Cybersecurity Tools To Know

Here at the end of 2023, it’s clear that this was a breakout year for AI in cybersecurity. In the wake of the ChatGPT-induced explosion of generative AI technologies, just about every security vendor you’ve heard of — and countless others that you haven’t — touted new products and capabilities leveraging GenAI during the year. Those included some of the biggest cybersecurity companies such as Microsoft, CrowdStrike and SentinelOne, which have pointed to the potential for GenAI to help security teams get more productive and respond to threats faster.

Notably, though, it wasn’t just GenAI that played a role in powering the major new cybersecurity tools released in 2023. Many top vendors announced notable product updates this year that had more to do with “traditional” AI and machine learning than GenAI, such as Palo Alto Networks and its popular XSIAM offering.

In terms of running themes, many of the key cybersecurity tools launched in 2023 targeted the fast-growing security operations segment. Those included tools in hot product segments such as security information and event management (SIEM) and extended detection and response (XDR), from vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks and Sophos.

For this post, CRN has selected 10 notable cybersecurity tools and products released in 2023 — most of which come from vendors that made their CEO or another top executive available to answer our questions about the products. (Note: We’re excluding cloud security tools, which we’re planning to focus on in an upcoming post.)

As we continue to track the new technologies that aim to help partners and customers to keep up with the latest threats, what follows are the key details on 10 of the hottest cybersecurity tools and products of 2023.