Solving the Cybersecurity Conundrum
Combining the Right Tools and Talent To Manage Risk
By Doug Stevens, Vice President of Managed Services at Aspire Technology Partners
Security tools that protect the perimeter, endpoints and cloud are a critical part of your security architecture, but without the resources or wherewithal to monitor events on a consistent basis, your network is still at risk.
Investing in the right tools is one part of the security equation. You need to have the ability to interpret the security event data these tools generate, filter out the “noise,” and quickly respond to alerts in a consistent way. We know there are no silver bullets when it comes to security. It’s critical to spot anything that gets by your traditional perimeter or endpoint solutions, understand how and where the attack is happening, and quickly react before any real damage occurs.
According to a recent report by the Ponemon Institute and IBM, the average time to detect and contain a cyber-attack is 287 days. Do the math; that’s over nine months!
Why does it take so long?
Why can’t most organizations identify malicious activity more quickly? The answer is, in many cases, cyber-attacks are not singular events. They are an ongoing process made up of multiple steps that encompass infiltration, reconnaissance, and exploitation.
Once an attacker gains a foothold in the network, they will usually attempt lateral movement, privilege escalation, and acquire sensitive data. In some cases, the goal is to exfiltrate data outside the network. In many others, ransomware is the end game.
This is a cat and mouse process that can take weeks and months of trial-and-error before the threat actor gains the necessary resources to launch an attack. Without the proper platforms and resources to monitor security event data in a consistent manner, these activities often go unnoticed.
We see larger enterprises commonly deploy a Security Information & Event Management (SIEM) platform, hire security analysts, and maintain the internal operational capabilities for the proper administration of the security controls. This requires a large investment that is not feasible for the majority of organizations outside the Fortune 500.
Improve your cybersecurity posture
Industry analyst firm, Gartner, recommends partnering with an MDR provider to improve threat detection, 24×7 monitoring and incident response capabilities.
Managed Detection and Response services provide customers with remotely delivered security operations center functions that enable organizations to:
- Quickly detect potential attacks
- Investigate threats
- Actively respond to incidents
- Mitigate risks
MDR service providers collect real-time relevant logs and contextual information from endpoints, networks, cloud services, and applications. Then experienced security experts analyze the data to determine appropriate actions.
A reliable MDR partner will act as an extension of your IT team delivering 24×7 monitoring, threat detection, and response capabilities. The MDR services should leverage your existing tools, allowing you to realize the full value of your security investments.
The sum of the equation is knowing you have the necessary layers of protection, visibility, and expertise in place to identify and contain potential threats before they do harm to your organization. Visit our blog or listen to our Digital Aspirations in Business podcast for more information.
If you’re interested in how Aspire can help you secure and protect your organization, please contact us at CyberSecurity@AspireTransforms.com
Aspire Technology Partners is a four-time Cisco master partner, and we can build you a custom proof-of-concept environment with a full demo.
Aspire Technology Partners is a Cisco Gold Integrator and Gold Provider engrained in solution pillars that set us apart as a true Cisco solutions provider. We are committed to the continuous improvement of expertise and skillsets around Cisco initiatives that enable us to help and guide customers in the adoption and management of technology architectures designed to transform their organization. We hold Cisco Master Specializations in Collaboration, Enterprise Networking, and Security and are one of only 25 partners in the US to receive the Cisco Advanced Customer Experience Specialization.
