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After an earlier keynote for Fortinet, Matthew was invited back to open the cyber security company's customer summit in Prague, where its top clients from across Europe and the Middle East met to learn about the latest trends and techniques in cyber defence.
His earlier session, for Fortinet's global System Integrator (SI) community, had focused on emergent cyber threats. This one was distinctly different: it looked solely at AI's role as a technology multiplier in cyber defence, and went well beyond the familiar, well-trodden insights to explore what lies past today's state of the art.
"In time AI will help democratise the development of powerful cyber defense platforms whose capabilities are far superior to anything that we produce today."Matthew Griffin, Prague, February 2025
Matthew showed how AI will in time democratise the development of cyber defence platforms far more capable than anything produced today. Combined with new software schemas and powerful new computing platforms such as quantum computing, these could help create adaptive, impenetrable systems. He then introduced a new concept: adaptive, autonomous, multi-sensory agentic AI defence systems that hear malware and quite literally see threats with unparalleled accuracy, before analysing and dealing with them on their own.
After a run through many other state of the art concepts, he closed with an unexpected source of ideas: breakthroughs in healthcare that could soon help defenders build tools to predict future polymorphic malware signatures, and to predict and defeat attacks before they even take place.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Prepare for defence that acts on its own.
Matthew described agentic AI systems that find and deal with threats themselves. Teams need rules for what they may do.
Expect attackers to get the same tools.
If AI democratises powerful defence platforms, it does the same for attack. Advantage will be short lived.
Look outside security for ideas.
The session ended on healthcare breakthroughs that could help predict malware. Good ideas can come from other fields.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which security decisions are we ready to let an AI system make alone?
How would our defences cope if attackers had the same AI we do?
Which other fields could help us predict attacks?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
They are AI tools that find flaws in software, show they are real and fix them. The 311 Starburst expects wide use around 2032.
What is adversarial cyber defence?
It spots hackers early and fights back as the attack happens. The 311 Starburst expects wide use around 2029.
How will quantum computing affect cyber defence?
Matthew showed how powerful new platforms such as quantum computing could help create adaptive systems. The 311 Starburst expects wide use around 2038.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
Through a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector, in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Hundreds of emerging technologies, and what they mean.
The Future of Exponential Technology Codex explores hundreds of emerging technologies and their implications for global culture, industry and society, the raw material for tomorrow's cyber defences.
