Today’s dynamic hybrid cloud environments require a new approach to cyber security. With its DevOps, microservices, containers, and other developments, the current IT environment is required to be increasingly dynamic – and cyber security tools need to adapt and keep pace.
Let’s have a look at some of the issues that have an impact and how effectively cyber security services are managing to meet this growing need.
1. Elasticity is Critical to Meet Dynamic Requirements
One of the most notable aspects of cloud computing and DevOps is the ability to spawn resources as demand increases – and, likewise, to reduce resources or availability when demand drops.
In this environment, cyber security tools need the ability to adapt to rapidly evolving needs – keeping pace with the volatility of the cloud and the new realities of IT. Scalability becomes crucial in this environment, ensuring that cyber security strategies and services continue to close any gaps while at the same time, not impact productivity by introducing bottlenecks to the operation lifecycles.
2. The Challenge of Scalability for Multiple Security Tools
It’s not unusual for a business to have a broad collection of cyber security point products. Generally, this kind of setup is not scalable and develops over time when businesses solve problems reactively as they arise – providing a “band-aid” for each issue with a new tool.
The web of tools, each of which provides a different solution, is diverse, the system is spread out, and the sheer number of tools requires a huge amount of integration, support and multi-domain expertise. As organizations scale, the old approach of using multiple security tools requires too much time to maintain and becomes less and less viable.
3. A Single Pane of Glass
In contrast, a managed cyber security approach that uses a single pane of glass is more effective, providing the visibility and context necessary for ongoing cyber security risk assessment and computer security incident management.
With a single pane of glass, businesses no longer need to be dragged down with the challenges of integration. They are built inherently for scalability, with the flexibility to reach all services and the adaptability to meet new requirements.
4. Cyber Security Scalable Processes
Embedding certain steps right from the beginning eases the way to optimally scale cyber security processes. The process for developing a cyber security strategy for a healthy security posture should include the following aspects:
- Infrastructure: Define critical infrastructure and data assets and maintain an accurate inventory of assets and services connected to the network, then review and classify access – establishing role-based security measures that rely on the principle of least privilege.
- Procedures: Develop processes to address vulnerabilities, estimating the cost and impact of each one and creating a timeline. Then enforce procedures, tracking issues, maintaining established processes, and reporting significant problems to all stakeholders.
- Cyber Security Strategies: Adapt strategies and continuously reassess processes and decisions to avoid repeating mistakes.
5. The Power of Visibility
As pointed out by Tony Bradley on Forbes, you can’t protect what you can’t see.
Maintaining security involves discovering cyber security threats and other configuration or security issues – in addition to detecting suspicious activity and finding malware. A well-designed system for tracking all assets – including perimeter defenses, infrastructure, databases (middleware) and applications – on an ongoing basis, providing the degree of visibility necessary to reduce risk levels.
When we talk about tracking all assets, we’re referring to any and all of the following:
| Security Events | Network Logs | Applications & Devices | Business Context |
|
|
|
|
Emerging Managed Security Service Providers drive automation into their services – to make cyber security optimally scalable, as well as to integrate cyber security threat intelligence into SOC services and make detection faster, improve response time, and leverage analytics for prediction.
6. Automation & Orchestration
It is unsustainable to use multiple cyber security solutions and platforms because of the challenges of integration, limits to visibility, and lack of scalability. By partnering with a managed security services provider, IT and security professionals are free to focus on managing risk and high-priority concerns – rather than becoming bogged down in combining different solutions and improving integration in order to create a functional and effective and scalable security posture.
