Content delivery network and cloud services provider Akamai Technologies Inc. today announced two major updates for its security portfolio that enhance protection against sophisticated threats and streamline security operations through advanced machine learning and AI-driven insights.

The first update, the Behavioral DDoS Engine, uses machine learning to provide automatic, proactive protection against application-layer distributed denial-of-service attacks by analyzing traffic anomalies and reducing false positives. The second update, a new AI Assistant, offers a chat-based tool integrated into Akamai’s web security analytics platform that allows users to filter and query security insights for faster investigation and data exploration.

The new Behavioral DDoS Engine uses machine learning to detect and mitigate application-layer DDoS attacks in real-time by analyzing traffic patterns and identifying anomalies. The service offers a proactive defense that minimizes manual intervention by automatically adapting to evolving threats and providing customized protection based on specific traffic baselines and risk sensitivities, according to the company.

The engine also includes a unique scoring mechanism that further improves accuracy with an outcome of reducing false positives and ensuring robust security without disrupting normal operations. In addition to its detection capabilities, the Behavioral DDoS Engine is continuously updated with global DDoS intelligence from the Akamai platform to ensure that it is always up-to-date and stays ahead of the latest attack techniques.

Behavioral DDoS Engine is now available in limited availability for select customers, with Akamai planning to expand access to the platform-wide feature by 2025.

The second update, Akamai’s new AI Assistant, offers streamlined security operations by providing users with a chat-based interface for querying and analyzing security insights. Embedded directly into Akamai’s web security analytics platform, the AI Assistant allows users to quickly filter through vast amounts of data, such as attack types, IP addresses and threat scores. Akamai says the service simplifies the process of identifying key security information, enabling faster and more efficient threat investigations.

The AI Assistant also allows users to instantly access relevant insights, improving data exploration and reducing the time it takes to respond to potential threats.

“With the additions of Behavioral DDoS Engine and AI Assistant, Akamai offers an uncompromising defense that simplifies operations without sacrificing control,” said Rupesh Chokshi, senior vice president and general manager of application security at Akamai. “In the age of AI, organizations can no longer afford to compromise — these new additions to Akamai App & API Protector ensure that they won’t have to.”

In addition to the two major announcements, Akamai also announced several new capabilities to enhance its security solutions. The capabilities include Rapid Rules, which offers fast protection against common vulnerabilities and exposures and zero-day or unpatched vulnerabilities and updates to the Adaptive Security Engine that improve detection accuracy through machine learning and heuristic models.

Akamai further introduced an aggregated mode for rate limit controls. The rate limit is designed to detect and mitigate advanced DDoS attack techniques, enhancing overall security and simplifying operations.

Photo: Akamai