Corridor Africa addresses escalating cyber security threats on telecoms infrastructure

Matone Ditlhake, CEO, Corridor Africa.

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Cyber security has become a major concern for everyone, especially as malicious actors are increasingly leveraging AI technologies to target and compromise the stability and security of telecoms infrastructures, amplifying financial losses and operational disruptions.

In response to this evolving threat landscape, Corridor Africa emphasises the importance of integrating AI in cyber security defence strategies. AI-driven cyber security solutions significantly enhance threat detection, automated response capabilities and system protection, fortifying the resilience of organisations against cyber threats.

Corridor Africa CEO Matone Ditlhake reiterates the pressing need to protect telecoms infrastructure against increasing cyber threats. "The utilisation of AI algorithms to launch network congestion attacks, similar to distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks, and exploit network vulnerabilities, poses a significant threat.

"AI technologies offer advanced capabilities for threat detection, automated response and system protection by analysing vast amounts of data, including network traffic, system logs, user activity and malware signatures. Machine learning algorithms are employed to detect and identify potential risks, aiding in proactive monitoring and alerting of security teams through intrusion detection and prevention systems," he explains.

Furthermore, AI approaches establish baselines of typical behaviour, enabling the detection of abnormal activities and assisting in uncovering insider threats or zero-day attacks. It is also effective in identifying and mitigating malware attacks by studying code samples, network traffic and behavioural patterns, enhancing detection speed and accuracy to keep up with evolving threats.

Ditlhake says user behaviour analytics powered by AI monitors activity to detect insider threats, compromised accounts or unauthorised access attempts, contributing to overall system security. "I need to emphasise the vital role of AI in adversarial machine learning, aiding in the fight against attacks on AI systems while identifying and mitigating flaws that attackers may exploit."

Moreover, AI facilitates automated response and remediation by initiating steps such as blocking malicious IP addresses, isolating compromised devices and applying security patches and upgrades.

Corridor Africa also acknowledges the potential misuse of AI for harmful purposes, such as data poisoning and adversarial attacks. Adversarial attacks manipulate AI vulnerabilities by altering inputs, resulting in misleading outputs or evading security measures. Attackers can also compromise AI model training through data poisoning, impacting its behaviour and performance.

AI-driven cyber attacks exploit AI techniques to automate and optimise phishing campaigns, password cracking and vulnerability identification. In addition, attackers devise strategies to circumvent AI-based protections by examining algorithms and exploiting their vulnerabilities.

"As the threats in cyber space continue to evolve, Corridor Africa remains committed to staying at the forefront of cyber security innovation. We advocate for responsible AI use and encourage collaboration across industries to ensure a secure digital landscape for all," he concludes.