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March 7, 2024

Defending Against the New Normal in Cybercrime: AI

This blog outlines research & data points on the evolving threat landscape, the impact of malicious AI, and why proactive cyber readiness is essential.
Inside the SOC
Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.
Written by
Max Heinemeyer
Global Field CISO
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07
Mar 2024

AI in Cyber Security

Over the last 18 months, discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) – specifically generative AI – ranged from excitement and optimism about its transformative potential to fear and uncertainty about the new risks it introduces.  

New research1 commissioned by Darktrace shows that 89 percent of IT security teams polled globally believe AI-augmented cyber threats will have a significant impact on their organization within the next two years, yet 60 percent believe they are currently unprepared to defend against these attacks. Their concerns include increased volume and sophistication of malware that targets known vulnerabilities and increased exposure of sensitive or proprietary information from using generative AI tools.  

At Darktrace, we monitor trends across our global customer base to understand how the challenges facing security teams are evolving alongside industry advancements in AI. We’ve observed that AI, automation, and cybercrime-as-a-service have increased the speed, sophistication and efficacy of cyber security attacks.  

How AI Impacts Phishing Attempts

Darktrace has observed immediate impacts on phishing, which remains one of the most common forms of attack. In April 2023, Darktrace shared research that found a 135 percent increase in ‘novel social engineering attacks’ in the first two months of 2023, corresponding with the widespread adoption of ChatGPT2. These phishing attacks showed a strong linguistic deviation – semantically and syntactically – compared to other phishing emails, which suggested to us that generative AI is providing an avenue for threat actors to craft sophisticated and targeted attacks at speed and scale. A year later, we’ve seen this trend continue. Darktrace customers received approximately 2,867,000 phishing emails in December 2023 alone, a 14 percent increase on what was observed months prior in September3. Between September and December 2023, phishing attacks that used novel social engineering techniques grew by 35 percent on average across the Darktrace customer base4.  

These observations reinforce trends that others in the industry have shared. For example, Microsoft and OpenAI recently published research on tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) augmented by large language models (LLMs) that they have observed nation-state threat actors using. That includes using LLMs to draft and generate social engineering attacks, inform reconnaissance, assist with vulnerability research and more.  

The Rise of Cybercrime-as-as-a-Service

The increasing cyber challenge facing defenders cannot be attributed to AI alone. The rise of cybercrime as-a-service is also changing the dynamic. Darktrace’s 2023 End of Year Threat Report found that cybercrime-as-a-service continue to dominate the threat landscape, with malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) and ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) tools making up most malicious tools in use by attackers. The as-a-Service ecosystem can provide attackers with everything from pre-made malware to templates for phishing emails, payment processing systems and even helplines to enable bad actors to mount attacks with limited technical knowledge.  

These trends make it clear that attackers now have a more widely accessible toolbox that reduces their barriers.

AI Enabling Accidental Insider Threats

However, the new risks facing businesses aren’t from external threat actors alone. Use of generative AI tools within the enterprise introduces a new category of accidental insider threats. Employees using generative AI tools now have easier access to more organizational data than ever before. Even the most well-intentioned employee could unintentionally leak or access restricted, sensitive data via these tools. In the second half of 2023, we observed that approximately half of Darktrace customers had employees accessing generative AI services. As this continues to increase, organizations need policies in place to guide the use cases for generative AI tools as well as strong data governance and the ability to enforce these policies to minimize risk.  

It is inevitable that AI will increase the risks and threats facing an organization, but this is not an unsolvable challenge from a defensive perspective. While advancements in generative AI may be worsening issues like novel social engineering and creating new types of accidental insider threats, AI itself offers a strong defense.  

The Shift to Proactive Cyber Readiness

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2024, the number of organizations that “maintain minimum viable cyber resilience is down 30 percent compared to 2023”, and “while large organizations have demonstrated gains in cyber resilience, small and medium-sized companies showed significant decline.” The importance of cyber resilience cannot be understated in the face of today’s increasingly as-a-service, automated, and AI-augmented threat landscape.  

Historically, organizations wait for incidents to happen and rely on known attack data for threat detection and response, making it nearly impossible to identify never-before-seen threats. The traditional security stack has also relied heavily on point solutions focused on protecting different pieces of the digital environment, with individual tools for endpoint, email, network, on-premises data centers, SaaS applications, cloud, OT and beyond. These point solutions fail to correlate disparate incidents to form a complete picture of an orchestrated attack. Even with the addition of tools that can stitch together events from across the enterprise, they are in a reactive state that focuses heavily on threat detection and response.  

Organizations need to evolve from a reactive posture to a stance of proactive cyber readiness. To do so, they need an approach that proactively identifies internal and external vulnerabilities, identifies gaps in security policy and process before an attack occurs, breaks down silos to investigate all threats (known and unknown) during an attack, and uplifts the human analyst beyond menial tasks to incident validation and recovery after an attack.  

AI can help break down silos within the SOC and provide a more proactive approach to scale up and augment defenders. It provides richer context when it is fed information from multiple systems, data sets, and tools within the stack and can build an in-depth, real-time behavioural understanding of a business that humans alone cannot.

Lessons From AI in the SOC

At Darktrace, we’ve been applying AI to the challenge of cyber security for more than ten years, and we know that proactive cyber readiness requires the right mix of people, process, and technology.  

When the right AI is applied responsibly to the right cyber security challenge, the impact on both the human security team and the business is profound.

AI can bring machine speed and scale to some of the most time-intensive, error-prone, and psychologically draining components of cyber security, helping humans focus on the value-added work that only they can provide. Incident response and continuous monitoring are two areas where AI has already been proven to effectively augment defenders. For example, a civil engineering company used Darktrace’s AI to uplift its SOC team from the repetitive, manual tasks of analyzing and responding to email incidents. The analysts estimated they were each spending 10 hours per week on email incident analysis. With AI autonomously analyzing and responding to email incidents, the analysts could gain approximately 20 percent of their time back to focus on proactive cyber security measures

An effective human-AI partnership is key to proactive cyber readiness and can directly benefit the work-life of defenders. It can help to reduce burnout, support data-driven decision-making, and reduce the reliance on hard-to-find, specialized talent that has created a skills shortage in cyber security for many years. Most importantly, AI can free up team members to focus on more meaningful tasks, such as compliance initiatives, user education, and sophisticated threat hunting.  

Advancements in AI are happening at a rapid pace. As we’ve already observed, attackers will be watching these developments and looking for ways to use it to their advantage. Luckily, AI has already proved to be an asset for defenders, and embracing a proactive approach to cyber resilience can help organizations increase their readiness for this next phase. Prioritizing cyber security will be an enabler of innovation and progress as AI development continues.  

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Join Darktrace on 9 April for a virtual event to explore the latest innovations needed to get ahead of the rapidly evolving threat landscape. Register today to hear more about our latest innovations coming to Darktrace’s offerings.

References

[1] The survey was undertaken by AimPoint Group & Dynata on behalf Darktrace between December 2023 & January 2024. The research polled 1773 security professionals in positions across the security team from junior roles to CISOs, across 14 countries – Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UAE, UK, and USA.

[2] Based on the average change in email attacks between January and February 2023 detected across Darktrace/Email deployments with control of outliers.

[3] Average calculated across Darktrace customers from 31st August to 21st December.

[4] Average calculated across Darktrace customers from 31st August to 21st December. Novel social engineering attacks use linguistic techniques that are different to techniques used in the past, as measured by a combination of semantics, phrasing, text volume, punctuation, and sentence length.

Inside the SOC
Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.
Written by
Max Heinemeyer
Global Field CISO

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July 23, 2025

Closing the Cloud Forensics and Incident Response Skills Gap

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Every alert that goes uninvestigated is a calculated risk — and teams are running out of room for error

Security operations today are stretched thin. SOCs face an overwhelming volume of alerts, and the shift to cloud has only made triage more complex.

Our research suggests that 23% of cloud alerts are never investigated, leaving risk on the table.

The rapid migration to cloud resources has security teams playing catch up. While they attempt to apply traditional on-prem tools to the cloud, it’s becoming increasingly clear that they are not fit for purpose. Especially in the context of forensics and incident response, the cloud presents unique complexities that demand cloud-specific solutions.

Organizations are increasingly adopting services from multiple cloud platforms (in fact, recent studies suggest 89% of organizations now operate multi-cloud environments), and container-based and serverless setups have become the norm. Security analysts already have enough on their plates; it’s unrealistic to expect them to be cloud experts too.

Why Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) roles are so hard to fill

Compounding these issues of alert fatigue and cloud complexity, there is a lack of DFIR talent. The cybersecurity skills gap is a well-known problem.

According to the 2024 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, there is a global shortage of 4.8 million cybersecurity workers, up 19% from the previous year.

Why is this such an issue?

  • Highly specialized skill set: DFIR professionals need to have a deep understanding of various operating systems, network protocols, and security architectures, even more so when working in the cloud. They also need to be proficient in using a wide range of forensic tools and techniques. This level of expertise takes a lot of time and effort to develop.
  • Rapid technological changes: The cloud landscape is constantly changing and evolving with new services, monitoring tools, security mechanisms, and threats emerging regularly. Keeping up with these changes and staying current requires continuous learning and adaptation.
  • Lack of formal education and training: There are limited educational programs specifically dedicated for DFIR. Further, an industry for cloud DFIR has yet to be defined. While some universities and institutions offer courses or certifications in digital forensics, they may not cover the full spread of knowledge required in real-world incident response scenarios, especially for cloud-based environments.
  • High-stress nature of the job: DFIR professionals often work under tight deadlines in high-pressure situations, especially when handling security incidents. This can lead to burnout and high turnover rates in the profession.

Bridging the skills gap with usable cloud digital forensics and incident response tools  

To help organizations close the DFIR skills gap, it's critical that we modernize our approaches and implement a new way of doing things in DFIR that's fit for the cloud era. Modern cloud forensics and incident response platforms must prioritize usability in order to up-level security teams. A platform that is easy to use has the power to:

  • Enable more advanced analysts to be more efficient and have the ability to take on more cases
  • Uplevel more novel analysts to perform more advanced tasks than ever before
  • Eliminate cloud complexity– such as the complexities introduced by multi-cloud environments and container-based and serverless setups

What to look for in cloud forensics and incident response solutions

The following features greatly improve the impact of cloud forensics and incident response:

Data enrichment: Automated correlation of collected data with threat intelligence feeds, both external and proprietary, delivers immediate insight into suspicious or malicious activities. Data enrichment expedites investigations, enabling analysts to seamlessly pivot from key events and delve deeper into the raw data.

Single timeline view: A unified perspective across various cloud platforms and data sources is crucial. A single timeline view empowers security teams to seamlessly navigate evidence based on timestamps, events, users, and more, enhancing investigative efficiency. Pulling together a timeline has historically been a very time consuming task when using traditional approaches.

Saved search: Preserving queries during investigations allows analysts to re-execute complex searches or share them with colleagues, increasing efficiency and collaboration.

Faceted search: Facet search options provide analysts with quick insights into core data attributes, facilitating efficient dataset refinement.

Cross-cloud investigations: Analyzing evidence acquired from multiple cloud providers in a single platform is crucial for security teams. A unified view and timeline across cross cloud is critical in streamlining investigations.

How Darktrace can help

Darktrace’s cloud offerings have been bolstered with the acquisition of Cado Security Ltd., which enables security teams to gain immediate access to forensic-level data in multi-cloud, container, serverless, SaaS, and on-premises environments.

Not only does Darktrace offer centralized automation solutions for cloud forensics and investigation, but it also delivers a proactive approach Cloud Detection and Response (CDR). Darktrace / CLOUD is built with advanced AI to make cloud security accessible to all security teams and SOCs. By using multiple machine learning techniques, Darktrace brings unprecedented visibility, threat detection, investigation, and incident response to hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

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July 23, 2025

Global Telecom Provider: Powering and Protecting the World's Data Giants

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This global leader plays a critical role in keeping the world connected. The company works with some of the largest and most influential public and private organizations in the world to enable ultra-fast data transmission.

Safeguarding the systems that keep the world connected

Standing at the forefront of global connectivity, this industry leader designs and manages large-scale communications systems that power the world’s most data-intensive enterprises – including social media giants, hyperscale cloud providers, and major data center operators. Given the scale, confidentiality, and sensitivity of the systems and data it helps transport, the company faces complex cybersecurity challenges.

Protecting sensitive customer data

Most of the organization’s projects are custom-designed and highly proprietary, making data privacy and Intellectual Property (IP) protection critical to maintaining trust and confidentiality with customers. In an industry where every competitor knows the landscape intimately, any loss of data could cause significant damage.

International security implications

The company faces a broad range of advanced cyber threats – from corporate espionage and supply chain risks to cyber-physical attacks on critical infrastructure. Its international footprint adds complexity, including cross-border regulatory compliance. A successful attack could disrupt business, compromise IP, or trigger wider consequences like disruptions to international data transfers and other critical services.

The global leader works closely with communities to anticipate threats that could impact the global communications network at large.

In this environment, cybersecurity is a foundation for international trust,” said the organization’s CISO.

Building a resilient cybersecurity strategy from the ground up

The CISO had the rare opportunity to build the IT and cybersecurity infrastructure from scratch. "Initially, we bought what everyone else buys,” referencing the traditional mix of firewalls, routers, and antivirus tools. “But I knew we needed to do more.”

Self-Learning AI – “the missing piece”

With solid perimeter defenses in place, the security team sought deeper protection inside the network. Darktrace’s Self-Learning AI stood out. “Unlike other solutions, Darktrace’s AI looks beyond known threat signatures, learning what’s normal for our environment and flagging what’s not. That was the missing piece – something that could help us even when everything else failed.”

A solution and partnership that delivered

The CISO said he appreciated the ability to observe Darktrace in action before full deployment, noting that the Darktrace team was there every step of the way, providing guidance and expertise to ensure he got the most out of his investment.

Partnership was especially valuable given the company’s explosive 400% growth over the last six years. As resources were stretched and priorities shifted, “Darktrace remained patient and responsive. We’re slow and methodical, but the Darktrace support team was phenomenal, never losing momentum and earning our trust.”

A unified cybersecurity ecosystem

Today, the global leader is using the Darktrace ActiveAI Security Platform™ as a core part of its layered defense strategy, including:

The CISO appreciates how, as a unified cybersecurity platform, Darktrace has an intuitive user interface, which makes it easier for his team to investigate alerts visually, even without deep technical expertise.

Advancing defenses while impacting the bottom line

A 24/7 “safety net”

The fact that this company has never been hacked is the clearest proof it made the right decision with Darktrace, said the CISO. Initially rolled out in Human Confirmation Mode, meaning it would not take autonomous action without explicit approval from the security team, Darktrace immediately uncovered threats and anomalies that other tools had missed.

Darktrace acts as a must-have safety net—ready to step in when other tools fall short,” said the CISO.

From monitoring internal behavior and identifying unusual attack patterns, to autonomously neutralizing threats after hours, the platform provides peace of mind in a high-stakes industry. “Darktrace is my dark horse – the thing I have in my back pocket if everything else fails. It’s here to save the day, save my company, and maybe even save my career.”

Autonomous capabilities free up time for skilled analysts

Darktrace’s AI-powered detection and response capabilities are deeply embedded in the team’s day-to-day operations, autonomously investigating and responding to the majority of potential threats. Cyber AI Analyst conducted a total of 2,776 total investigations within three months, averaging just 12 minutes to autonomously investigate an incident. Of those 2,776 investigations, Darktrace resolved 2,671 (96%) autonomously and escalated only 105 (4%) to analysts. Darktrace has dramatically reduced alert fatigue and freed up analysts to focus on what really matters, saving the security team 486 analyst hours on investigations within a 20-day period.

From noise to actionable insight

Darktrace delivers meaningful data and meaningful alerts. “If Darktrace escalates an incident, we drop everything and work on that. We trust in Darktrace.” When analysts do need to investigate an incident, Darktrace’s forensic logs and guided remediation suggestions have slashed the time analysts spend on investigations by four to five times.

Stronger security. Lower cost.

The CISO says, “Darktrace is a money-saver for our organization, making continued investments an easy sell to the CEO and the board.”  When he found himself down a resource after a member of the security team left the organization, the CISO turned to Darktrace Managed Threat Detection and Response services for 24/7 expert support. “It was a no brainer. We got better coverage, higher skill levels, and around-the-clock support – all for less than what we would pay to employ a single analyst.”

Scaling securely into the future

Securing networks in motion  

The organization is preparing to scale both its operations and security posture across existing distributed, mobile and deployable communications networks that historically have been disconnected. Some of these networks are in constant motion and operating in some of the world’s most volatile regions. “Darktrace will act as an autonomous defender, monitoring for anomalous behavior and intervening, when necessary, especially during those dangerous times when an asset ‘goes dark’ and becomes disconnected from the broader network,” said the CISO.

Applying AI strategically

As the organization continues to evaluate where and how to apply AI, its emphasis will be on technologies that can act independently to contain threats – especially in environments where human response may be delayed. “It’s about using the right kind of AI for the right challenge. That’s why we’re investing in Darktrace, with tools that can adapt and learn even in isolation and provide real-time protection wherever we operate.”

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