Blackwired unveils AI-powered upgrades to predict cyber-attacks

Cybersecurity firm Blackwired has announced enhancements to its ThirdWatch platform, introducing AI-driven 3D Threat Visualisation, Direct Threat Intelligence (DTI), and the Aim-Ready-Fire (ARFi) methodology designed to halt cyber-attacks before they are executed.

Rising cyber threats

The launch of these new features comes amid reports of significant growth in global cyber-attacks, many of which exploit artificial intelligence to increase their sophistication and scale. Recent incidents have affected major UK organisations, including Marks & Spencer, Co-op, Jaguar Land Rover, and Collins Aerospace, a key airport systems provider.

In the United States, a recent breach impacting the Salesforce CRM platform affected hundreds of companies, such as Google, Cisco, Farmers Insurance, Pandora, and TransUnion, with totals exceeding 4.4 million individuals directly impacted. Across Asia, high-profile cases included Qantas, where the exposure of six million customer records led to estimated reputational damage of AUD $7 billion, and Asahi Group Holdings, which suffered a ransomware attack resulting in daily losses exceeding GBP £9 million.

This trend, fuelled by adversaries harnessing advanced technologies, highlights substantial risks for both reputation and regulatory compliance. The financial implications are also considerable, with global damages from cybercrime projected to reach USD $10.5 trillion per year by the end of 2025.

Platform advancements

Blackwired's enhancements to the ThirdWatch platform are positioned as a departure from the traditional "detect and respond" model, which originated in the 1980s. The newer approach aims to defeat cyber adversaries during their initial reconnaissance activities, potentially pre-empting attacks altogether.

The company notes that its technology offers 3D threat visualisation, giving security teams a detailed and interactive perspective on campaigns, sequences, and vectors targeting their organisations. This expanded view is complemented by the ARFi (Aim-Ready-Fire) methodology, which focuses on proactively neutralising threats before an attack can proceed.

Direct Threat Intelligence (DTI) supplies clients with highly targeted, actionable information delivered via a secure application programming interface (API) into their security systems. This enables real-time response and automated integration with existing security infrastructure.

In addition, ThirdWatch delivers Third Party Risk Intelligence, enabling organisations to monitor external threats posed by their suppliers. This function supports compliance with regulations such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).

Another feature, the Enhanced Attack Surface Management Module (eASM), maps DTI-derived external threats to an organisation's known vulnerabilities, as identified in internal reports, facilitating prioritised remediation efforts. The platform's AI component also analyses patterns, anomalies, and intent indicators in data to predict cyber threats before they materialise.

Industry perspective

"Enhancements to ThirdWatch were developed in response to every sector's desperate need to survive in the digital age," said Jeremy Samide, CEO at Blackwired. "We've created an innovative platform to predict cyber-attacks before they strike, effectively preventing intellectual property and data theft, fines, and lost productivity. Blackwired is the only pre-emptive cyber security provider in the market today."

Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer, Head of European Markets at Blackwired, added: "With strong, innovative cyber defences, businesses can rationalise their cybersecurity toolkit and stack, as well as staff, and redirect freed-up resources into more revenue-generating activities. They can also avoid regulatory fines, investigations and other consequences of cyber-attacks, effectively making an organisation more competitive, trusted, resilient, valued and ultimately more profitable."

Core components

The upgraded ThirdWatch platform brings together multiple functions led by AI and automation:

• 3D Threat Visualisation: Detailed mapping of ongoing, targeted campaign activities by external adversaries.
• ARFi Methodology: Proactive disruption of attacks during reconnaissance and targeting stages.
• Direct Threat Intelligence: Real-time, client-specific threat feeds via secure API.
• Third Party Risk Intelligence: Ongoing monitoring of risks posed by an organisation's supplier network to support regulatory compliance.
• Enhanced Attack Surface Management Module: Correlation of external threats with known vulnerabilities inside the target environment.
• AI-Anticipated Attacks: Predictive threat analytics utilising artificial intelligence across large-scale data sources.

Blackwired states that the culmination of a decade's research and development supports its aim of delivering solutions that counteract the growing sophistication and impact of global cyber threats, offering a pathway to more predictive and preventative defence strategies for organisations worldwide.