The Future of AI & Data Security: Microsoft Copilot’s Role

As AI becomes a more widely ingrained part of our day-to-day lives online, its potential as an essential component of current and future data security efforts is slowly but surely being realised.

One of the biggest players in the AI data security world is Microsoft’s Copilot. Not only is it a generative AI assistant that individuals and businesses can utilise to streamline processes and work tasks, but it’s already a surprisingly robust and valuable addition to any business’s IT security efforts.

In this blog, we’ll be taking a look at how Copilot enhances data security and how it will inform the future of AI’s place in the IT security landscape.

If you want to learn more about how Copilot can be integrated into your business’s operations, get in touch with the Setup4 team today.

How Microsoft Copilot Enhances Data Security in the AI Era

Microsoft’s Copilot holds a unique advantage over other generative AI security tools as it’s an AI purpose-built to work on most modern devices that utilise Microsoft Windows and its associated programs (such as Office 365, Microsoft Defender, Purview, and more).

If your business utilises Windows-based laptops and workstations, then Copilot can be implemented across Microsoft’s large security stack. This stack comprises a wide range of security-focused applications and products that protect various components of your devices, apps, data, cloud, etc.

This multifaceted approach means that Copilot can enhance, expedite, and improve the range of security products to drive greater efficiency without compromising on the functional capabilities of each product. 

By extension, it can help IT security professionals resolve and mitigate data protection risks within faster timeframes and simplify the process of producing accessible reports for leadership, management, and staff to refer to.

Microsoft Copilot: Shaping the Future of AI and Data Protection

Most businesses in Australia still use Microsoft Windows in their day-to-day operations thanks to its reach across most PCs and laptops outside of the Apple ecosystem. Its ease of access and broad integration into enterprise operations means that Copilot will inevitably become a big part of the data security landscape now and into the future.

Given that Microsoft has already integrated Copilot into most parts of its OS and accompanying products, AI-powered data security will likely be largely informed by Microsoft’s efforts. 

This will also inform how AI is to be securely integrated into operating systems in a way that provides critical data for AI to learn from while avoiding broader security pitfalls for companies, such as the protection of sensitive data and intellectual property.

In order for an enterprise-level AI to succeed, companies will need to be assured that its integration will benefit their overall security posture, not compromise it. Microsoft’s Copilot will undoubtedly be a significant player in the space and inform how other companies develop AI that assists in IT and cybersecurity.

AI and Data Security: What Microsoft Copilot Brings to the Future Workplace

Perhaps the most significant shift the arrival of Copilot brings to the data security table is what it will do for those who work in IT, particularly those who manage data and network security.

As part of Copilot’s integration into the broader Windows suite, Microsoft has listed the many ways in which Copilot’s AI capabilities will assist those with varying roles within IT security.

Security Analysts

Copilot can assist security analysts in the following areas:

• Distilling complex security alerts into concise and actionable summaries
• Providing step-by-step guidance on how to respond to a security incident
• Efficiently analyse malicious scripts and translate them into clear explanations using natural language
• Utilising AI-driven analytics to assess the potential impacts of different security incidents effectively

IT Admins

IT admins can make use of Copilot as follows:

• To leverage assisted troubleshooting and root cause mapping
• AI assistance in identifying policy conflicts
• AI can assist in the drafting of KQL queries to get real-time device data insights
• Guidance in the creation of policies
• Optimising cloud PC performance
• Setting up streamlined update management

Data Security Admins

Data security admins can utilise Copilot in order to:

• Identify, manage, and act on hidden security risks
• Deeply and more efficiently analyse security incidents 
• Assist in the discovery of gaps in security protection and streamline necessary controls
• Drive more efficient, expedited data security investigations
• Provide AI-powered guidance to strengthen security teams

Identity Admins

Identity admins, who specialise in the verification and management of users, can be assisted by Copilot as follows:

• Through AI-driven risk detection, insights, and mitigation solutions
• Troubleshooting access failures that occurred during critical access attempts
• Managing least-privileged access for more enhanced security
• Copilot can assist in incident investigations and provide enhanced troubleshooting

Threat Intelligence (TI) Analysts

TI analysts play a critical role in identifying and providing detailed threat information that enables enterprises and organisations to prevent and fight against cyber threats. Copilot can help TI analysts in several ways:

• It can summarise and contextualise threat intelligence
• Identify and understand the threats most critical to the enterprise or organisation
• Find and surface the relevant threat intelligence related to a specific indicator or artifact (artifacts refer to a non-harmful file, email, domain, etc. that was affected in a threat incident, and an indicator is the known threat activity, such as a phishing scam, malware, etc.)
• Help in the creation and use of promptbooks to provide effective investigation workflows for current and future potential threats

Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs)

CISOs are responsible for managing and leading other IT security professionals, and Copilot can help them in their leadership roles in several ways:

• As it does for TI analysts, Copilot can summarise and contextualise threat intelligence for CISOs so they’re aware of the most pertinent threats to the company or organisation.
• Assist in the creation of reports related to the state of the company or organisation’s security posture
• Build and map out custom security plans that are optimised to match the security needs of the company or organisation
• Intelligently prioritise critical security incidents
• Provide assessments of the broader security team’s performance

These are just some of the ways Copilot is already refining data security in workplaces around the world. 

As AI develops and advances, it will undoubtedly lead to even greater efficiencies and data security solutions in both the near and more distant future.