HornetSecurity has launched its AI Cyber Assistant that powers two new tools as part of its new 365 Total Protection Plan 4 solution, Email Security Analyst, which eases the workload on IT security teams while upskilling end users, and Teams Protection, which helps protect Microsoft Teams users against malicious messages and impersonation attacks.
Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity
HornetSecurity, an SMB-focused cybersecurity company with a deep focus on the MSP market, and who entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Proofpoint in May, has launched its AI Cyber Assistant that powers two new tools as part of its new 365 Total Protection Plan 4 solution. These tools are Email Security Analyst, which eases the workload on IT security teams while upskilling end users, and Teams Protection, which helps protect Microsoft Teams users against malicious messages and impersonation attacks.
“To continue enhancing the next-gen security we provide, our new AI-powered Email Security Analyst automates responses to user queries about potential threats, alleviating the workload on SOC and service desk teams, while educating end users on the nature of attacks,” said Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity. “IT security personnel benefit by gaining more time to focus on other pressing issues, while end users receive instant feedback, which also encourages them to continue reporting suspicious emails and contribute to the organization’s overall security.”
Powered by the new AI Cyber Assistant, Email Security Analyst uses an LLM model to automate responses to users and assist investigations into emails they flag as suspicious, decreasing the time Security Operations Centre (SOC) and IT Admin teams dedicate to review end user reports individually and respond.
“Thanks to growing media attention, end users are becoming more suspicious about incoming emails,” Hoffman stated. “While this is a welcome and positive development, each email they flag increases the burden on SOC and Service Desk teams to analyze and verify them on a case-by-case basis. Email Security Analyst replaces this traditional manual analysis and significantly reduces the time SOC teams spend on false-positive and negative reports.”
The delivery of clear, AI-driven analysis for each email reported by end users lets Email Security Analysts help train end users to make well-informed decisions regarding potential malicious activity. It also advises them on the appropriate level of caution to take, strengthening an organization’s overall security posture.
“Organizations have to strengthen their ‘human firewall’ by empowering employees to become active participants in their organization’s cybersecurity strategy,” Hoffman noted. “Cyberattacks are constantly increasing, so CISOs and security teams need to strategically allocate resources that strengthen organizational security while upskilling end users to cover any blind spots.”
The second new tool is the forthcoming Teams Protection, which safeguards Microsoft 365 tenants by scanning Teams messages for malicious content. It uses AI and machine learning to continuously monitor all messages, immediately identifying and notifying end users of dangerous messages through AI Cyber Assistant.
“Instant messaging platforms like Microsoft Teams are increasingly used as a main channel of business communications, and yet they tend to be overlooked as a potential attack vector,” Hoffman said. “However, attackers are sending malicious links and malware both through Teams that are open externally and also via compromised internal Teams accounts. We have therefore developed Teams Protection to address this growing cybersecurity threat.”
Teams Protection detects smart patterns by analyzing key features of URLs and pages, including redirections, file paths, and scripts. It incorporates supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms that analyzes over 47 characteristics of URLs and web pages, scanning for malicious behaviours, obfuscation techniques, and URL redirects. It also uses Computer Vision models that analyze images and extract relevant features used in phishing attacks, including brand logos, QR codes, and suspicious text within images.
Through the 365 Total Protection Control Panel, administrators can also delete entire Teams conversations containing malicious messages and prevent the sender of a malicious message from logging into Teams.
365 Total Protection is available through a single, multi-tenant control panel through which Microsoft 365 users can access a comprehensive range of cybersecurity functionality, from email protection to backup and recovery to GRC and security awareness training. Hornetsecurity now has redesigned this Control Panel to provide a streamlined experience, ensuring a faster and more intuitive experience, with easier access to business tools, products and configurations.
Hornetsecurity’s well-established AI Recipient Validation, which helps prevent email misdirection and data leaks, has now received user experience updates and now forms part of 365 Total Protection Plan 4, further adding to the Plan’s AI-driven capabilities. The company says that the new 365 Total Protection Plan 4 is the ultimate Microsoft 365 security, backup and governance risk and compliance (GRC) powerhouse, educating users, accelerating admins and safeguarding organizations, all from one central platform. AI Cyber Assistant is integrated seamlessly into 365 Total Protection Plan 4, so that Cyber Assistant evolves continuously thanks to Hornetsecurity’s machine learning technology.
