IBM has developed AI-powered storage security technology that can intercept and disable ransomware. It was integrated into IBM's enterprise-class FlashCore modules. The simple explanation is that it is capable of scanning all I/O data in real time and stopping unauthorized encryption operations before they can cause any harm.
IBM explained the technology in detail in a blog entry (H/T Tom's Hardware). The blog begins by talking about businesses' concerns about ransomware, pointing to a report that says 89% of businesses rank ransomware among the top five threats to their existence. So there's nothing the IT guys can fix over coffee and a chat.
IBM explains the technology best: “IBM Storage Defender includes AI-powered sensors developed by IBM Research that are designed to detect ransomware and other advanced threats quickly and with high accuracy. Defender sends highly accurate alerts to security tools to reduce the tide of security breaches and help organizations recover from attacks.”
Using AI to detect ransomware attacks is a fantastic idea. Malicious code execution is difficult to intercept, but in the case of ransomware, it takes time to encrypt the data. It can range from minutes to hours, providing the opportunity to stop an attack before it becomes critical.
IBM's solution is aimed at financially strong and very security-conscious corporate customers. It will be some time before we see consumer products with this kind of functionality, but with current and next-generation CPUs shipping with dedicated AI hardware, this could be found on consumer PCs in one form or another in the coming years be.
The thought of AI SSDs made me roll my eyes at first, but it's one I can support. Being cynical about the AI hype is one thing, but openly hating shady ransomware attackers and scammers is quite another.
Ransomware is a global threat. Even in our little gaming corner of the world, big companies like Bandai Namco, Sony and Capcom are affected. Even the king of AI, Nvidia, is not immune. Anything that stops ransomware in its tracks is worth celebrating.
