Irish start-up Tines unveils new AI tool for security teams

Workbench enables security teams to use large language models to operate more efficiently

Eoin Hinchy, co-founder of Tines.

Irish security company Tines has launched a new AI chat tool, Workbench, to help security teams to use large language models securely on proprietary data.

The company is also continuing to expand, and expects to add a further 50 jobs before the end of the financial year, growing both in Ireland and in its offices overseas.

The AI tool is used in a controlled environment, helping security teams to operate more efficiently, mitigate risk and reach their goals faster. It also has built in guard rails to avoid hallucinations and reduce the likelihood of misleading answers, can understand complex queries and generate relevant insights for businesses.

Founded by cybersecurity experts Eoin Hinchy and Thomas Kinsella in 2018, Tines has developed software that allows employees to automate security workflows without needing technical skills. That frees up software engineers to focus on mission-critical tasks, rather than mundane ones.

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The addition of Workbench is an extension of that. The tool, which is built on Tines’ core platform architecture has been in intensive development, uses natural language, enabling users to query, gather and analyse information. “It gives our customers real time and proprietary access to all the data in their environment, regardless of where that data is stored, and gives them the ability to take action in any tool in their stack,” said Mr Hinchy. “That action can be something as mundane as sending an email or a Slack message, or it can be something way more complex and critical as stopping a cyber attack, blocking an IP address, changing firewall rules, updating AWS compliance.”

In keeping with Tines’ existing approach the chatbot can work with a range of tools, including proprietary systems, suiting the diverse security needs of different companies.

The company raised $50 million earlier this year, funding that Mr Hinchy said had likely accelerated the launch of Workbench.

The move opens up AI tools to enterprises who may have found other chatbots too limited for their particular use.

“AI has immense potential to revolutionise how mission-critical teams tackle their most pressing challenges,” said Mr Hinchy. “Current solutions lack the depth and flexibility required by security teams, limiting their effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Workbench is the result of years of intensive development, seamlessly blending Tines’ strengths in connectivity, custom workflows, and enterprise-grade security with the power of LLMs in areas like summarisation and natural language processing.”

Tines has also made Workbench available to users of the company’s free community edition plan.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist