSIS, 2018) 3