Google has announced that it recently added deep learning capabilities to its malware scanner for Gmail, as part of an effort to detect and block malicious attachments. The search giant’s existing document scanner handles more than 300 billion attachments every week to block malicious content. Google notes that 63% of the malicious documents it blocks take different forms on a daily basis. To help address this increasingly evolving threat landscape, the deep learning-based document scanner will work to bolster Gmail’s detection capabilities.
Deep learning lends itself perfectly to scanning for malware. This is an incredible example of using such capabilities for a positive effect. However, it should only be employed as an extra layer of protection, and not fully relied on as the sole method of security. The most effective cyber security involves a multi-layered approach and utilises many different tools. Malware evolves at a rate that the security industry struggles to keep up with, but using deep learning looks like it could help minimise the risk of malicious software reaching inboxes around the world.