Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Understanding AI-Driven Cyber Defense ............... 9
Introduction ............................................................................ 9
What "AI" Really Means in Cybersecurity............................. 9
Defining the Terms Clearly ................................................ 10
The Benefits of AI for SMBs .................................................. 11
Top Advantages for SMB Security Leaders ........................ 11
Why This Matters for SMBs ............................................... 12
Misconceptions and Pitfalls to Watch For ............................. 12
Top Misconceptions ............................................................ 12
Practical Pitfalls .................................................................. 13
Why Now Is the Inflection Point ............................................ 14
Threat Actors Are Using AI Too ........................................ 14
At the Same Time, Defenders Have New Tools ................... 14
The Bottom Line ................................................................. 14
............................................................................................... 15
Real-World Example: AI Blocks a CEO Fraud Attempt ....... 15
Tactical Best Practices for SMBs ........................................... 16
Action Checklist ..................................................................... 16
Conclusion ............................................................................. 17
Chapter 2: How AI Detects Threats Humans Miss ................. 18
Behavioral Analytics: Seeing the Story Behind the Activity .. 18
How It Works ..................................................................... 19
Anomaly Detection and Threat Hunting ................................ 19
Defending Against Fileless Malware and Privilege Abuse .... 20
Why Traditional AV Falls Short ......................................... 21
Real-World Comparison: AI vs. Traditional Antivirus ......... 22
What Happened ................................................................. 22
What Went Right ............................................................... 22
What We Learn.................................................................. 22
Why This Matters for SMB Security ..................................... 23
Chapter 3: Real-Time Email Scanning with AI ....................... 25
Understanding the Modern Email Threat Landscape ........... 25
How AI Understands Email Beyond Keywords ..................... 27
Key Capabilities of NLP-Powered Email AI ...................... 27
Deepfakes, Impersonation, and Identity Abuse ..................... 28
Real-World Example: AI Thwarts Executive Impersonation Scam ...................................................................................... 29
Tools That Use AI for Email Protection ................................ 30
Chapter 4: AI for Endpoint Defense ....................................... 33
The Evolution of Endpoint Security ...................................... 33
