Palo Alto Networks floats AI-based security platform

Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks has introduced what it claims is the enterprise segment’s only open and integrated artificial intelligence-based continuous security platform.

Deployed on a global and scalable public cloud platform, Cortex allows security operations teams to speed up the analysis of massive data sets, US-headquartered Palo Alto Networks said in a statement.

The platform is enabled by an in-house data lake called Cortex Data Lake. Data lakes are repositories of enterprise data.

“This is where customers can securely and privately store and analyse large amounts of data that is normalised for advanced AI and machine learning to find threats and orchestrate responses quickly,” said Lee Klarich, chief product officer at Palo Alto Networks.

Explaining further, Klarich said that the current model of “disjointed” standalone security products leaves organisations with blind spots and conflicting data and this is why a complete solution is needed.

The company said that it was also launching Cortex XDR, a detection, investigation and response product that natively integrates network, endpoint and cloud data.

Cortex XDR uncovers threats using behavioral analytics, accelerates investigations with automation, and stops attacks before damage is done through tight integration with existing enforcement points, Klarich added.

The company has updated another product, its Traps engine (endpoint protection and response solution), which now also provides a behavioural threat protection engine that stops advanced threats in real time by stitching together a chain of events to identify malicious activity.

“Traps 6.0 acts as the ultimate data collection sensor for Cortex Data Lake, gathering the most comprehensive endpoint security data in the industry. In conjunction with Cortex XDR, customers can use Traps to extend their prevention capabilities to include detection and response across their entire digital infrastructure with a single agent.” Klarich said.

The company further said that it was partnering with companies such as PwC, Critical Start, ON2IT and Trustwave to roll out Cortex XDR, which will be made available to customers from March. The data lake and Traps engine are already available to customers.