Cybersecurity Insight

Hackers Gain DARPA Support

12 Jul

Darpa is giving white-hat hackers a chance to win $55 Million in the first-of-its-kind hack competition. The Cyber Grand Challenge takes normal hack-tivities a step beyond the norm and creates a competition where teams are not only using their skills to patch cyber security flaws in real time, but to simultaneously attack the other groups participating. What does this mean for the cyber security world as a whole, and how will companies reap the benefits of this unique comeptition?

Seven super computers, paired with seven teams of white-hat hackers, will compete in Las Vegas next month. The goal? To defend the machine in their care with artificially intelligent software while also attacking the six other machines of the opposing teams. This particular competition is unique for a variety of reasons. One is that it is the first of its kind – not only have the organizers managed to visualize the code used to protect and attack as its being written, but those visualizations are going to be shown on huge screens in a Las Vegas arena. The machines themselves will be placed on a glass stage with robotic arms carrying out the commands dictated by the teams.

The second piece that attributes to this event’s unique nature is the fact that artificially intelligent software will be the main player, and not the humans behind it. The day that software has learned enough from cyber security threats to patch inconsistencies within minutes or even seconds is a long way off, but these white-hat hackers want to be at the beginning of this movement. Though the AI software cannot patch security holes while the machine is in use, it’s a starting point that is intriguing for all involved and a sign of things to come.

Artificially intelligent software is stuff of the future – it is still constantly in development and learning with each line of code or new security breach. It is a ways off, but definitely a futuristic question to consider: how much will companies trust AI software over live human beings when it comes to protecting their infrastructure? For now, as always, the live human beings at Neovera have years of experience grappling with the intricacies of cyber security monitoring and management; they’re the safest bet when your company’s sensitive data is at stake.