Diwakar Dayal, Managing Director & AVP – India & SAARC, SentinelOne, 0
The media roundtable ‘AI-Driven Cyber Defense in Action,’ organized by
Session by Diwakar Dayal, Managing Director & AVP – India & SAARC, SentinelOne
Internet life
Many people mistakenly believe that what they're using involves advanced technology, such as the internet, and is thought to be secure. The reality is quite the opposite. The internet was created in the 1970s for file sharing and other basic purposes, and security was not a consideration then. Consequently, the modern internet is built on a fundamentally weak and insecure framework. This necessitates adding security measures, making the situation more complicated since the internet is omnipresent. Almost everything we do is reliant on the internet. However, envision a scenario where there are no protective measures in place. Today, the primary objective for most operations is to recover and return to normalcy; the focus is not on prevention, as stopping issues entirely is not feasible.
Digital Realm and Artificial Intelligence
Following COVID-19, individuals became disconnected from their workplaces, leading to a rise in remote work. There are no data centers, firewalls, security personnel, or access badges to use or return; people are simply at home. It's difficult to discern which files are harmful and which are safe, creating a need for a device that can operate alongside or on the device, rendering it autonomous. This concept of autonomous cybersecurity ensures protection occurs seamlessly in the background, minute by minute, while communicating with everything connected.
We currently face a problem that previous technologies, which functioned effectively 10, 15, or even 20 years ago, are no longer adequate for today’s challenges. This marks a significant shift, as adversaries or hackers have adopted techniques that many organizations, including ourselves, are not yet accustomed to.
Everything has transitioned to a digital realm. The issue is that many people either forget or fail to grasp the difference between what is genuine and what is artificial. This is precisely where we've noticed AI being employed to distort reality. It is used to mislead to such an extent that even those well-versed in technology struggle to distinguish between the authentic and the counterfeit. The problem lies in the fact that everything is governed by language, which is influenced by data, and data is controlled by various agents and entities, particularly social media influencers. How can one discern what is authentic? For both textual platforms and technology advocates, it is now essential to confront these challenges and develop solutions accordingly.
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From a cybersecurity perspective, the situation is quite similar; the core issue remains that there is an overwhelming number of tools available.
Ironically, cybersecurity is the one sector still struggling to find qualified personnel. This has created a significant disconnect between the current state of the industry and the preparedness of university graduates. The ability to integrate these graduates into our field is further complicated because corporations operate under tight budgets and time constraints. They cannot allocate a limited workforce solely to protect their data centers because they have business operations to maintain. This situation exacerbates the challenge.
Furthermore, AI-driven attacks originate from a realm of boundless resources. These attackers often collaborate amongst themselves. In contrast, operators in the physical world seldom unify and share intelligence. This complexity mirrors a situation where a group confronts isolated individuals, as opposed to us collectively attempting to catch them. Unfortunately, the situation is deteriorating rather than improving. That is the core issue we are grappling with, as it has expanded from hidden spaces to corporate environments.
Challenge of Cybersecurity
Today, when a startup founder, regardless of their business type, faces challenges after launching their app or service, they often wonder how to maintain their position. They need to avoid being ousted or experiencing theft, especially related to intellectual property and espionage, including threats from individuals within their organization with access to critical information that could determine the next business decision. However, before a founder can act based on the data, competitors may seize that insight and gain an advantage. This illustrates the real-world cybersecurity issues businesses now face, which were not as pertinent two decades ago and thus weren't a top concern at the executive level.
The core of cybersecurity, akin to the intensive care unit in a hospital, is represented by the security operation center, where the most sensitive data is monitored and protected. This center serves a vital function where all cyber attacks and assets can be observed, allowing real-time decision-making to intervene or step back. Cybersecurity has always struggled with one overarching issue: if I had to encapsulate the primary challenge of cybersecurity, it would be centered around data and the overwhelming density of information.
Many Indian companies are positioned within the realm of the technology we're discussing, aiming for a future where human roles are primarily centered around oversight and optimization. This sector is undergoing significant transformation, similar to the shift from traditional antivirus solutions to EDR systems and from physical storefronts to online platforms. Companies are evolving towards this Next-Generation SOC.
What will happen to the security personnel? They can shift their focus to more qualitative tasks and projects that align better with the business’s core objectives. Businesses are competing in the marketplace not just with local players but also with international firms. This puts them in a position of having to catch up in terms of security operations. When launching a product or service, security for the end user doesn’t always get prioritized.
There’s a need for those developing the business model to be concerned with security measures.
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Diwakar concludes, “With leadership steps in SentinelOne, we offer a platform that has evolved from a basic autonomous EDR solution to what we define as a hyper-automation agency. I understand that this involves various terminologies often used in the industry. Still, the essence is that we aim to leverage AI to create a comprehensive platform capable of processing both structured and unstructured data from any infrastructure, regardless of the vendors or the environment. Our goal is to achieve visibility across a vast data lake and facilitate autonomous decision-making. That is the company's vision, and I believe it reflects the direction in which the industry is moving. Smarter organizations leverage this to avoid potential cyber breaches and attack scenarios.”
Furthermore, AI-driven attacks originate from a realm of boundless resources. These attackers often collaborate amongst themselves. In contrast, operators in the physical world seldom unify and share intelligence. This complexity mirrors a situation where a group confronts isolated individuals, as opposed to us collectively attempting to catch them. Unfortunately, the situation is deteriorating rather than improving. That is the core issue we are grappling with, as it has expanded from hidden spaces to corporate environments.
Challenge of Cybersecurity
Today, when a startup founder, regardless of their business type, faces challenges after launching their app or service, they often wonder how to maintain their position. They need to avoid being ousted or experiencing theft, especially related to intellectual property and espionage, including threats from individuals within their organization with access to critical information that could determine the next business decision. However, before a founder can act based on the data, competitors may seize that insight and gain an advantage. This illustrates the real-world cybersecurity issues businesses now face, which were not as pertinent two decades ago and thus weren't a top concern at the executive level.
The core of cybersecurity, akin to the intensive care unit in a hospital, is represented by the security operation center, where the most sensitive data is monitored and protected. This center serves a vital function where all cyber attacks and assets can be observed, allowing real-time decision-making to intervene or step back. Cybersecurity has always struggled with one overarching issue: if I had to encapsulate the primary challenge of cybersecurity, it would be centered around data and the overwhelming density of information.
Our goal is to achieve visibility across a vast data lake and facilitate autonomous decision-making
Many Indian companies are positioned within the realm of the technology we're discussing, aiming for a future where human roles are primarily centered around oversight and optimization. This sector is undergoing significant transformation, similar to the shift from traditional antivirus solutions to EDR systems and from physical storefronts to online platforms. Companies are evolving towards this Next-Generation SOC.
What will happen to the security personnel? They can shift their focus to more qualitative tasks and projects that align better with the business’s core objectives. Businesses are competing in the marketplace not just with local players but also with international firms. This puts them in a position of having to catch up in terms of security operations. When launching a product or service, security for the end user doesn’t always get prioritized.
There’s a need for those developing the business model to be concerned with security measures.
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Diwakar concludes, “With leadership steps in SentinelOne, we offer a platform that has evolved from a basic autonomous EDR solution to what we define as a hyper-automation agency. I understand that this involves various terminologies often used in the industry. Still, the essence is that we aim to leverage AI to create a comprehensive platform capable of processing both structured and unstructured data from any infrastructure, regardless of the vendors or the environment. Our goal is to achieve visibility across a vast data lake and facilitate autonomous decision-making. That is the company's vision, and I believe it reflects the direction in which the industry is moving. Smarter organizations leverage this to avoid potential cyber breaches and attack scenarios.”