Can Deep Learning Take Cybersecurity To The Next Level? This Startup Says Yes.

A cybersecurity startup is applying the same "deep learning" techniques that are used in modern image and voice recognition to detect malware. Deep Instinct launched late last year with a system that it says can go beyond typical antivirus programs by not only detecting known malware but also flagging dangerous software it's never encountered before. The company doesn't need to have security experts create digital rules specifying what kind of characteristics should trigger alerts, says Maya Schirmann, Deep Instinct's chief marketing officer. Instead, the system essentially trains itself by studying enormous numbers of applications, documents, images, and other common types of files, labeled simply for whether they contain malware or not. "The training phase happens on our own premises, at Deep Instinct," Schirmann says.