Modern organizations face an impossible equation: thousands of vulnerabilities, limited resources, and adversaries who chain exploits in ways traditional tools cannot predict. Current vulnerability management relies on static scoring systems that assess threats in isolation, missing the complex attack paths that real adversaries exploit. Project DARWIN is an open-source research project that uses bio-inspired AI algorithms to evaluate and evolve cybersecurity defenses in much the same way a living ecosystem works. It employs AI agent swarms across a virtual representation of an organization's attack surface to discover the most likely routes attackers would take through networks. Genetic Algorithms then determine the most optimal defensive strategies, by “evolving” defenses over multiple successive simulated generations. This isn't just another security tool—it's a new paradigm for thinking about cyber defense, where our protections evolve as dynamically as the threats they face.

Key Takeaways - This presentation will equip security professionals with:
• Understanding of how bio-inspired algorithms solve complex cybersecurity challenges
• Practical insights from real deployments and case studies
• Framework for implementing evolutionary approaches in their own environments
• Vision for the future of adaptive, intelligent cyber defense