Traditional cybersecurity isn't necessarily bad at detecting attacks, the trouble is it often does so after they have occurred. A better approach is to spot potential attacks and block them before they can do any damage. One possible way of doing this is via'deep learning' allowing technology to identify the difference between good and bad. We spoke with Brooks Wallace, cybersecurity sales leader at Deep Instinct to find out more about this innovative solution. BW: If you look at cybersecurity, there's always been this holy grail of prevention.

A recent study showed that over 90% of security operating centres are now implementing or considering the use of AI and machine learning to detect and defend against digital threats. What is the traditional method for threat detection, what has AI and ML allowed, and how is the hardware world reacting to threats? Since their introduction, computers have played a key role in modern life, providing services such as internet access, online banking, message exchange, and remote work. However, the transmission of sensitive information along with the processing capabilities of any single computer has also resulted in the development of malware by cybercriminals. These programs fall under several categories, including viruses, trojans, and worms, all of which perform different tasks. Of these, their exact function can be separated further; some malware works to destroy a system while others may steal sensitive information.

German engineering company Robert Bosch GmbH is using artificial intelligence to reduce the risk of hackers tricking cars electronic systems into misinterpreting road signs. Engineering company Robert Bosch is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to fortify cars' electronic systems against hackers who attempt to feed the systems intentionally incorrect road-sign information. Road-sign standardization makes traffic-sign recognition technology well-suited to machine learning and deep learning image-identification algorithms, but malefactors can deceive the algorithms by defacing the signs. Bosch's Michael Bolle said the company has unveiled a computer-vision-based AI process designed to analyze and compare an object from two different perspectives. The findings of deep learning algorithms that identify road signs are checked by computer-vision algorithms, and discrepancies between the readings could indicate spoofing.

With cyber threats rising rapidly, security service providers see an increase in demand for their products, prompting them to invest in latest technologies such as machine learning to predict and prevent attacks. Paladion Networks, a B2B cyber security service provider for the banking sector, saw a 30 per cent increase in business in the last two years. Shree Parthasarathy, Partner, Deloitte, said large enterprises are now investing almost 10-15 per cent of their IT spend in cyber security. The user base of Chennai-based K7 Computing Pvt Ltd, anti-virus software and internet security solution, increased rapidly over years. For instance, the company had 800 active users in 2010, but it now has 5,000 daily users.

In 2011, cybersecurity researcher and entrepreneur Stuart McClure spent his last year working at McAfee, as the company's global chief technology officer, apologizing a lot. McClure said hackers were slipping into McAfee customer networks and each subsequent breach seemed worse than the last. McClure would have to meet with each of the big McAfee corporate customers to explain why the software failed and at the end of each meeting someone would ask McClure the same question: "'What type of security software do you use on your machine to prevent cyber attacks?'" The customers would then wait, pens poised above a piece of paper to jot down the long list of layer after layer of high-end software that the global CTO of a multimillion-dollar security company would surely recommend. "I would tell them I only trust my brain and my hand, because there are no new ways to breach a network," says McClure of his former employer, which is now owned by Intel.

The question of human existence -whether as a species in general or just in the working world- has generated quite some concern around the world. Famous technologists and successful entrepreneurs such as Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk or Jaan Tallinn have responded with organisations like Future of Life Institute and OpenAI. They strive to protect human life from intelligent machines taking over the world. Thanks to Paul O'Connell, founder and organiser of the Uprise Festival in Amsterdam, I had the opportunity to dive a bit deeper into this issue. As part of the Festival -already in its 3rd edition and coming to Dublin later this year- I was able to bring to the audience a panel of guest speakers with the goal of answering one bold question: are humans still relevant?