Watson powers the CISO’s arsenal against Cyber threats

Kartik Shahani, Integrated Security Leader, ISA, talks about the paradigm shift that Cognitive Security is bringing to Cyber Security and how it is the game changer when it comes to mitigating emerging threat04 May 2017, 12:28 PM IST

Where is cyber security headed?

Cyber security is getting completely redefined.  Identity is the new perimeter.  So, identity and access management is going to become very important.  Earlier, an enterprise’s security plan was based on the additional procurement for the next one year. Today, however, enterprises also need to plan for any legal implications. For instance, what if the cloud service provider has a breach? Who would be held liable? Going forward, therefore, cyber security will need cyber insurance by default.

How is the IBM pushing the boundary of cognitive security?

Today, companies look to IBM because, only we incorporate cloud, collaboration and cognitive into our security solutions. While the current generation of systems are reactive—detecting and responding to anomalies or attacks—cognitive security is proactive. That said, in India, we are talking about smart cities and smart governance, which are the foundation for digitalisation. Watson is at the pinnacle of artificial intelligence. In the context of security, Watson can build threat intelligence. Cognitive technology enables going from managing threat to pre-empting threat.

Do you feel humans and cognitive can work in conjunction or their will be a conflict?

Any technology can not be a replacement of human being. It can only augment humans. Similarly, Watson will augment your capacity. Watson can help analysts figure out when security threats might occur and move away from the current method of using castles and moats. The new cognitive security era is now focusing on predictive analytics to proactively fight threats. This means that Watson can actively fill in the gaps where hackers are getting in by reading up on data reports.

Several industry experts have cautioned against too much reliance on Artificial Intelligence. They argue that AI-powered systems lack the human ability to think outside the box or react to unknown variables. Are their fears justified? Please explain with reasons. How is Cognitive Security different from AI?

We are confusing automation with cognitive intelligence. As technology continuously evolves, depending on the need of the hour, we need to rely on them as and when and use it to our advantage.

A machine can learn, but will never have the intelligence of the human brain.  Intelligent as a human being. For instance, does the entry of Cognitive to security meant that a security analyst’s job will hence become redundant? No. On the contrary, Cognitive can ease the task of the security analyst by providing human-centric communications, such as advanced visualizations, interactive vulnerability analysis, risk assessment, remediation and possible attribution. Cognitive systems will be able to spot anomalies and flawed logic, and provide evidence-based reasoning. This enables analysts to weigh alternative outcomes and improve decision making.

In your interactions, how do you see Indian CIOs and CISOs warming up to the idea of cognitive security?

It is beginning to come into their priority list. We have been talking with CEOs from the financial sector and they are evaluating cognitive technology. The awareness that nobody is safe is driving CEOs, CISOs, CIOs and CFOs from manufacturing, pharmaceutical and transportation verticals to sit up and take notice of cognitive security.

What makes IBM an integrated security solutions player?

First and foremost, IBM looks at security holistically. A CISO should have a proper, integrated, and immune security system for his organisation. The areas of security that an enterprise should protect include its network, core applications, core database, and access points. Besides, it has to be cautious against insider threats. A CISO should have security intelligence built-in that monitors all the threats, and also have appropriate incident management and response. IBM has a solution that covers all these security gaps.

Second, companies must be capable of analysing their current security posture. IBM provides enterprises with consulting, vulnerability assessment, and advice on what should be their security focus.

Third, enterprises have to integrate all the different technologies on the ground, implement, maintain, sustain, and then get them to operational level. IBM offers the full range of services here too.

Our technology portfolio is broadly divided into -- security operations and response, security with protection, and security consultation services.