We’re in the middle of a huge cyberwars between hackers. They are battling to take over more and more of our devices to act as Zombie bot, even using fish tanks. By adding artificial intelligence, hackers are also launching more advanced targeted attacks. We need to fight back and breathe new life into our systems. Now we can with AI-based security and solutions that provide protection, from every angle, says Thorsten Stremlau, Lenovo’s CTO - Commercial Space.
It’s not always easy to see the battle that’s raging around our businesses, but it exists none the less. Unfortunately, we only become aware of it once it affects our systems.
This is the cyberwar between hackers, vying to take ownership of devices connected to the cloud.
By attacking various security vulnerabilities these hackers are recruiting their bots to mount attacks.
Previously, hackers haven’t needed too many zombies to be successful; just a small group connecting simultaneously to a website would have brought it crashing down.
Now with hosting in the cloud – through AWS, Azure, Google and the like – a successful denial of service may need tens of thousands of soldiers attacking at one time.
Ultimately, it’s worth it. Successful attacks, whether stealing bitcoin or the data on hundreds of thousands of credit cards, generate huge profits for hackers.
Rise of the AI-generals
Now hackers can afford to invest in ever more sophisticated systems. It means they can afford to have the bots led by advanced AI algorithms.
These artificial intelligence solutions allow hackers to mount co-ordinated strikes against you that go further than anything that normal security can handle.
Previously, attacks, were single-minded. Whether they were viruses, a denial of service or a phishing attack, they would happen in isolation.
Now, because they are fully co-ordinated they come from every direction, at once.
No longer is it enough, like the boy in the dutch proverb, to stick one finger in the dyke to prevent disaster. Now you need many.
And the attacks are relentless. There’s no let up between incidents to recover and protect systems.
The exponential rise of connected devices through the Internet of Things, also means that attacks come from the unlikeliest of places – such as a fish tank, as one US casino found to their cost.
Sensors in the tank, used for monitoring temperature and cleanliness, were linked to the cloud. Hackers used the weak security around the sensors to access the casino’s network and stole thousands of customer files.
So what to do?
Fight AI with advanced security
The best way to combat AI-based attacks is through even more advanced artificial intelligence and state of the art security solutions.
For example, weak or stolen passwords are still a key vulnerability that hackers exploited in 81% of breaches1. So, introduce passwordless authentication. However good the AI-powered password hacking systems they won’t work if there’s no password to guess.
Similarly, there are AI-based intrusion detection and threat remediation solutions, such as those used in ThinkShield, that provide organisations with the security tools to fight back against evolving threats.
Importantly, there is also protection to secure your IoT infrastructure with the ThinkCentre Nano. It provides a fully-functional edge server, which with ThinkShield, offers a fully secure gateway.
In addition, ThinkShield, provides protection from every angle, not only securing physical devices but also protecting you online and guarding your data and identity.
Such solutions are the way to tackle the security debt that arises when your company grows faster than you can put the proper security in place.
To find out more read our previous blog or join the discussions in our webinar here: .
