Generative AI (GenAI) is a top priority for organizations looking to increase productivity and solve business problems faster. In cloud security, AI chatbots to aid security practitioners are becoming more common, but to date, most of these solutions offer only basic queries and summarization. Diverse cloud environments and evolving threats require more from an AI security analyst.

To streamline investigation and help teams understand how to respond to fast-moving cloud attacks, AI for cloud security needs specialized, domain-specific programming, contextual awareness, and the ability for teams to have multi-step conversations that transform data into actionable insights.

Navigating cloud complexity

Cloud ecosystems and technology stacks can be incredibly complex. Navigating the intricacies of public and private clouds, containers, and Kubernetes requires domain expertise. Even seasoned professionals can find it challenging to stay ahead of the latest tech as it relates to cloud threats. For this reason, there is a tangible benefit to having an AI analyst that can instantly deliver the collective wisdom of human experts and the continuous learnings of AI models. 

Responding under pressure

Cloud security teams are under tremendous pressure as they race against the clock. When it’s crunch time, insufficient answers from an AI chatbot, or delays as you search for information aren’t just stressful; they can give adversaries the upper hand. During an investigation or incident response, a lot of time can be wasted trying to determine what something is and how to respond. The proper response for a given scenario may be less obvious to less experienced team members. Getting fast, accurate assistance can make a difference between data and workloads being impacted – or not.

Accelerating human response with a purpose-built AI cloud security analyst

When you have only minutes to respond, the ability to have a conversation that helps you quickly understand a cybersecurity event and how to address it is extremely powerful. To provide this level of support requires capabilities beyond just collecting and compiling data from external sources. By employing multi-step reasoning, contextual awareness, and specialized domain-specific programming, AI for cloud security can offer a truly autonomous and comprehensive approach to security analysis.

This is the approach we’ve taken with Sysdig Sage, Sysdig’s AI cloud security analyst. Sysdig Sage interacts with users through human-like conversations, helping to peel back the layers of security events. 

Architecturally, Sysdig Sage uses an autonomous agents approach, leveraging multiple specialized AI agents that work collaboratively with a common goal: to simplify and accelerate security and enable a faster, better-informed human response. This unique architecture uses advanced agent-based reasoning to not only collect data, but also to provide meaningful, context-aware recommendations that are directly useful for security decisions.

Key capabilities of Sysdig Sage

Multi-step reasoning: Sysdig Sage helps security teams peel back the layers of sophisticated cloud threats through in-depth conversations. Start with a simple question and ask follow-up questions to dive deeper, gaining a clearer understanding of runtime events. Straightforward answers and suggested queries enable quick comprehension of security implications and risks in complex cloud estates.

Contextual awareness: Sysdig Sage understands the context of what users are currently observing in the Sysdig UI and provides precise answers based on that context. It helps you navigate the platform UI, directing you to visualizations that provide a deeper understanding of a given event. As a result, team members of all skill levels get the help they need to manage more and escalate less.

Guided response: Beyond summarizing and explaining threats, Sysdig Sage suggests proactive response actions, prevention strategies, and process improvements. It empowers you to take full advantage of the real-time nature of the Sysdig platform, along with insights available from the Sysdig Threat Research team. Considering the speed at which attacks progress in the cloud, fast answers on how to stop threats are key.

Using Sysdig Sage, cloud security teams are equipped to handle complex security tasks:

• Incident investigation: Analyze incidents to determine root cause, including performed activities, cloud context, and responsible identities.
• Prioritization: Prioritize threats based on multiple factors, including severity and potential impact.
• Risk mitigation: Get effective strategies for mitigating identified risks and enhancing security posture and practices.

And, since Sysdig Sage is multilingual – with support for over 80 languages – you can take advantage of its insights in the language of your choice.

Comparing Sysdig Sage with traditional AI assistants

Sysdig Sage is a true AI security analyst. Looking at the landscape of AI assistance currently available, here’s how Sysdig Sage stacks up:

Insight generation vs. data aggregation

• Traditional AI assistants: Focus on collecting and compiling data from various sources.
• Sysdig Sage: Goes beyond aggregation to generate actionable insights through advanced agent-based reasoning.

Contextual awareness

• Traditional AI assistants: Use a separate prompt interface with little or no UI interaction.
• Sysdig Sage: Aware of the data the user is observing as context for queries; links users to directly relevant UI views.

Decision support vs. information presentation

• Traditional AI assistants: Present summarized information for review.
• Sysdig Sage: Provides detailed, step-by-step reasoning to support critical security decisions.

Adaptive problem-solving

• Traditional AI assistants: Focus on specific use cases (i.e. remediation information).
• Sysdig Sage: Tackles unforeseen challenges by combining autonomous agents’ specialized skills. Adaptability ensures AI remains effective in the face of evolving security threats.

Enhanced collaboration

• Traditional AI assistants: Support single tasks.
• Sysdig Sage: Acts as a true AI security analyst, supporting users in a free-flowing, contextual manner. Facilitates collaboration between human analysts and AI assistance.

Conclusion

As cloud security threats rapidly evolve, so too must capabilities for cloud security. AI capabilities built with multi-step reasoning and contextual awareness give defenders a new way to understand events, reduce escalations, and streamline response. If you’re new to cloud security, having an AI companion to offer insights and advice can help quickly build your skills and aid you in making the right call in the face of threats. And, if you’re a security veteran, finding ways to save time is likely at the top of your list – AI can help. 

Sysdig has designed its cloud security analyst, Sysdig Sage, to function like a team of experts by your side – always available to help you stay ahead of adversaries in an increasingly complex cloud landscape. We invite you to read the next blog in our launch series to learn more and see Sysdig Sage in action.