AI-Based Cyber Platform Hunts Malware

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JASK, developers of a proactive framework for hunting down cyber threats, unleashed its AI-based security platform this week that seeks to give security teams the upper hand in defending networks using automation tools for sorting through security threats and speeding detecting malicious behavior.

The San Francisco-based startup is among the next wave of cyber-security startups embracing AI-driven approaches to increase the odds of real-time threat detection. It promotes its machine-learning approach as operating akin to an “AI analyst.”

JASK said Tuesday (July 25) its Trident platform aims to help fill the cyber security skills gap by accelerating the rate at which embattled analysts can spot and respond to threats by leveraging automated “alert triage” and faster investigation and remediation of malicious behavior.

The cyber platform monitors network traffic and ranks attacks according to severity using the company’s AI approach. The framework also provides security personnel with an analysis of the system(s) under attack.

Trident then applies machine learning-based analytics to spot malicious actions by users or effected network assets. It then delivers data exploration and visualizations via a notebook feature.

That combination of attack detection and remediation is said to improve operational efficiency by a factor of 10, the startup claims.

JASK and other AI-based cyber approaches are emerging as the number of “attack surfaces” is increasing with the rise of mobile computing and wider distribution of business applications via the cloud. As part of the unrelenting cat-and-mouse game, sophisticated hackers—some using stolen NSA tools—are developing new and sophisticated cyber attacks as new vulnerabilities such as unpatched Windows servers emerge.

JASK said its AI approach is based on advanced algorithms designed to monitor those extended corporate network to detect and rank the most serious attacks. The framework includes what the startup promotes as an “agile sensing and investigation layer” added to existing security tools. The monitoring tool can be continuously updated via the cloud.

Rather than reacting to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks, the AI-based platform is intended to allow overworked security analysts to focus on hunting for threats. The platform also is designed a cover gaps in threat coverage, including threat detection and data analyses across remote installations that frequently coverage.

The cloud-based platform is available now as a software service with subscription pricing.

JASK was formed by a group of industry veterans that includes a former FBI cyber-security expert. It emerged from stealth mode in late June with a plan to leverage AI and machine learning technology to bolster enterprise security frameworks. It announced a $12 million funding round that will be used to expand its data science team and accelerate product development.

JASK announced last month that Dell Technologies Capital led a recently completed funding round along with TenEleven Ventures. Existing investors Battery Ventures and Vertical Venture Partners also contributed.

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