KDDI launches AI-driven MDR service for businesses

KDDI America and KDDI Europe have launched a managed detection and response service for businesses in the US and EMEA, featuring a 24/7 Security Operations Centre built around AI-based monitoring and response.

Developed with Exaforce, the service targets organisations facing rising cyber attack volumes and tighter reporting requirements. It covers endpoints, networks, software-as-a-service applications and identity access management through a single platform.

The offering is aimed at businesses that need round-the-clock security monitoring but lack the resources or specialist staff to run a full in-house Security Operations Centre. It is designed to improve alert handling, investigation and response across hybrid IT environments.

Regulatory pressure is a key part of the backdrop. KDDI pointed to rules including NIS2 and GDPR in Europe, and CCPA and HIPAA in the US, which require faster reporting, clearer accountability and documented response processes.

Tetsuya Nakamura, Chief Technology Officer of KDDI America, said: "While organisations face increased regulatory demands, cyber-criminals are using AI to launch more sophisticated attacks at higher volume and speed. SOCs relying entirely on human skill struggle to keep pace amid a shortage of talent, causing alert fatigue, blind spots and slower response times.

"IT teams must either triage alerts manually or rely on conventional detection tools with narrow scope. Without more advanced capabilities, it is difficult to coordinate incident reporting across dispersed locations while fulfilling the requirements of local regulators. The result is increased risk, compliance gaps and reduced protection."

The system correlates identities, files, permissions and resource provenance as data arrives, rather than analysing events only after an alert has been generated. KDDI said this is intended to support faster investigations and reduce false positives.

Human oversight

According to KDDI, the service combines AI-led analysis with certified security analysts. Contractual service-level agreements are aligned with reporting deadlines and include documented response and escalation procedures.

Nakamura said: "The launch of our new MDR service shows KDDI America is committed to democratising enterprise-level protection for thousands of businesses. We are opening up access to far more advanced, AI-native security, enabling businesses of all sizes to transform their security and compliance.

"With our new service, organisations gain critical infrastructure-grade protection against the scale, speed and sophistication of AI-driven threats. At the same time, it enables them to meet the increasing demands of regulation. We are making tomorrow's security available today."

KDDI Europe said the service is intended to address a gap between large organisations that can afford complex security operations models and smaller or mid-sized businesses facing similar threats with fewer resources. It added that many older Security Operations Centre models were not designed for shorter regulatory reporting windows.

Ken Tsutsui, Deputy Managing Director & Chief Technology Officer of KDDI Europe, said: "Businesses are up against it, whether the pressures come from regulation, international expansion, talent shortages, or a digital footprint that has outgrown their internal IT. Traditional SOC services were built for large global organisations, often expensive, and were never designed to cope with the speed and scale of AI-driven attacks.

"Our new service harnesses AI, placing humans not just 'in the loop' but 'on the loop' for increased oversight and accountability. This is the only credible posture against adversaries skilled in the use of AI, and we are excited to bring these capabilities to many more customers."

Exaforce provides the underlying platform for the service. KDDI said the system uses neuro-symbolic AI to process large volumes of enterprise data without the compute costs associated with some other AI models.

KDDI America is part of KDDI Corporation, the Japanese telecommunications group, while KDDI Europe provides managed security services across EMEA. Exaforce focuses on security operations software and managed detection and response for sectors including healthcare, technology and financial services.