CrowdStrike and Dell unleash an AI-powered, unified security vision

Dell and CrowdStrike are joining forces today to help businesses battle against cyberattacks using AI to protect against generative AI, stealth social engineering and endpoint attacks. Dell is adding CrowdStrike’s Falcon extended detection and response (XDR) platform to its current managed detection and response (MDR) service. 

Extended detection and response (XDR) platforms are designed to integrate across an organization’s many data sources, relying on APIs and an open architecture to aggregate and analyze telemetry data. The real-time availability of access, endpoint, email, network, and web-based app telemetry data helps deliver XDR platforms measurable gains in attack detection and response. They have proven to be one of the perfect use cases for AI in cybersecurity. 

By adding CrowdStrike’s Falcon XDR platform to its current Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service, Dell provides its global base of resellers with AI-based technologies their customers need to battle back against attacks. Dell’s resellers will also offer customized services to their customers, using CrowdStrike’s’ XDR platform as the foundation.

“Working with industry leaders like CrowdStrike is critical to delivering choice and flexibility to customers in a very fragmented and complex security landscape,” Mihir Maniar, vice president of infrastructure, edge, and security services portfolio, Dell Technologies, told VentureBeat. 

AI threats fast-tracking the vision to reality 

There’s been double-digit growth in new nation-states and activist attackers over the last year. Their skills in using gen AI for attacks on financial institutions to deep fake videos of a company’s CFO authorizing a $25 million transfer that went undetected was a wake-up call for every business. 

Attackers have also long known how to bypass traditional, perimeter-based security and are attacking the world’s softest targets, including those in education, healthcare and manufacturing. Seventy-five percent of attacks were malware-free, making them difficult to identify and stop. Identities are also under siege, and attackers know how to harvest them off of an endpoint and then progress across a network. The average breakout time for eCrime intrusion activity decreased from 79 minutes in 2022 to 62 minutes in 2023.

“The partnership brings together the combination of the best technology with the Falcon platform that stops breaches coupled with the right kind of services so that we can make cybersecurity easy, consumable, and effective for organizations of all sizes,” Daniel Bernard, Chief Business Officer of CrowdStrike told VentureBeat. 

Dell gains an AI arsenal to help customers battle threats

Dell’s reseller community spans a wide spectrum of businesses, including those most prone to attack. Many city and county governments, regional healthcare providers, public school districts, pharmacy chains and mid-tier manufacturers don’t budget for cybersecurity. Attackers see them as soft targets and often perform surveillance to see which ones are the most vulnerable to ransomware, data theft and double-extortion attacks. 

Combining AI with MDR is proving to be an effective weapon against a breach, however. It’s the weapon every small and mid-size business needs in its arsenal. 

A stark reminder of that point is how the city of Las Vegas evaded a breach. VentureBeat interviewed Michael Sherwood, chief innovation and technology officer for Las Vegas, and he explained how MDR saved the city from an attack. 

Sherwood told VentureBeat, “Thanks to the quick work and collaboration of both of our teams, AI-based insights and how the attackers attempted to move through the network, there was no data loss or major issues. AI and advanced analytics allow us to detect subtle anomalies and multiply the effectiveness of the city’s security team. We were back to normal operations in 24 hours.” 

Sales of cybersecurity software, hardware and services through channels are averaging nearly $80 billion in revenue today. Partners are, on average, earning $2 in services for every $1 they earn on software and hardware. Research firm Canalys says that out of every category and sub-category, channel services are growing faster over the next 4-5 years. 

“CrowdStrike is outgrowing the overall cybersecurity market,” said Jay McBain, Chief Analyst at Canalys. “It has established itself as one of the fastest growing cybersecurity companies in the channel over the last 5-6 years.”

With a large percentage of its total revenue dependent on channels, expect to see CrowdStrike continue to invest in alliances. Their partnership with Dell is a win-win with Dell’s reseller channel getting a proven AI-based platform to expand service offerings on and CrowdStrike extending their reach into more resellers and customers.  

“CrowdStrike puts partners in the driver’s seat to help businesses of all sizes stop breaches. Our AI-native platform, mission-driven team, and industry-leading partner program is tuned to deliver long-term customer success,” said Bernard.

This shared vision predicts the future of AI security 

It’s the combination of human intelligence, insight, and intuition with AI’s ability to parse data at scale to find new knowledge that’s defining the future of AI security. Cyber fighting with data alone leaves every business at an immediate disadvantage against attackers. It’s not enough anymore to rely on real-time data telemetry-based warnings of anomalous behavior or breaches. MDR brings much-needed human insight into understanding how every potential threat will progress, from hands-on-keyboard attacks to highly automated ones that rely on gen AI.