Machine Learning
The term machine learning or ML is in vogue today and it seems like computer scientists are using it for everything. A dictionary style definition of ML is “the use of algorithms and mathematical models to aid computer systems in progressively improving their performance on a specific task”. This could be applied to anything from heating and cooling systems to self-driving vehicles.
One of Accolade’s partners, OPNids, uses machine learning techniques to enhance the efficacy of a popular security platform called Suricata. With ML the number of false positives or alerts from Suricata are reduced as the algorithms begin to understand the nature and patterns of the threats that are being detected.
In general, the use of ML techniques to aid in improving computer security is growing rapidly and in time ML will simply be a necessary part of all security products. There are numerous startups, such as Blue Hexagon and others, that are attacking security head on with ML and related techniques. Some may refer to it as “Artificial Intelligence” but the concept is the same.