Anita Joseph, Editor, CPI Media Group caught up with Ahmad Halabi, Managing Director at Resecurity, to find out how the company leverages the best of AI and human capabilities to help businesses stay ahead of advanced cyber threats.
Ahmad Halabi is a Hall-of-Fame hacker and a widely recognized vulnerability and offensive cybersecurity researcher who discovered over 2,000 vulnerabilities and helped secure over 200 private, public and government organizations worldwide. He is also a well-known thought leader in the penetration testing and bug bounty field, ranking as one of the Top 50 Hackers in the World and top ethical hacker by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and IBM.
What is Resecurity’s focus in this region, particularly for 2024?
Resecurity is a cybersecurity intelligence firm specializing in threat intelligence-driven solutions. These solutions help mitigate both direct and indirect threats. Our vision for 2024, consistent with previous years, is to reduce cyber threats to the maximum extent possible. We aim to enable enterprises, individuals and even governments to protect themselves against emerging threats targeting them or their perimeters.
Let’s talk about the current cyber threat landscape, particularly in this region. What trends and patterns are you seeing?
Threat actors are continually developing new techniques, especially leveraging AI to their advantage. Just as cybersecurity companies use AI for defense, threat actors use it to bypass security controls. The increasing threat landscape is primarily due to human error and lack of awareness. Many rely too heavily on vendors and tools without fully understanding how to use them properly, leaving configurations vulnerable. The key issue is human error and lack of awareness. We need to focus on educating people about the evolving nature of cybersecurity and threats, ensuring a balanced and comprehensive defense to mitigate these threats effectively.
Let’s delve into AI and emerging technologies. How do you think AI is helping businesses develop robust cyber defense strategies?
AI is extremely beneficial in predicting and preventing cyber-attacks. However, AI alone isn’t enough; it needs to work in tandem with human intelligence. While AI can process vast amounts of data to predict threats, it requires human oversight to provide optimal mitigation. At our company, we’ve built large datasets and integrated them with our AI model to predict, prevent, and monitor cyber threats. We analyze threat actors’ motives, behaviors, tactics, and methodologies to anticipate their next moves before they occur. This combination of AI and human intelligence allows us to identify potential breaches early, providing a significant advantage.
Does your company have any unique solutions that set it apart in the cybersecurity market?
Yes, imagine using AI as a weapon to counteract threats targeting you. We are developing an AI model that can provide comprehensive information about any threat targeting you, including indicators of compromise, tools, techniques, and procedures. Our AI can search over 30,000 sources, including dark web channels, to determine if you are being targeted or if there has been a material breach. For instance, you could ask our AI if a specific individual is compromised, and it would scan the entire internet to provide an answer within seconds. This capability can save a lot of time, resources and money by simplifying the threat detection process.
In your experience, what are some of the challenges businesses in this region face, and what attack trends should they be prepared for?
The challenges aren’t only cyber-related but also physical. The rapid growth in this region means scalability is a major issue. Companies often lack visibility over all their assets, which can give threat actors an advantage. Another significant challenge is the lack of awareness and education among employees. Many organizations invest heavily in security products but don’t educate their employees on proper usage. Human error, such as downloading malicious software while working remotely, can compromise company security. It’s crucial to educate employees about cybersecurity, not just within the work environment but also in their personal lives, as threat actors often target personal devices to infiltrate corporate networks.
Tell us how Resecurity is reshaping the identity protection landscape.
Protecting employees’ identities is crucial because you can’t monitor their personal devices. We offer identity protection services that allow individuals to detect if their personal information is leaked or compromised. This includes monitoring emails, phone numbers, credit cards, social media accounts, and more. By protecting personal information, we prevent minor threats from escalating into major ones. Our comprehensive approach includes monitoring not just the company’s assets but also its surroundings, including third-party vendors and suppliers, to ensure complete security.
At Resecurity, we are committed to protecting everyone—whether an individual, a large organization, or a government—from any cyber threat. We monitor all aspects of cybersecurity, addressing both major and minor threats to ensure comprehensive protection.
