Comcast Launches AI-Powered Cybersecurity Service

Comcast is releasing an artificial intelligence-powered service that will monitor, block and tell customers about online threats to devices connected to home networks, the company announced on Tuesday (Jan. 8).

The new service, called Xfinity xFi Advanced Security, was developed to protect numerous smart devices from potential hackers and malware attacks. Comcast cited a study by Cisco that estimated the average American home will have 13 connected devices per person. Also, the number of attacks against Internet of Things (IoT) devices is growing as well – 600 percent between 2016 and 2017.

“xFi Advanced Security was developed to protect devices in this new hyper-connected reality. It uses AI and machine learning technology to monitor and analyze Wi-Fi traffic in the home, and will automatically block identified suspicious activity in real time,” Comcast said. “Using a simple, intuitive user interface, the technology informs customers of blocked threats, and when necessary, provides instructions on how to further secure affected devices.”

Fraser Stirling, senior vice president of digital home, devices and AI, said he wanted to give customers an easy way to stay digitally protected.

“As the digital world gets more complex, we wanted to make it simple and easy for our customers to protect their home networks. That’s why we developed xFi Advanced Security,” he said. “We want to give customers digital peace of mind for the devices they already own and the confidence to expand and evolve their connected homes knowing that every new camera, voice-assisted speaker or smart thermostat they add will be protected.”

The service doesn’t require any setup, and is activated as soon as the customer turns it on.

“Protection is automatically extended to any device that is connected to the home network wirelessly or by ethernet,” Comcast said. “Customers can review a list of digital security-related actions that were taken each day right from the xFi dashboard – accessible from the mobile app or online. This seamless experience is possible because the technology behind xFi Advanced Security is fully integrated into xFi Gateways.”