AI Security Fireside Series: Trellix's Generative AI Transformation

Summary

In this video, the host interviews Martin, the CTO of Cloud and AI at Trellix, discussing the risks and benefits of AI in security. Martin explains the challenges of implementing AI, particularly in understanding and controlling AI-generated outputs. He emphasizes the importance of AI in automating tasks, allowing humans to focus on more critical activities. The conversation also covers the debate between open-source and closed-source AI models, AI security concerns, and best practices for organizations adopting AI technologies. Martin advises on the need for documenting AI usage and implementing best practices for effective security management.

Takeaways

• 🧐 AI Risks: Organizations face new risks with AI, particularly around application security and the opaque nature of AI inputs and outputs, which makes it hard to apply traditional security controls.
• 🔮 AI Transparency: Generative AI can be challenging to understand due to its lack of a structured format, making it difficult to determine the reasoning behind its outputs.
• 🛡️ AI and Security: AI can automate security tasks, allowing humans to focus on higher-level tasks like building threat models and engaging with business units.
• 🤖 AI in Action: Trellix's TRX Wise leverages AI to read machine-level information and make security decisions, which is a new capability made possible by the maturation of generative AI.
• 🚀 AI Maturity: The maturity of AI has reached a point where it can understand and identify specific security threats, such as password spray attacks.
• 🤝 Human-AI Collaboration: AI can triage outputs from security systems, allowing for more efficient human involvement in the decision-making process.
• 🏭 Open Source vs. Closed Source: The choice between open source and closed source AI models often comes down to the level of detail in the decision-making process and the ability to explain those decisions.
• 🔒 Security of AI Models: The security of AI models is a critical concern, with the need to understand and control what data the models have access to and how they use it.
• 📜 Documentation: Documenting AI usage across an organization is essential for understanding where AI is being applied and ensuring security best practices are followed.
• 🛑 Prompt Injection: A major vulnerability in AI systems can occur through 'prompt injection,' where untrusted input leads to untrusted output.
• 🏛️ AI Governance: Establishing an AI Center of Excellence can provide guidelines and best practices for secure AI usage within an organization.

Q & A

What is the primary concern when adopting AI in terms of security risks?

The primary concern is the opaque layer AI creates between input and output, making it difficult to understand what is coming in and going out, which complicates the implementation of security policies.

How does generative AI differ from structured languages like SQL in terms of security?

Generative AI does not fit a particular format, making it challenging to apply traditional security controls and understand the prompts, unlike structured languages like SQL which are easier to evaluate for format compliance.

What is the role of AI in transforming an organization's operations as discussed in the script?

AI is enabling machines to handle tasks that are machine-level, allowing humans to focus on tasks that require human-level understanding and intervention, thus automating processes and improving efficiency.

Can you explain the concept of 'AI reading Machine-level information' as mentioned in the script?

This refers to AI's ability to process and understand raw data or information at a level that was traditionally only interpretable by machines, and then make decisions based on that data, which was not possible before the maturity of generative AI.

What is TRX Wise and how does it utilize AI?

TRX Wise is a product launched by Trellix that incorporates AI to read and analyze machine-level information, allowing it to make decisions based on the data it's given, such as identifying security threats like a password spray attack.

How does AI help in automating tasks that were previously done by humans?

AI can take over tasks such as anomaly detection and triage the output, identifying whether a human needs to intervene or if it can take action based on learned responses, thus reducing the manual workload for humans.

What is the significance of open source versus closed source AI models in the context of security?

Open source models are smaller and less descriptive in explaining their decisions, while closed source models provide better descriptions but are larger. The choice between them may depend on the need for transparency in decision-making versus efficiency and cost.

Why is it important for organizations to document their AI usage?

Documenting AI usage helps in understanding where and how AI is being used across different projects, enabling the organization to implement best practices and security measures effectively without restricting productivity.

How can AI security be compromised if not implemented correctly?

AI security can be compromised through vulnerabilities such as 'prompt injection,' where untrusted input leads to untrusted output, highlighting the importance of proper implementation and understanding of security controls.

What is the recommended approach for a leader in an organization looking to adopt AI?

Leaders should start by itemizing and documenting AI usage across the organization, then implement best practices for security without restricting the use of AI, possibly through an AI Center of Excellence to guide these practices.

What is the 'prompt injection' vulnerability mentioned in the script and why is it serious?

Prompt injection is a vulnerability where an AI system considers untrusted input, such as content from an email, as part of its prompt, leading to untrusted outputs. It is serious because it can be exploited to manipulate AI systems into making insecure decisions.