In today’s digital landscape — where cyber threats are escalating in both volume and sophistication — the convergence of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity is not merely an upgrade, but a critical evolution. AI-driven cybersecurity empowers organizations with proactive defenses, accelerated response times and more robust protection. 

One breakthrough in this space is Just-in-Time AI training, a transformative method that enhances cybersecurity awareness. By delivering real-time, context-sensitive “nudges” based on users’ current actions, KnowBe4 Inc. uses this approach to mitigate risky behavior before it escalates, according to Javvad Malik (pictured), lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4.

KnowBe4’s Javvad Malik talks with theCUBE about the impact of AI-driven cybersecurity in the present digital landscape.

“The Just-in-Time training or the nudges is where AI can integrate with your existing security stack,” Malik said. “You have firewalls, you have network monitoring controls, you have some [endpoint detection and response], you have some gateway controls, you have a lot of visibility into what people are doing. What AI can do is pull all of that out and analyze it and say, ‘Okay, this user’s now plugged in a USB drive. It’s not a corporate-approved one.’”

Malik spoke with theCUBE’s Christophe Bertrand at the Data Protection & AI Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how KnowBe4 is advancing the use of AI in cybersecurity.

How KnowBe4 enables AI-driven cybersecurity

AI-driven cybersecurity significantly enhances awareness training and user behavior, supporting stronger risk mitigation by leveraging real-time analytics, personalization and automation. KnowBe4 leverages this approach to transform users from potential vulnerabilities into active defenders, greatly strengthening an organization’s human layer of defense against cyber threats, according to Malik. 

“When we look at AI, we say the things that it’s great at is the speed and the scale at which it operates, and how it can understand the context in which information is presented quite easily, and come up with recommendations and so forth,” he said. “So old-school, say like security awareness training, was kind of like a one-size-fits-all. You just have this one set of training that goes out, but with AI now, we can actually understand people’s behaviors, we can understand people’s job roles.”

AI-driven cybersecurity enables customized training by tailoring learning experiences to each individual’s behavior, role, and risk level. This is made possible through AI’s ability to track user actions — such as clicking on suspicious links or failing phishing simulations — and identify patterns of risky behavior, according to Malik

“AI can help us understand what exactly the roles of people are, and they can then build out custom training for them,” he said. “If you are, say, in a job like mine and you travel a lot, then it’s really useful for me to receive regular training on how to stay safe when traveling, what is expected to maintain the security of my devices. If I book a trip to a certain country, then it’d be really useful if it could automatically push out relevant information to that country, say like, ‘Oh, here are some of the restrictions, or some of the concerns we have.’”

KnowBe4 enables cybersecurity awareness training and human risk management within organizations by leveraging behavioral science, AI-driven analytics and interactive training tools through its comprehensive training platform. This approach transforms employees from potential security liabilities into proactive defenders, according to Malik.

“The last six years I’ve been at KnowBe4, and as an advocate, what that involves is doing a lot of research, speaking to some customers and prospects,” he said. “KnowBe4, as a company, we are the world’s leader in security awareness training and human risk management, and what that means is that we just put the human at the center of cybersecurity for everything we do. That involves, ‘How do we protect people from attacks? How do we educate them? How do we empower them, and how do we protect them when something inevitably goes wrong?’”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Data Protection & AI Summit: 

Photo: SiliconANGLE