As we discussed in our last post, the growing scale, sophistication and frequency of today’s cyber threats demand a fundamental rethinking of our approach to cybersecurity. Traditional reactive measures designed to secure your network and systems after an attack are no longer sufficient. Organizations also need proactive defenses that allow them to preemptively identify, intercept and prevent attacks before they can do any damage.
Industry analysts say that more than 90 percent of organizations worldwide rely upon outdated security technologies designed to address threats such as worms, viruses and denial of service attacks. While such attacks remain prevalent, a new generation of threats leverages artificial intelligence and automation to conduct multi-vector attacks that can avoid detection as they probe networks and connected devices.
Elements of the Proactive Approach
Security measures such as firewalls, antivirus, intrusion detection, patch management and log monitoring remain essential for resolving incidents and preventing repeat attacks. However, organizations should begin supplementing those tools with proactive measures such as:
- Security awareness training. Users who understand security best practices and can spot the telltale signs of an attack can preemptively thwart social engineering scams and phishing attacks that open the door to most cyber threats. A regular security awareness training program helps create a “human firewall” and promote a culture of security throughout the organization.
- Endpoint security and encryption. Cybercriminals increasingly target remote endpoints to get a foothold into the broader corporate network. Advanced endpoint security tools use behavioral analysis and other artificial intelligence techniques to identify unknown attacks. Endpoint encryption protects data stored on the devices as well as any data being transmitted from endpoints.
- Network segmentation. This is the practice of dividing a network into multiple individual segments for each user. If a user’s computer is compromised, segmentation prevents the intruder from moving laterally to gain further access to network and cloud resources.
- Zero trust. This security model is designed to verify the identity of every user, validate every device and limit network access on a need-to-know basis. Core technologies include identity and access management (IAM), multifactor authentication, real-time user verification, device validation and privilege limitations.
- Penetration testing. Pen tests are an ethical hacking exercise in which security professionals launch simulated attacks on your network in order to assess technical, operational and physical security measures.
These tools and techniques should be supported by continuous monitoring to ensure rapid response to threats. Studies show that a well-designed and tested incident response plan reduces the cost and disruption of a cyberattack.
Utilizing Artificial Intelligence
Once you’ve made these incremental steps toward proactive security, you should begin to implement more advanced solutions that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate repetitive tasks and reduce reliance on manual detection techniques. These capabilities allow IT security teams to engage in active threat hunting practices designed to find and root out threats lurking undetected in your network.
Unlike threat detection solutions that passively monitor systems and devices, threat hunting uses intelligence from a variety of sources to find and disrupt threats in advance of an attack. The process involves sifting through massive amounts of information to identify threats that evade traditional rule- or signature-based security controls.
For years, organizations have addressed cyberattacks after the fact. That approach is no longer efficient against today’s increasingly stealthy and dangerous threats. Contact us to learn more about implementing proactive measures that will help you identify and prevent threats before they can cause any damage.
