• Articles
    • Editorial Articles
    • Research Articles
    • WatchGuard Articles
  • The 443 Podcast
  • Threat Landscape
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Contribute to Secplicity

Secplicity - Security Simplified

Powered by WatchGuard Technologies

Would You Like to Play a [machine learning malware detection model] Game

July 26, 2017 By The Editor

code

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is becoming more and more prevalent in the security industry. Though this technology is growing, it’s far from perfect. Security professionals that want to benefit from these technologies need to stay one step ahead of hackers, which means identifying blind spots in their models. To do that, a company called Endgame announced at Black Hat that it’s releasing the generic code for a new machine learning model that’s designed to probe machine learning malware detection models. Has WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) finally met its match?

According to a Dark Reading article:

“…the agent “literally plays a game against our model and tries to beat it,” essentially automating the auditing of the mathematical underpinning of detection mechanisms. The agent essentially inspects an executable file and uses a sequence of file mutations to test the detection model. This agent uses its own brand of machine learning to figure out which sequences of mutations are most likely to create a variant that evades the model. Using the information it gains from this automated test, the agent can create a policy for developing malware variants that have a high likelihood of breaking the opposing machine learning model of the detection engine.” 

According to the researcher, all machine learning models have blind spots. If the industry fails to develop machine learning technologies that can identify these issues, it’s only a matter of time before hackers work to exploit them. In late 2016, WatchGuard’s CTO, Corey Nachreiner, predicted that in 2017 hackers would start leveraging machine learning and AI to improve malware and attacks. Read his complete predictions here. 

To read the entire Dark Reading article, click here. 

Share This:

Related

Filed Under: Editorial Articles, Featured Tagged With: artificial intelligence, botnet, machine learning

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The 443 Podcast

A weekly podcast featuring the leading white-hat hackers and security researchers. Listen Now
the 443 podcast

Threat Landscape

Filter and view Firebox Feed data by type of attack, region, country, and date range. View Now
threat landscape

Top Posts

  • Scratching the Surface of Rhysida Ransomware
  • An Interview with ChatGPT
  • TikTok is Banned, Kind Of
  • Naming APTs

Email Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest security news and threat analysis delivered straight to your inbox

By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy.


The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of WatchGuard Technologies.

Stay in Touch

Recent Posts

  • How Not to Update Software
  • Naming APTs
  • TikTok is Banned, Kind Of
  • Scratching the Surface of Rhysida Ransomware
  • An Interview with ChatGPT
View All

Search

Archives

Copyright © 2023 WatchGuard Technologies · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use