Zscaler announced new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities for its zero-trust security platform to make it easier for organizations to implement security services edge (SSE) and adopt zero-trust architecture while maintaining user experience. 

The updates include AI-powered phishing prevention, AI-powered segmentation, autonomous risk-based policy engine, and AI-powered root cause analysis. 

The AI-powered security automates threat detection to deliver faster protection as the volume of threats continues to mount. It provides tools like one-click root cause analysis that addresses lean-running IT and security teams that don’t have the bandwidth to deal with the “fire drill of manually chasing alerts and trying to identify new threats.” 

“Cybercriminals are using AI, automation, and advanced techniques to train machines to hack or socially engineer victims faster than ever before,” Zscaler President Amit Sinha said in the announcement. “To help our customers combat these escalating techniques, we’ve dramatically advanced AI and ML in our cloud to take advantage of our massive data pool.”

Zscaler said it daily deals with more than 240 billion data transactions and blocks 150 million attacks across the globe. Organizations over the past year have faced a 314% increase in cyberattacks on encrypted Internet traffic, 80% increase in ransomware, and a 120% increase in double extortion attacks, according to Zscaler.  

Zscaler has continued to expand its SSE portfolio since the introduction of the Gartner-coined architecture early last year, when the company shifted focus toward cloud-security rather than a full secure access service edge (SASE) architecture.

According to a Garter Magic's Quadrant report, the provider is now a market leader in the SSE space. SDxCentral reported in March that Zscaler was the chosen collaborator for Telefónica to expand its managed security portfolio through a new SSE platform.

Zscaler furthered its good SSE standing early this month when CyberRatings conducted a test of Zscaler's Firewall as a Service (FWaaS), with the company's offering earning a “AAA” rating overall. CyberRatings in an announcement said the SSE test was “the first of its kind.”