Every organization is fighting a never-ending cyber war, even if they don’t realize it. On one side, organizations are constantly defending their data, systems and other assets. On the other side, well-funded, highly organized hackers are trying to penetrate their defenses to steal or compromise data and profit from these activities.
The analogy of warfare can help organizations visualize their defense strategy. Think of the defenses built into a medieval castle. Surrounding the castle is the curtain wall, an incredibly thick masonry structure that serves as the first line of defense. Later castles had two separate curtain walls, one inside the other. Many castles were surrounded by manmade moats filled with stagnant water. Castles also had turrets and towers for spotting attackers and assaulting them with a barrage of arrows.
Similarly, organizations need an array of defenses to detect, block and mitigate attacks.
The fact is, there is no single tool that can defend against all threats. The best defense is a layered security approach that uses multiple tools, protocols and strategies to provide protection on various levels. Different types of security tools are needed at the system level, the device level, the application level and the data traffic level. Also called “defense in depth,” the idea behind a layered approach is simple: If one tool cannot block a threat, there are others that could effectively stop it.
There are three primary layers of defense – prevention, detection, and mitigation.
Layer No. 1: Prevention
Obviously, prevention is the top goal and ideal outcome. Within the prevention layer are numerous sub-layers focusing on humans, network security, endpoint security, application security and data security. A next-generation firewall, secure Internet gateway, identity management, endpoint protection and email security can be used to prevent threats from entering the network.
Dark web research helps determine if user credentials or data have already been compromised, while security awareness training helps users detect and avoid cyberattacks. Encryption ensures that any data that is stolen can’t be read by cybercriminals.
Layer No. 2: Detection
Of course, the best technology, strategy and expertise in the world won’t prevent every threat. According to The Blue Report 2023 from Picus, organizations prevent just 59 percent of all attacks. This is why detection is also critical. Intrusion detection, security information and event management (SIEM), and around-the-clock monitoring can help organizations identify threats quickly.
An intrusion detection system monitors network traffic, alerts security teams to suspicious activity, and blocks traffic from potentially malicious IP addresses. SIEM consolidates security management functions, aggregating data from multiple sources to detect threats and take appropriate action. The Picus report found that continuous monitoring and management enables organizations to detect more than 90 percent of attacks.
Layer No. 3: Mitigation
The third layer is mitigation, which involves stopping an attack as quickly as possible to minimize any damage. For example, malware often has to communicate with the attacker’s command-and-control servers. By blocking these communications, organizations can disrupt the attack.
Mitigation also includes backup and disaster recovery. All data should be backed up regularly in case a security incident causes data to become corrupted or inaccessible. A disaster recovery strategy allows organizations to restore systems, applications and data that have been compromised in a cyberattack.
How Verteks Can Help
Few small to midsize enterprises have the in-house resources to design, implement and manage a layered security approach that can keep up with the latest threats and satisfy increasingly strict regulatory requirements. Our managed security, backup and disaster recovery services provide you with the expertise and 24x7 monitoring you need to protect your network, systems, applications and data. Let us assess your security tools and strategy and help you implement a layered security approach that gives you an advantage in the war on cybercrime.
