Exploiting machine learning in cybersecurity

MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) has led one of the most notable efforts in this regard, developing a system called AI2, an adaptive cybersecurity platform that uses machine learning and the assistance of expert analysts to adapt and improve over time. The system uses near-real-time analytics to identify known security threats, stored data analytics to compare samples against historical data and big data analytics to identify evolving threats through anonymized datasets gathered from a vast number of clients. Combining this capability with the data already being gathered by IBM's threat intelligence platform, X-Force Exchange, the company wants to address the shortage of talent in the industry by raising Watson's level of efficiency to that of an expert assistant and help reduce the rate of false positives. This technique gives the cybersecurity firm the unique ability to monitor billions of results on a daily basis, identify and alert about the publication of potentially brand-damaging information and proactively detect and prevent attacks and data loss before they happen.