Oracle Extends Cloud Automation to Comms Security

Among the growing number of cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities are the legacy enterprise and contact center communication links that cloud security vendors insist are susceptible to Zero-Day and other network attacks.

In its ongoing effort to differentiate its cloud services, Oracle this week introduced a “communications security shield” within its cloud infrastructure that uses AI and real-time enforcement capabilities. The security tools can be used to gauge the risks of contact center sessions initiated by protocol-based communications on enterprise networks.

Contact centers are central points in an enterprise, hosted on an Internet server, handling inbound and outbound customer communications. Cloud contact centers are designed to make voice, email, social media and the web accessible from any location with a connection.

Oracle said its cloud security service uses AI-based threat analytics to detect malicious call signatures and behavioral anomalies coming into contact centers before they spread across enterprise networks. The cloud vendor (NYSE: ORCL) cited industry statistics that estimate communications attacks can be mitigated as much as 68 percent faster using AI-based security tools and cloud-based defenses.

Oracle and other vendors note that security threats via real-time communications within enterprise contact centers are on the increase. Oracle’s framework uses AI and machine learning capabilities along with behavioral threat analytics and signature anomaly detection to secure enterprise networks, according to Andrew Morawski, general manager of Oracle Communications’ networks unit.

The result is a comprehensive visualization of enterprise communications traffic designed to detect security risks and provide mitigation options, the company said Wednesday (June 17).

The security tools are part of a larger cloud automation push by Oracle extending from databases to platform services. “We need automated systems, intelligent systems to protect our data,” Oracle CTO Larry Ellison said in 2018 while introducing the cloud vendor’s automated data warehouse.

The company views cloud contact centers as candidates for automated security functions since legacy systems protecting communications infrastructure rely on static, rules-based frameworks unable to keep up with newly discovered Zero-Day attacks. Password protections and answering security questions are also seen as antiquated as attacks grow in sophistication and stealth.

Along with behavioral analytics and anomaly detection, Oracle’s AI-based approach also uses “caller-reputation scoring” to assess the risks associated with incoming queries. Cyber threats range from nuisance calls to phone-based denial-of-service attacks.