AI security solutions, or AI security are the tools as well as techniques that use artificial intelligence to identify (And respond to) potential cyber threats autonomously and ahead of time based on previous or similar activity.
There are so many AI based security solution vendors that claim to use artificial intelligence capabilities. Some are good and some are to be kept at an arm’s length. What’s imperative for organizations and security professionals is to be able to recognize which security solution, and security vendor, is credible.
In this blog, we’ve listed 6 questions you should ask your AI security solutions vendor. These questions will help you understand if the vendor and solution in question is the right choice for your organization.
1. How smart and well-trained is your AI security solution?
There are AI security algorithms and solutions with different levels of complexities. Simple AI makes decisions that are based on known data and information. On the other hand, complex AI needs a huge amount of training data sets, time as well as neural-net architecture. This AI is good at predictive tasks and matching patterns. It is very important to know and understand how smart the AI is used by your AI security solutions provider.
Ask your security vendor questions like:
- Does your solution use simple or complex AI?
- How is your solution’s AI trained?
- How seasoned and experienced are your AI models when it comes to both test as well as real-world environments?
- Can its system detect changes in the environment as well as user behavior and adjust permissions and access accordingly?
2. Why have you incorporated AI capabilities in your security solution?
Security vendors add features and capabilities to their software when they find better, more efficient ways of protecting systems. They also ‘have’ to do so in order to meet the competitor pressure as well as market demand. This is why it is crucial to ask them the motivation behind adding AI capabilities to their solution.
Ask your vendor:
- Why does your solution have AI capabilities?
- Is artificial intelligence a key component of your security solution or was it added as a feature to your solution later?
- What’s different about your AI security solution’s AI?
- What are the different types of AI you use in your solutions?
- How does incorporating artificial intelligence enhance your product as compared to similar non-AI products?
3. What are the benefits my organization can benefit from your AI based security solution?
No matter how fascinating a solution is, it is of no use to you if it doesn’t fit the needs of your organizations. So, before even starting comparing the AI security solutions out there, you need to understand what exactly are your organization’s security needs. Once you’re clear on that front, make sure you sit with a representative from your security vendor and ask them the following questions:
- In what ways will your product’s AI capabilities will add value to my organization?
- Will your AI based solution protect my employees while not disrupting their productivity?
- Does your AI also protect OEM, Internet of Things and mobile devices?
- How does AI impact your product’s performance as well as its use of endpoint and enterprise resources?
4. Will you be able to provide a demo of your AI security solution in our environment?
The answer of the really good AI security solutions vendors will always be yes to this question.
The security solution can have the best of capabilities It can also meet your organization’s needs. But it is also important that it performs well within the environment of your organization. Companies selling good security solutions that they believe in would be more than happy to provide you with a demo to show you how it performs in your infrastructure.
Also, ask your AI security vendor the following questions:
- Can Artificial Intelligence in your system prevent malware that its training set has never faced?
- Has your AI algorithm been tested by a 3rd-party that can confirm its ability to detect and prevent malware?
- Can the AI also prevent zero-day malware on the endpoint without cloud connectivity?
SEE ALSO: Data Security: Definition, Importance & What it Looks Like in 2021
5. What exactly happens when your solution’s ML makes a bad decision?
If your vendor says that ‘it never happens’ with their AI security solution, consider it a red flag. A good vendor doesn’t just acknowledge their solution’s weaknesses but has an action plan ready for times the solution makes a bad decision. Ask your vendor:
- What happens when your system detects a false positive or a false negative?
- How can those be avoided?
6. How do you maintain the AI algorithm?
The level of maintenance required in order to keep AI security solutions well-trained and updated depends on the how it is being used. For example, if the security vendor uses AI for automating signature creations for new threats, the artificial intelligence system is maintained by the vendor typically. And this isn’t necessarily a good thing, as the results in more vendor updates to the endpoints. So, if their AI is trained via the cloud and deployed to the endpoints, the company can benefit from uninterrupted prevention with little to no maintenance. Ask your AI security solutions vendor:
- How often is your system’s AI retrained and where exactly does your AI reside?
- Does your AI run on the cloud or locally on the endpoint?
- How are AI capabilities in your solution specifically used?
- Is Artificial Intelligence used for automating signature creation?
- Is AI used for making real-time decisions on potential threats?
- How much maintenance does your AI security solution require, including employee training as well as active attention?
SEE ALSO: How to protect your digital infrastructure from cyber attacks?
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