AI modeled on the spread of human viruses to combat cyber attacks

BT is to deploy epidemiological AI based on the spread of viruses in humans to combat cyber-attacks.

Telecommunications and network provider BT has developed an epidemiology-based cybersecurity prototype, Inflame, that can automatically detect and respond to cyber-attacks before they compromise a network.

Using the spread of viruses in human populations as a model to inform its AI, Inflame is a critical component in BT's recently announced Eagle-i platform.

BT says epidemiological modelling is typically associated with the spread of viruses and diseases amongst human populations and has been critical in analysing and managing the spread of COVID-19 over the past 20 months. Using the same principles of epidemiology, BT says its Inflame solution has been developed to understand how computer viruses and cyber-attacks spread across enterprise networks and prevent them from happening.

Security researchers at the BT Labs in Suffolk, UK, developed the technology by building models of enterprise networks used to test numerous scenarios based on differing R rates of cyber-infection. The testing enabled the researchers to understand how these threats can penetrate and compromise a network and to develop optimal automated responses needed to contain and prevent the spread of viruses across them.

"The deep reinforcement training and learning undertaken in the development of Inflame means the solution can automatically model and respond to a detected threat within an enterprise network," says BT.

These responses are also underpinned by attack lifecycle modelling, which assesses real-time security alerts against established patterns to understand the current stage of an ongoing cyber-attack. The insight is used to predict the next stages of an attack and rapidly identify the best response to prevent it from progressing any further.

BT recently announced its transformational cyber defence platform Eagle-i, which uses AI to provide real-time detection of issues and intelligent automated responses. The platform has been designed to self-learn from the intelligence provided by each intervention so that it constantly improves its threat knowledge and dynamically refines how it protects other users in the future.

"We know the risk of cyber-attack is higher than ever and has intensified significantly during the pandemic," says BT chief technology officer, Howard Watson.

"Enterprises now need to look to new cybersecurity solutions that can understand the risk and consequence of an attack, and quickly respond before it's too late. Epidemiological testing has played a vital role in curbing the spread of infection during the pandemic, and Inflame uses the same principles to understand how current and future digital viruses spread through networks."

He says Inflame will play a key role in how BTs Eagle-i platform automatically predicts and identifies cyber-attacks before they impact, protecting customers operations and reputation.