For security administrators, cyber attacks are the stuff of nightmares, but some actually invite the intrusion. VThreat Inc. is aiming its Threatcare attack simulation software at that group.

The company says its “Violet” service, introduced Tuesday, is the first artificial intelligence-based virtual cybersecurity professional that can respond to voice commands using machine learning and neurolinguistic programming capabilities to initiate various kinds of simulated attacks.

“People are buying cybersecurity products but they struggle to find out if the products are actually working,” said Chief Executive Marcus Carey (below) who spent eight years working on cryptographic communications for the U.S. Navy in addition to several other security-related roles. “Our engine can simulate attacks on the network to see if you’re equipped to detect breaches.”

In addition to voice, Threatcare can take commands via text messages and Slack Technologies Inc.’s namesake collaboration software. Commands include “simulate a credit card breach” and “test my firewall.” Violet can also provide definitions and answer basic questions in the same manner as Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo.

Simulations covers what Carey called the “cyber kill chain,” which includes scans, lateral movement, firewall scanning and encryption. “We’ve created more than 100 simulations to emulate the way a hacker works,” he said. “If you’re a hospital, we know what kind of data you probably have, what operating systems are installed and what are the latest vulnerabilities.” The software as a service platform is continually updated with new information about threats and vulnerabilities.

Violet assumes that attackers have already breach the network and are lurking inside. Attacks are launched from the user’s browser. “We’re not going against IP address,” Carey said. “We’re imitating a compromised host on the network.”

Customers can upload malicious binaries to be tested against their anti-malware systems and Violet can even simulate a ransomware attack by encrypting data on a test system. “You can upload anything you want to the cloud and we will test it,” he said.

The software performs continuous security assessments on the network and notifies security analysts via text message or email when it has identified urgent problems. A raft of other attack simulations includes data exfiltration, malware beaconing, DNS tunneling, antivirus assessment, egress scans, executable transfers, perimeter scans, DNS brute forcing, open source testing, tabletop exercises and gap analysis.

The Austin, Texas-based company has raised $2.4 million from investors that include Ron Gula, former CEO of vulnerability management company Tenable Network Security Inc. The service is priced at $60,000 for an annual license that includes a detailed knowledge base and perpetual testing of defenses. “It’s half the price it would take to hire somebody to do what we do,” Carey said.

With more than 1 million vacant security professional positions in the U.S. alone, just finding someone to hire is enough of a problem.

Image: Flickr CC