Shields activated

In recent years we have seen a massive digitalization of companies, whether in social networks or e-commerce. The risk of new blockages makes companies act accordingly and take them to a fully digital terrain. And it is that in every field, whether real or digital, there are associated risks, and this is where companies like Allianz (BATS EU: ALV) make their studies to measure the risks worldwide, with more than 80 countries and 2500 participants, among different companies and professionals in the area. They recently came to the conclusion that companies are very concerned about the new challenge ahead of them due to digitalization: cyber attacks.

The way of working has evolved; working remotely is one of the main disadvantages in the security of companies since it is possible to lose some control over the use of certain files or programs, generating computer breaches. But companies must guarantee security when working from anywhere in the world. Lately, ransomware attacks are gaining relevance, causing affected users to lose control of different devices in exchange for an economic ransom. Fortinet’s (NASDAQ: FTNT) threat lab has detected more than 200,000 attempts to distribute these attacks during the first four months of 2022.

The use of more advanced antivirus as a preventive measure in computer systems is a basic and indispensable tool, as it is the first barrier we have to protect ourselves. Crowdstrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) refers to companies that manipulate highly sensitive databases or information that could compromise them as an organization. Governments also enter this cyber battle because the targets can be so diverse and for so many purposes. All of them should be aware of their security systems to avoid leaks or attacks that could destabilize the whole system.

But the risk management company Allianz (ALV) goes a little further when talking about cyber-attacks; attacks are becoming more sophisticated and faster. Those who do not have the capacity to act quickly will be left to fate. This is why it is essential for organizations to integrate the latest technologies into security measures to address the problems in a comprehensive manner. It is no longer enough just to have an antivirus on electronic devices acting as “filters” to determine what enters the system. The first thing we might think is that no system or filter is 100% effective, and that is correct; no system is infallible, as we are constantly encountering new and more sophisticated threats than the previous ones.

Artificial intelligence is beginning to play a fundamental role in this scenario, providing companies with the necessary versatility to act in different situations. The most complex infections that manage to penetrate systems are difficult to detect if there is no knowledge of a defect or the presence of the virus. Artificial intelligence can make use of machine learning in situations like this, in which the AI learns from the normal behaviour of certain files, and when one of these is out of the norm or acts strangely, the security tools of the same AI proceed with the threat. Providing artificial intelligence with large databases allows the security system to anticipate attacks, making prevention even more effective, either on the devices or even more complex, in the cloud if we are talking about “big data.”

The value that a company can have is directly related to the information it has in its possession, and in this totally digital era, where relatively new companies may have some IT shortcomings, they must be aware of innovations in cybersecurity, as they may need to improve their protection. It is where companies like Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) and Crowdastrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) have a mission for the coming years to demonstrate that the cost of implementing these security systems that work with artificial intelligence is much lower than the benefit it can bring them.