The unfulfilled past promises of machine learning in risk, compliance, and information security sectors have been disappointing, though understandable. How on earth do you even begin to look at the mind-boggling labyrinth of tens of thousands of compliance provisions and start threading them together to accelerate efficiency? Now, the change has officially come. So, how did we get to this undeniably exciting point in time – and what does it mean for risk, legal, and compliance professionals? What was only possible theoretically has become a reality thanks to advances in computing power, capacity, cleverly designed software, and cloud computing storage capabilities accessible thanks to clever API.

In this article, I will look at how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help improve cybersecurity practices in an environment of ever-increasing threats and discuss the role of AI in alleviating the perennial talent shortage in the field of cybersecurity. Remember that the current wave of AI, driven by advances in deep learning, started around 2015, but the talent short- ages in cybersecurity precede that. I also caution that if we are not careful, AI can even be a double-edged sword when it comes to cybersecurity. Let me start with a flashback. About a decade ago, I used to audit the information security practices and cybersecurity preparedness of large global enterprises.

In 2004, a few unmanned vehicles showed up at the starting gate of the lengthy course across the Mojave Desert -- this was the inaugural DARPA Grand Challenge. It signified the beginning of the technological race to develop a practical self-driving car, which sparked a global movement that continues even today. The networking community too embarked on a similar journey to provide production-ready, economically feasible, Self-Driving Networks. Self-Driving Networks are autonomous networks that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to program independently and carry out prescribed intentions while eliminating complex programming and management tasks required today to run the networks. In view of this, the proliferation of data breaches and cyberattacks in today's networking environment has also increased, leading to extensive repercussions across businesses.

As enterprises face a barrage of cyberattacks, and the nature of these attacks is growing in sophistication, it is becoming difficult to pinpoint the vulnerabilities. The bad actors are becoming smarter and more coordinated. It has become a very organized industry, even though it is a dark industry. So here are three key aspects that organizations must immediately address as they prepare their cybersecurity strategy for 2020. Firstly, enterprises need to be in a state of perennial alert.

Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword that can be used as a security solution or as a weapon by hackers. AI entails developing programs and systems capable of exhibiting traits associated with human behaviors. The characteristics include the ability to adapt to a particular environment or to intelligently respond to a situation. AI technologies have extensively been applied in cybersecurity solutions, but hackers are also leveraging them to develop intelligent malware programs and execute stealth attacks. Security experts have conducted a lot of research to harness the capabilities of AI and incorporate it into security solutions.