Google announces generative AI tools to bolster cyber security

Google on Monday rolled out new generative artificial intelligence tools to boost the cyber security framework of various industries.

At the start of the four-day RSA Conference in San Francisco, Alphabet-owned Google said the new AI model aims to address three key industry challenges: threat overload, cumbersome tools and the talent gap.

Using Large Language Models, the new AI capabilities that are infused in Google’s Chronicle security operations will expedite threat detection, the investigation process and the initial response while simplifying the complex data analysis and security engineering processes, it said.

Founded in 2018, California-based Chronicle is a new company within Alphabet that aims to help businesses find and stop cyber attacks.

The recent advances in generative AI, particularly in LLMs, have opened “new avenues of practical application for security teams of all sizes and skill levels”, said Google's Chris Corde and Chronicle's Spencer Lichtenstein.

“There is tremendous potential for how AI can supercharge the capabilities of a security analyst, but it needs to be applied in a thoughtful manner,” they said.

“AI needs to be used in the places that require a high degree of specialisation or a high degree of manual effort.”

Users simply enter their security-related question in “natural language and Chronicle AI will do the work for them”.

It will generate the query, present initial information and also allow to modify and iterate on the results in different settings.

Driven by an increasing awareness of data risks and threats, the global cybersecurity market is poised for robust growth over the next few years.

Global cybersecurity market revenue is forecast to jump to $262.3 billion by 2027, a rise of more than 67 per cent from $156.35 billion this year, according to Statista.

The US, the world’s biggest economy, will generate more than $63.24 billion in cybersecurity revenue this year — more than 40 per cent of total global sales.

Google’s new AI tools will also provide future security insights and trends that pull together and analyse data from security events, entity insights and behaviour anomalies.

The new tools will also let teams to make better and faster decisions with AI-generated summaries.

“Refining and analysing the data becomes a conversational investigative experience that reduces mean time to respond but helps quickly determine the full scope of events,” Mr Corde and Mr Lichtenstein said.

“Ultimately, this can help teams better use their resources.”