Cyberattack is in the wild: Will Data Science be the Answer to the Next Hack?

WannaCry, one of the devastating global cyber-attack that crippled hundreds of thousands of computers across the world is one incident that will remain etched in our memories forever.

The 2017 ransomware attack was the first to report a cyber-attack on connected devices.

• About 55 traffic cameras were infected due to the cyber-attack.

• Ambulances were being rerouted leaving people in need stranded in the streets which led to a loss of £92 million soon after 19,000 appointments were canceled.

• A widespread attack that moved beyond Europe infecting another 150 countries.

As a result, this cybercrime caused the world a whopping loss of $4 billion.

Let the recap of the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack serve as a reminder of how chaotic things can turn up if not taken proper caution.

Technology is already transforming our lives yet it is also exposing us to organized crimes online – scammers and hackers. The complete industry is built around monetizing personal data. Unfortunately, organizations are still vulnerable as they were in 2017. Hackers have become smarter, they have started using more sophisticated techniques including new technologies like AI to perform their hacks. Not to mention, the famous Maze ransomware came to live amid the COVID-19 causing a major impact on leading companies like Xerox, Cognizant, and LG Electronics in 2020.

The data science industry however is using advanced tactics to keep the company’s defenses safe and competitive.

Significance of data science in the world of cybersecurity

Data scientists are here to contribute their expertise to businesses that need the help of cybersecurity data science.

Many organizations have started implementing the applications of data science for cybersecurity to help combat cyber threats and help protect against online attacks. Subsequently, data science has transformed cybersecurity in multiple ways and the result has been revolutionizing. Some of the ways how data science changed the relationship with cybersecurity are as follows:

• Behavior analytics

Being able to detect any malware attack before-hand and understanding the mindset of the attacker are altogether a different factor. However, with data science, organizations can now easily analyze large amounts of information using tools like Event Manager (LEM) and Solarwinds Log.

Organizations can rely on such information since some of the systems and networks are correlated. In this manner, a large amount of information gets processed on time which could further prevent any kind of malicious attack in the future.

• Advanced predicting ability

Cybersecurity enacts the game of a cat and mouse.

In short, hackers or scammers use multiple means of intruding – change their modus operandi or even the tools they use any time. Data science allows the detection of early intrusion. Even if the hackers are still able to get pass undetected, they can still be traced. Organizations have started feeding their system with machine learning algorithms with the past data history and the current information keeping it aware of such actions that have taken place in the past. As a result, data science professionals working with cybersecurity experts can now predict the attacks before the incident can happen.

With the help of machine learning. loopholes in the information security environment can be detected thus strengthening the security feature for many organizations.

• Relying on real-world scenarios

Data science provides organizations the opportunity to distance themselves from laboratory scenarios and focus more on the real-world scenario.

Now the real-world scenario extracts data from the past through which algorithms use it in displaying any events that might have taken place in the past cyber-attacks - how the organization responded and how they could recover from the attack. Using such information helps the organization recollect the information and learn more about the past security landscape.

To be precise, for organizations to identify malware or any cyber threats, they need to start taking advantage of data science and the experts dealing with the process, data science professionals. A large amount of data should be collected from different sources for deep learning and training to avoid any future malware attack. Once this malware is detected, false positives will gradually reduce.

Concluding notes

The aim of data science in cybersecurity should not be just another avenue of success, rather it should be one of the most compelling opportunities the modern-day data scientists can provide. As said by Albert Einstein, “in every crisis, lies great opportunity.” and today, is your opportunity to make a difference.”

In the present day, data science helps analyze big data to further root out every anomaly and vulnerability the organization face in their systems. For instance, data security software such as VPN services helps in protecting the network from different sources of big data.

Though data science and cybersecurity still have a long way to go, it truly denotes that data science is the go-to factor in cybersecurity that will help organizations is a crucial way.

Cyber-attacks will keep evolving. An estimated 33 billion records to be stolen by 2023 by cyber-criminals. How secured is your organization today?