Microsoft Will Use AI To Help Defend Against Malware

Malware and cyber attacks have been something that we have been dealing with for decades, and it seems that the more sophisticated our technology gets, the more sophisticated the attacks get as well. However chasing after the latest malware does feel like a never-ending task, which is why Microsoft is turning to the use of AI.

In a post on Microsoft’s blog (via Engadget), the company has revealed that with the upcoming Windows Fall Creators Update, they will be introducing AI to their Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) system, which should in theory be better and more efficient at protecting users from attacks.

For example one of the features of the AI is that it can pick up on malware that is unknown on a computer, and then it will be able to quarantine the malware in the cloud, create a signature for its identity, and from there the AI will be on the lookout on other Windows-based PCs for similar malware. Like we said, instead of having to constantly issue updates to antivirus software with updated lists, the AI will always ensure that protection is always up to date, which hopefully will reduce the number of computers that are infected.

That being said, since ATP is currently a feature only available for enterprise users, only enterprise users will be receiving this feature first. However a report from CNET has revealed that Microsoft has plans to eventually bring it to regular users as well, and also to expand it beyond just the Windows platform.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Computers
Tags: AI (Artificial Intelligence), Malware, Microsoft, Security, Windows, Windows 10