Sophos AI Principles in Cybersecurity
AI plays a transformative role in enabling faster detection, smarter responses, and increased automation across security operations. The Sophos AI-native platform takes a dual approach—combining predictive machine learning (ML) with generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to deliver robust, scalable protection.
Predictive ML models process vast volumes of behavioral, network, and telemetry data to detect threats, classify anomalies, and trigger rapid responses. Sophos applies these models across products like Endpoint, Firewall, NDR, and XDR to detect complex threats such as hands-on-keyboard attacks and to prioritize alerts, helping reduce noise and focus attention on what matters most. Generative AI and LLMs enable intuitive, human-like interactions and autonomous workflows in solutions like the AI Assistant and AI Agents. These capabilities help users interpret threat data, generate detection rules, and simplify complex cybersecurity tasks making powerful security tools more accessible and actionable.
With this in mind, we've identified six principles to guide the effective and responsible development and use of AI across our products and services.
Our principles
Human-centered
We design AI to support and strengthen human expertise—not replace it. Cybersecurity is a human responsibility, and AI is one tool among many to help defenders make faster, smarter decisions while maintaining control over critical security operations. AI also helps advance our human-centered approach by revealing new insights, improving models, and uncovering new opportunities to enhance threat detection in meaningful ways.
Robust
We build robust, battle-proven products that are designed for accuracy, reliability, and resilience in the face of real-world complexity. From concept to deployment, Sophos AI system undergoes rigorous development, stress testing, and continuous improvement, informed by high-quality data, detailed performance analysis, and customer feedback. We prioritize high accuracy and precision to minimize false positives, ensuring that genuine threats are identified without overwhelming defenders with noise.
Outcome-focused
We build AI to make a measurable impact. Our products are engineered to optimize prevention, accelerate detection, neutralize threats faster, and empower analysts to stay ahead. With years of applied expertise, our global team focuses on developing AI that drives meaningful cybersecurity benefits while contributing to the field through original research. Every model and deployment is guided by our goal of providing stronger, smarter cyber defenses for customers. If AI doesn’t enhance real-world outcomes, it isn't the right solution.
Transparent
AI should be understandable. We aim to explain what our AI does and how it works, including its capabilities and limitations. We also strive to provide transparency around how our AI technologies are developed: how data is used, how models are trained, and how we work with technology partners. This openness helps customers to understand AI and make informed decisions with confidence.
Security and privacy first
Protecting customer data is fundamental to everything we do. Our AI systems are built with security and privacy embedded from the start—across design, development, and deployment. We ensure that data is handled responsibly, guided by clear usage policies and global privacy standards, including for AI training. This reflects our commitment to protecting personal information while also maintaining the trust our customers place in us.
Accountable
We take responsibility for the AI we develop. Sophos has established strong governance frameworks to ensure appropriate oversight, accountability, and review at every stage of the AI lifecycle. This includes robust data governance practices, feedback mechanisms, and continuous evaluation to identify and address potential risks. We are committed to evolving our policies and practices to ensure our AI remains safe, responsible, and aligned with global standards and the needs and expectations of our customers.
Putting our principles into practice
Principles alone aren't enough. Making them meaningful requires shared responsibility across the company, from researchers and developers to product teams and executives. At Sophos, we embed these principles into the way we work, with practical processes, clear policies, and a culture of responsibility.
| Principle | How we address it |
|---|---|
| Human-centered | We prioritize AI technologies that help human analysts make faster and smarter decisions while staying in control. Our tools are built to enhance human judgment, support expert analysis, and reduce manual workload, ensuring people remain at the core of every security response. |
| Robust | Our AI technologies undergo extensive validation, including adversarial testing, real-world simulations, and continuous performance tuning to ensure reliability and adaptability under real-world conditions. Models are trained using high-quality, representative data and held to strict evaluation standards to ensure accuracy. Customers can find out more about how we develop and test our AI models in the FAQ |
| Outcome-focused | We measure AI success by its real-world impact—whether it stops threats faster, reduces analyst burden, or improves customer protection. Features are prioritized and refined based on operational effectiveness, not theoretical benchmarks. |
| Transparent | We help customers understand our AI technologies by providing clear product documentation, model cards, and practical guidance on how the technology works and where it's best applied. This empowers customers to make informed decisions and assess suitability for their needs. |
| Security and privacy first | We apply secure engineering practices and data governance controls through the AI lifecycle, from data collection and training to monitoring and deployment. Our policies are designed to ensure data is used responsibly and in compliance with privacy and AI regulations like the GDPR, CCPA, and EU AI Act. Sophos is also certified against leading information security and privacy standards, including ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018. We also maintain SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and PCI attestations. |
| Accountable | We have strong governance frameworks with clear roles, policies, escalation processes, and regular reviews and audits to help manage risk, maintain oversight, and uphold our commitments to customers. |
Customer responsibilities when using AI
Sophos customers also play an important role in using AI responsibly. We encourage customers to understand the limitations of AI, ensure human oversight in critical decisions, avoid using AI in ways that could lead to harmful outcomes, and stay informed and compliant with relevant laws and regulations.