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Cisco Outlines AI Hooks in its Security Cloud
At its Cisco Live event in Melbourne last week, Cisco Systems unveiled ways in which it is using AI to strengthen and enhance its overall cybersecurity portfolio.
Cisco claims that, thanks to contributions to dataset analysis and timely threat response, AI is helping organizations to successfully weather the storm of growing threat actors and has changed how companies are approaching their security.
"The combination of our AI and our access to massive amounts of data will reframe how customers think about cybersecurity outcomes—from detection and remediation to prediction and prevention," wrote Jeetu Patel, Cisco EVP and General Manager, in a blog post.
Patel laid out the company's focus with regard to the melding of security and AI and outlined three areas in which Cisco is leveraging AI capabilities over three strategic areas:
Security Team Assistance
In response to the ongoing cybersecurity talent shortage, Cisco is introducing AI-driven solutions to bolster the capabilities of current staff members. These advanced tools are designed to enable personnel to work with the efficiency and scale of machines.
Patel pointed out an example: Cisco AI Assistant for Security. This generative AI tool is designed to support administrators in navigating complex tasks. Its primary goals are to reduce the occurrence of errors and to enhance the efficiency of managing firewall policies.
Advanced Human Insight
Cisco XDR (Extended Detection and Response) gathers data across various domains to pinpoint attacks with what the company says, is greater precision. Additionally, the Encrypted Visibility Engine in Cisco Secure Firewall's latest OS enables the analysis of encrypted traffic for malicious behavior detection.
Complex Workflow Automation
Patel said that automation is a cornerstone of Cisco's AI deployment, and is integrated into every aspect of its product line
"We're also using automation in ransomware recovery," Patel wrote. "When a new CVE (Common Vulnerability or Exposure) finds its way into an environment, our XDR leverages the deep learning models deployed by Talos to detect the threat and trigger a snapshot of the environment. If the threat turns out to be ransomware, there is a point of immediate recovery, and no data is lost."
Along with outlining these three targeted areas, Patel also stressed that, whether in its security offering or any other part of its portfolio, Cisco will remain steadfast on maintaining and advocating for responsible AI use. Cisco upholds data privacy as a fundamental human right, emphasizing transparency in data management and usage, said Patel.
He added: "Any customer using AI should be asking the question: 'What data sets are you training your AI on?' and 'Does any of my data become public domain because of your use of AI?'"