Machine learning, the dark web and cybercrime - an unholy trinity

That, in the opinion of Derek Manky, Global Security Strategist for Fortinet, is what is coming down the line at us all as the next major security threat. The combination will come in the form of Hivenets and Swarmbots, and the results could be far more targeted and focused attacks, based not on the basic process of breaking into a system with one malware exploit and launching an attack. Instead it will be based on inserting untold numbers of Bots into systems to observe the activities and identify the weak-points and collectively decide where and when to attack. Manky outlined this attack model at the recent seminar Fortinet held at its Sophia Antipolis facility just outside Nice, where he discussed some of the cyber security threats he sees coming though over the next 12 months or so. The idea behind the new developments will be no surprise to those of an entomological persuasion, for the idea is to get as many small Bots onto systems and communicating in the same way that insects do when they are in a hive or when swarming.