The Three A’s for Cyber ​​Security: How Artificial Intelligence Locks Our Digital Doors

The Three A’s: AAA… today, however, we are not writing an ad to sell or buy something. Today we’re talking about what the three A’s of cybersecurity are. Cyber threats are increasing, so digital security has become essential. Protecting sensitive systems and data is no longer a luxury, but an absolute priority for companies and individuals.

In this context, the three A’s – Authentication, Authorization and Accounting – play a crucial role. These fundamental elements help strengthen our digital defenses, ensuring that only authorized users can access resources, that their actions are controlled and that every activity is tracked to prevent and effectively respond to attacks.

Authentication (who are you?)

Let’s start with the first of the three A’s. When we need to access a computer system, authentication is the first step to ensure that only authorized users are granted access. This process verifies a user’s identity, typically requesting a username and password combination, a security token, or biometrics. In less advanced systems, and therefore more at risk, Authentication occurs simply via username and password. If you want to learn more, you can find an interesting article on how MFA is helping to improve security in the system authentication sector.

Through the Authentication process, a system confirms that the person who wants to access it is who he says he is.

Let’s take a very simple example. You are in a Starbucks with friends. You just received an email, but it contains very detailed documents and you want to see them on a computer screen. You ask one of your friends to lend you their laptop; you’ll open your browser to the page https://mail.google.com and enter your email address (which serves as your username here) and your password.

If you have accomplished to security best practices, you will also receive a request to confirm that it is you the person who is trying to gain access: it can be an SMS with a code, or a request message from a special app such as Google Authenticator. If the credentials you provided match those stored and if the second factor is also satisfied, then the system allows you to log in.

This is a classic example of Multi Factor Authentication.

Artificial Intelligence can improve authentication by analyzing user behavior patterns and identifying, even in real time, anomalies that could indicate fraudulent activity.

Authorization (what you can do)

Even when users are authenticated, you still need to define what resources and actions they can access. Thank goodness, gone are the days when everyone had access to all resources. Authorization establishes a user’s permissions, defining what they can do within a system. Modern systems allow very high granularity in the control of authorizations: it is, therefore, possible to define not only which resources each user can access, but also with which privileges: reading, reading and writing, sharing,…

Generally speaking, permissions are managed at the group level. For example, Active Directory groups are nothing more than groups of users who share the same permissions, for example: access to Company folders/documents, access to shared emails or shared resources.

Artificial Intelligence also helps us in this field, since it can optimize authorization by creating granular user profiles and adapting permissions based on the context and risk associated with each action.

Accounting (what did you do)

Here we are at the last of the three A’s. We have identified ourselves, we have had access to our resources with our permissions, at this point it is necessary to monitor the activities we carry out on the systems. Accounting deals with recording user activities within the system, creating a log of what was done, when and by whom.

This data can be used for auditing, compliance purposes and to identify potential threats.

AI can analyze logs to identify unusual patterns that could indicate intrusions or malicious behavior. Log analysis was certainly not introduced with the advent of Artificial Intelligence: it was already happening before. AI does nothing but carry out this analysis in an extremely faster and more efficient way, being able to identify behavioral patterns that are difficult to recognize even by the most trained human eye.

A real example of using the three A’s

Imagine that you work in a company that uses a computer system to manage its employee data.

1. Authentication: When you log in to the system, enter your username and password. The system verifies this information, in combination with a second factor, which can be a token (physical or digital) or biometric data, to ensure that you are an authorized employee.
2. Authorization: Once authenticated, the system checks your permissions. For example, you can see and edit your personal data, but you can’t access your colleagues’ salary data because you don’t have permission to do so.
3. Accounting: Every action you take is logged. If you modify data, the system creates a log of this modification, specifying who made it and when. If someone tries to access data that they shouldn’t see, the system also records this attempt.

Artificial Intelligence for cybersecurity

Artificial Intelligence won’t replace the three A’s, but enhances them. By learning from data and behavior models, AI is, in fact, capable of:

Recognize threats in real time

Thanks to its ability to analyze large volumes of data extremely quickly and identify complex patterns, Artificial Intelligence can play a fundamental role in the early detection of cyber threats. Throughout machine learning, AI systems can be trained on datasets containing examples of past cyber attacks, thus gaining the ability to recognize anomalous activity and potential threats in real time.

This allows you to intervene promptly, blocking attacks before they cause significant damage. A practical example is the analysis of network traffic to identify typical behavior patterns of malware or DDoS attacks.

Adapt safety measures

AI can customize access controls and permissions based on each user’s individual risk and specific situation. This means that AI systems can assess the level of threat associated with each user and their activities, adapting access permissions accordingly.

For example, users with a high history of unauthorized access may have their privileges temporarily limited, while a user accessing the system from a new geolocation may be subjected to two-factor authentication.

This dynamic customization of security measures allows you to increase system protection without hindering legitimate user activities, but also helping to improve the user experience.

Automate security tasks

AI can automate several manual security tasks, freeing up valuable time for security workers. AI can, for example:

• Analyze system logs and identify potential threats
• Manage access requests and update permissions
• Detect and block intrusions in real time
• Conduct anti-malware and vulnerability scans

Automating these repetitive tasks frees up security professionals to focus on more complex tasks that require human expertise, such as managing security incidents and establishing long-term security strategies.

The effective integration of artificial intelligence into information systems represents a fundamental step towards creating systems that are more secure and resistant to security threats which are, we remember, constantly evolving.

In addition to what has already been highlighted throughout the article, it is worth underlining that Artificial Intelligence can also:

• Provide security officers with contextual information to facilitate making quick and informed decisions;
• Help develop predictive models to anticipate future cyber security threats;
• Support training of security personnel on new threats and attack techniques.

Conclusions

The Three A’s, integrated with artificial intelligence, represent a powerful tool for cybersecurity. When we combine authentication, authorization and accounting with the advanced capabilities of AI, we achieve a much more robust and dynamic cyber defense, while also improving the user experience.

AI can significantly improve each component of the Three A’s. In authentication, AI can analyze behavioral patterns to identify anomalous logins, going beyond simple passwords and including biometric recognition and machine learning to detect intrusion attempts. For example, if a user always connects from the same geographic location and suddenly appears in another part of the world, the AI ​​can raise an alarm.

In authorization, AI can manage access permissions dynamically, adapting to operational needs and changes in user roles. It can also perform context-based access controls, considering variables such as time, device used and geographic location. This allows for finer and more responsive control than traditional static models.

On the accounting side, AI can analyze large amounts of log data in real time to spot suspicious behavior or anomalies. AI can recognize attack patterns that might escape manual analysis, alerting system administrators promptly and accurately. For example, a sudden increase in access to sensitive data can be immediately flagged for rapid intervention.

By implementing these technologies effectively, we can create information systems that are more secure and resilient to evolving threats. AI, with its ability to learn and adapt, adds a level of intelligence and flexibility to security defenses, making our systems more resilient and capable of proactively responding to new threats. This way, organizations can better protect their sensitive data and critical assets, maintaining trust and security in today’s digital landscape.

Disclaimer: all images have been generated by Artificial Intelligence (Stable Diffusion)

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