Kaspersky expert Saurabh Sharma explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help address the acute shortage of 2.1 million cybersecurity professionals in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. As cyber threats continue to evolve, Sharma emphasizes the potential of AI in key areas such as threat intelligence, incident response, and threat analysis. However, he also highlights the importance of AI as a tool to complement human expertise rather than replace it.
12 September 2023 – A substantial cybersecurity talent gap of 2.1 million professionals looms over the Asia Pacific (APAC) region as of 2022, says Kaspersky. To address this pressing issue, Saurabh Sharma, Senior Security Researcher for Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) in the Asia Pacific, has delved into the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to fortify defenses against the rapidly evolving cyber threats in the region.
Sharma emphasizes the pivotal role of AI in mitigating APAC’s critical cybersecurity workforce shortage, which stands at an alarming 52.4%. He notes that just as cybercriminals harness AI’s capabilities, cybersecurity teams can leverage this technology for their benefit. AI, Sharma points out, can play a pivotal role in critical domains such as threat intelligence, incident response, and threat analysis.
In the realm of threat intelligence, AI algorithms can swiftly access and analyze previously published research and known tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). This empowers cybersecurity teams to develop informed threat hunting hypotheses, staying ahead of potential threats.
For incident response, AI can identify anomalies within log data, comprehend security event logs, generate representations of security event logs, and propose steps to detect initial threats, such as web shells.
In the sphere of threat analysis, technologies like ChatGPT can assist in identifying critical components within malware code, deobfuscating malicious scripts, and even simulating dummy web servers with specific encryption schemes.
Nevertheless, Sharma underscores the limitations of AI in building and maintaining cyber defenses. He urges APAC’s enterprises and organizations to concentrate on augmenting their existing teams and workflows. Transparency is crucial when employing Generative AI, particularly when it may provide incorrect information. All interactions with Generative AI should be meticulously logged, reviewed, and preserved for the lifespan of deployed products.
Sharma concludes by emphasizing that AI offers clear advantages for cybersecurity teams, including automating data collection, enhancing Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR), and minimizing the impact of incidents. While this technology can lower the skill requirements for security analysts, it should be regarded as a tool to complement and augment human expertise, rather than a complete replacement.
Kaspersky will delve deeper into the future of cybersecurity at the Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit (SAS) 2023, scheduled to take place in Phuket, Thailand, from October 25th to 28th. The event will welcome anti-malware researchers, global law enforcement agencies, Computer Emergency Response Teams, and senior executives from diverse sectors across the globe.
For detailed information about participation opportunities in SAS 2023, please visit: https://thesascon.com/#participation-opportunities.
