Harmonic Security launches Harmonic Protect for zero-touch data protection

Harmonic Security has unveiled Harmonic Protect, a new solution for providing zero-touch data protection specifically tailored to address challenges in the era of generative AI.

The security tool is designed to assist security teams in safeguarding sensitive information without the need for manual data labelling or configuring complex rules. The solution marks a significant shift from traditional data protection strategies, which often require extensive resources and result in numerous false positive alerts.

One of Harmonic Protect's core features is its ability to function without extensive customisation. It employs pre-trained data protection models focused on specific data types like personally identifiable information (PII), source code, insurance claims, and payroll data. The models are trained on a publicly available dataset, ensuring that customer data does not need to be used in the training process.

Harmonic Protect's operational efficiency is highlighted by its speed; the detection process is claimed to be 300 times faster than that of large language models such as ChatGPT. This allows for swift prevention of sensitive data from being exposed before any query to generative AI services is executed, all while minimally disrupting end users.

Explaining the market need for such a tool, Alastair Paterson, co-founder and CEO of Harmonic Security, stated, "We have spent billions of dollars and decades of effort, but existing data protection tools have never been up to the challenge. Very few organisations are sophisticated and resourced enough to deploy them well or attempt data labelling and classification. They will become increasingly exposed in the era of generative AI where systems rely heavily on large datasets to function effectively, meaning the potential for data breaches and leaks becomes a significant risk."

Paterson also emphasised the importance of enabling organisations to use generative AI safely, which can lead to substantial productivity gains. "Organisations need to be able to use GenAI safely and empower their employees to use these tools to gain the huge productivity increases the technology offers. However, a lack of solutions has forced security leaders to block the tools while they create a security program that will manage the risks. Harmonic Protect enables these tools to be used safely while at the same time guarding against the data loss issues organisations have always had, which DLP tools have been unable to solve," he continued.

Harmonic Protect also introduces a novel approach to compliance. Instead of overwhelming security teams with alerts, it sends "nudges" to end users, guiding them toward compliance and enabling business operations without significant impediments.

Harmonic Protect represents a new approach to data protection in the era of generative AI, focusing on minimising manual intervention and streamlining compliance. By leveraging pre-trained models and providing real-time data protection with minimal disruption, it aims to address key challenges organisations face in managing sensitive information and integrating generative AI technologies.