Traditional, reactive security operations (SecOps) no longer hold water. Why? Threat actors are smarter than ever, and developing more advanced tactics than ever. They’re even mimicking nuanced human behavior to evade protocols as we implement them today. Increasingly, AI is used to enhance their attacks, and the only way to combat them is to fight fire with fire: use Generative AI (GenAI) solutions of your own.

So, how exactly can GenAI help you protect against sophisticated threats? It’s a solution that supports your IT team’s proactivity, and enforces consistent policies across the network. By swiftly analyzing large datasets, GenAI identifies potential risks with remarkable speed and accuracy. Predictive capabilities help you hedge against future vulnerabilities, and establish a proactive defense. Beyond this, it frees up your team by automating initial response measures.

From detection and incident response to compliance management and IT team reinforcement—GenAI offers full network protection from all angles. And this is only scratching the surface. Let’s dive deeper into these outcomes.

• New efficiencies: Faster than a human ever could, GenAI processes and analyzes vast amounts of data. In the case of detection, GenAI rapidly identifies unusual patterns or anomalies in user behavior that indicate a breach. This speeds up the detection process, and reduces the time it takes to respond to potential threats. That means your team can act faster, even stopping issues before they materialize.
• Consistent policies: GenAI automates the consistent application of policies across all systems and users. Consider scenarios like device authentication. If a policy prohibits external devices from connecting to a company’s network, GenAI continuously monitors for the activity, immediately flagging or blocking unauthorized connections—without human oversight.
• Lower costs: Automation comes in again. With GenAI covering repetitive and time-consuming tasks, your team can be allocated to more complex and high-priority issues. For example, GenAI can handle the continuous monitoring of traffic, which would otherwise require a 24/7 IT team. Not only does this take the load off of your resources, it also means operational cost savings.

While the benefits of GenAI are clear, it’s natural for teams to feel apprehensive about adopting this technology. Some may not fully understand how it works, while others could feel intimidated by the prospect of integrating new systems into existing workflows. They may have concerns about job security, or unease about losing control over decisions and processes.

These fears are understandable, and exactly why companies like Fortinet are committed to helping you overcome them. From developing comprehensive risk assessments or mitigation strategies, to evaluating external risks or creating a list of approved tools, cybersecurity pros can make GenAI implementation an accessible, easy, and clear process. And that means you’ll fully realize the benefits of this game-changing technology.

Discover 11 tips to implementing GenAI into Security Operations