AI is changing cybersecurity faster than many defenders realize. Attackers are already using AI to automate reconnaissance, generate sophisticated fishing ladies, and exploit the vulnerabilities before security teams can react. Meanwhile, defenders are overwhelmed by the vast amount of data and alerts and struggle to process information quickly enough to identify real threats. AI provides a way to level the arena, but only if security experts learn to apply effectively.
Organizations are beginning to integrate AI into their security workflows, from digital forensics to vulnerability assessment and endpoint detection. With AI, security teams can ingest and analyze more data than ever before, transforming traditional security tools into a powerful intelligence engine. AI has already accelerated investigations and demonstrated its ability to discover unknown attack routes, but many companies are reluctant to embrace it completely. Many AI models are implemented at such a speed that they remain untested in a small number of organizations with basic security or audit guidelines for implementation. As a result, AI can increase risks instead of reducing them, especially when it comes to privacy and data protection. There is a lack of a proper security culture for AI implementation in organizations that need to stay competitive and reduce the required computational costs. On the other hand, due to lack of understanding of risk, many organizations do not fully implement AI, which may even ban it among employees. A balance is required. It requires lower risk, increased competitiveness, reduced costs, and quick decisions across organizations like fighter pilots in the middle of a dogfight. One of the above incorrect decisions can be irreversibly devastating for an organization.
One of the biggest challenges in cybersecurity today is the lack of experts studying and learning how to apply AI effectively. Security teams should study AI advances every day/hour as enemies adapt in hours/minutes. There’s no time to wait for someone to solve these challenges and write a book to wait a week. And the book is aged. That’s how fast the field moves. Organizations that employ AI have greater advantages than organizations that delay adoption.
To meet this need, the SANS Institute is a course designed to teach security experts how to envelop an organization’s capabilities for defense strategies, in order to teach them an understanding of the core of AI and machinery. This practical training covers how to utilize and build AI and machine learning models for threat detection, automate security processes and improve threat intelligence analytics. The security team does not need a background in Data Science (we teach it) to take this course. However, I want to learn and apply AI every day.
For those who want to acquire these important skills, Sansfire 2025 is the ideal opportunity. The event will be held in Washington, DC from June 16-21, 2025, bringing together top cybersecurity experts for hands-on training, live labs and expert-led discussions. SEC595: Applied Data Science & Machine Learning for Cybersecurity courses are now available on Sansfire, allowing participants to experience AI-driven security firsthand and apply what they learn right away.
Cybersecurity is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and defenders need to evolve with it. The question is not whether AI is part of a cybersecurity business, but who will first master it. If you’re looking to go ahead of the curve, join Sansfire 2025. For more information, please register with Sansfire on Sansfire 2025.
Note: This article was written and contributed by Rob T. Lee, Head of Research at the SANS Institute.
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