Target customers are enterprises and telecom service providers looking to defend against malware and ransomware attacks, and to defend against nation-state actors. For example, attackers can exploit weaknesses in enterprise applications or infrastructure to infiltrate networks, then move laterally as they hunt for high-value assets.
“Perimeter firewalls, originally designed to protect north-south traffic, are just not adequate,” Mahajan says. Plus, the attackers themselves are now using generative AI and large language models.
According to a SlashNext report released this past May, the number of malicious emails has increased by 4,151% since ChatGPT was released in late 2022.
VMware’s vDefend platform protects east-west traffic with zero trust, microsegmentation, zone-level segmentation, and malware and ransomware defense.
Project Cypress will make it easier for security teams to use the platform to find threats faster, and to get explanations for what’s going on. The tool can also suggest remediations, but it won’t act on its own.
“We will have the human in the loop in the beginning, so that the customers get comfortable with it,” says Majajan. “Once they are comfortable, then we can turn it to autonomous actions. Once we get the feedback that it works, then we’ll give them a button to switch to automatic enforcement of policies.”
