//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
INDUSTRY WATCH
WITH THE COMPLEXITY OF
ATTACKS THAT WE NOW SEE,
OPEN INTERFACES AND THE
SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF
PRODUCTS IS ESSENTIAL
AS TACKLING NEW THREATS
CALLS FOR BEST-IN-CLASS
POINT PRODUCTS THAT
WORK TOGETHER.
Other factors impacting
network security
Besides the glaringly obvious, though often
overlooked, network security shortcomings
that organisations fall victim to, there
are several threats brought on by new
technologies and usage behaviors. Among
these are the vulnerabilities introduced by
endpoint devices. There are many integration
points between endpoints and other security
elements of the infrastructure. In fact,
what we are seeing right now is a race for
the endpoint as this is the place where IT
teams will be able to understand what is
happening - traffic will be in clear text in
memory and a lot of the inherent issues in
www.intelligentcio.com
perform prevention on the network layer are
not present. The integration between the
endpoint and the network security devices is
the secret sauce as no system can stand on
its own. Understanding how open a platform
is, and how you can integrate both forensics,
reporting and automated response is how
you create a real security ecosystem. Another
concern is that even today, we have security
vendors which think that they can provide
the whole security ecosystem and therefore
create proprietary integration points in their
solutions. With the complexity of attacks
that we now see, open interfaces and the
seamless integration of products is essential
as tackling new threats calls for best-in-
class point products that work together.
Finally, to truly secure their networks, IT
teams must grow beyond their reliance
on solutions alone. The advancement of
cyberthreats means that to stay protected,
you need to develop and maintain a holistic
security program wherein technology,
products, systems, procedures, processes,
policies and people are all considered. Such
programs can be extremely challenging for
many organisations and they should ask
themselves is outsourcing parts of these
programs to trusted IT security partner could
be the correct solution. In the end, every
organisation needs to understand that the
economy of cybercrime is such that if you
made it difficult for the hackers, they will
most likely go somewhere else. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
83