Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 15 | Page 45

FEATURE : NETWORK SECURITY
NICOLAI SOLLING CTO , Help AG
The ingenuity of the modern cyber criminal means that not every security risk can be fixed by tending to these glaring concerns , but these have proved to be the reasons behind the most common attacks we have witnessed in the region . Worse still , it is often unsophisticated attacks that result in data breaches , simply because basic precautions haven ’ t been taken .
Other factors Impacting network security Besides the glaringly obvious , though often overlooked , network security shortcomings that organisations fall victim to , there are a number of threats brought on by new technologies and usage behaviours . Among these are the vulnerabilities introduced by endpoint devices . There are a number of 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 actually is happening- traffic will be in clear text in memory and a lot of the inherent issues in perform prevention on the network layer are not present .
The integration between the endpoint and the network security devices is actually 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
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicolai Solling is the CTO at Help AG . In this role , he is responsible for overseeing Help AG ’ s professional services , support services and technical vendor management . He has been heavily involved in the design , deployment and operation of some of the most challenging network and security infrastructures for some of the largest enterprise customers in various industry sectors in the Middle East .
He is also a commentator on the region ’ s IT security landscape and regularly shares tips and best practices that help businesses and consumers safeguard themselves from cyber threats . www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
45