Playbook Volume 11 - ChannelVision Magazine - Digital Transformation

The Cyber Arms Race The issue, of course, is that many businesses are far behind in their cy- bersecurity strategies. Many aren’t even using basic cybersecurity tools such as private networks, making them sitting ducks for cyberattacks. Companies in this position will not stand a chance against the next genera- tion of AI-enabled malware. Now more than ever, it’s imperative to have a mod- ern, comprehensive and layered cyberse- curity strategy that provides safeguards across every area of the network. Marc Stoecklin, principal research scientist and manager of the Cogni- tive Cybersecurity Intelligence (CCSI) group at the IBM T.J. Watson Re- search Center, likens cybersecurity to an arms race. Every new era of computing, he said in a recent post, has given attackers new capabilities to exploit vulnerabilities. The next era will be much more intense. “In the PC era, we witnessed mal- ware threats emerging from viruses and worms, and the security industry responded with antivirus software,” Stoecklin says. “In the web era, at- tacks such as cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and cross-site script- ing (XSS) were challenging web ap- plications. Now, we are in the cloud, analytics, mobile and social (CAMS) era – and advanced persistent threats (APTs) have been on the top of CIOs’ and CSOs’ minds. “But we are on the cusp of a new era,” Stoecklin continues. “The shift to machine learning and AI is the next ma- jor progression in IT. However, cyber- criminals are also studying AI to use it to their advantage – and weaponize it.” IBM Research has developed Deep- Locker, what Stoecklin refers to as a new breed of AI-enabled malware that contains highly targeted and evasive attack tools. DeepLocker is capable of avoiding detection until the exact moment that it recognizes a target using a variety of tools including biometrics and geolocation. “This AI-powered malware is particu- larly dangerous because, like nation- state malware, it could infect millions of systems without being detected,” Stoecklin says. “But, unlike nation-state malware, it is feasible in the civilian and commercial realms.” According to Stoeckler, AI-powered threats like this will arrive very soon. IBM Research, after all, built DeepLock- er by combining open-source AI tools with basic evasion techniques – a tech- nique that cybercriminals will almost certainly be using in the near future. The upshot is the next wave of cy- bercrime will be much more dangerous, and costlier, than ever before. Business- es must start planning now for this next phase of smart cybercrime or risk falling victim to devastating cyberattacks. o www.netcarrier.com …Communications Simplified Enhanced Cloud Solutions netcarrier ™ telecom For over 20 years, NetCarrier continues to provide innovation solutions for businesses throughout the U.S. 855-NCLOUD4 Join NetCarrier partners on October 10 th at 7pm and experience the history of America firsthand. with Special Guest Verizon Partner Solutions Cocktails and tapas served. Come see us at Channel Partners Evolution in Booth #849 for your exclusive invitation. 27 THE CHANNEL MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK