algosec: Recent Episodes

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“We’re not just responding to the digital transformation anymore; it’s here, and frankly, most of us aren’t ready for it yet. One key insight from my time at AlgoSec is that at our very core, our mission is to enable seamless interconnectivity. This means staying ahead, embracing change as an opportunity for growth,” shares Kyle Wickert, highlighting the essence of AlgoSec’s forward-thinking approach. His role as Worldwide Strategic Architect has positioned him at the confluence of technology and strategic innovation, where he emphasizes the importance of anticipating change rather than merely reacting to it.

As our conversation unfolded, Wickert elaborated on why solutions should not just be reactive but predictive, setting AlgoSec apart by prioritizing applications on a macro level. “It’s about understanding the broader implications of connectivity and security, ensuring our solutions are not just timely but timeless,” he added, reflecting on the dynamic nature of digital security.

Strategically navigating the digital space: “In this digital epoch, every business is inherently a technology business,” asserts Wickert. This conviction drives AlgoSec’s strategy, focusing on securing application connectivity as a means to empower businesses. By transforming potential vulnerabilities into opportunities, AlgoSec ensures businesses can leverage their technological infrastructure for sustained success. “It’s about turning challenges into catalysts for growth,” Wickert emphasizes, showcasing AlgoSec’s role in fostering innovation.

Empowering sector-specific excellence: The unique demands of sectors like healthcare and finance bring to light the critical need for tailored security solutions. Wickert points out, “As these industries continue to evolve, the demand for secure, seamless connectivity becomes increasingly paramount.” AlgoSec’s commitment to developing solutions that address these specific challenges underscores its dedication to not just ensuring survival but promoting excellence across diverse sectors.

Orchestrating security with business strategy: Wickert believes in the symbiosis of strategy and security, where technological solutions are in tune with business objectives. “Securing application connectivity means creating a seamless blend of technology with business goals,” he states. This philosophy is embodied in AlgoSec’s comprehensive suite of solutions, which are designed to align digital security measures with the rhythm of business expansion and strategic development.

Championing a human-centric digital future: At the heart of AlgoSec’s ethos is a deep-seated belief in the power of technology to serve human progress. “We’re not just building solutions; we’re enabling futures where technology amplifies human potential and creativity,” Wickert passionately notes. This vision guides AlgoSec’s approach, ensuring that their security solutions empower rather than constrain, fostering an environment ripe for innovation and advancement.

Leading the charge in cybersecurity innovation: Looking forward, AlgoSec is committed to being at the vanguard of cybersecurity innovation. “Our vision looks beyond the immediate horizon, anticipating the evolving needs of tomorrow’s businesses,” Wickert shares. With a focus on strategic foresight and a commitment to innovative solutions, AlgoSec is poised to guide enterprises through the intricacies of digital transformation towards a future that is not only secure but also thriving.

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In the bustling world of cloud security, where complexity and rapid change are the norms, Ava Chawla, Director of Cloud Security at AlgoSec, sits down to share her insights and experiences. With a relaxed yet passionate demeanor, Ava discusses how her team is pioneering strategies to keep businesses safe and thriving amidst the digital transformation.

Embracing the “100x Revolution”

“Look, the landscape has transformed dramatically,” Ava reflects with a thoughtful pause. “We’re not just talking about incremental changes here; it’s about a revolution—a ‘100x revolution.’ It’s where everything is exponentially more complex and moves at breakneck speeds. And at the heart? Applications. They’re no longer just supporting business processes; they’re driving them, creating new opportunities, modernizing how we operate, and pushing boundaries.”

The Power of Double-Layered Cloud Security

Leaning in, Ava shares the strategic thinking behind their innovative approach to cloud security. “One of the things we’ve pioneered is what we call application-centric double-layered cloud security. This is about proactively stopping attacks, and better managing vulnerabilities to safeguard your most critical business applications and data. Imagine a stormy day, you layer up with raincoat and warm clothes for protection The sturdy raincoat represents the network layer, shielding against initial threats, while the layers of clothing underneath symbolize the configuration layer, providing added insulation. Together, these layers offer double layer protection. For businesses, double-layer cloud security means defense in depth at the network layer, unique to AlgoSec, and continuous monitoring across everything in the cloud.

Now combine double-layered security with an application centric approach focused on business continuity and data protection across the applications that run the business.

Cloud configurations risks are inevitable. You are responsible for safeguarding the business. Imagine you have a tool where you start with an AI-driven view of all your business applications and the attack surface, in seconds you can spot any vulnerable paths open for exploitation as it relates to your most critical applications.

Application centric double layer security – the double layers is that extra layer of protection you need when the environment is unpredictable. Combine this with an app-centric perspective for effective prioritization and better security management. It’s a powerful combination! This approach isn’t just about adding more security; it’s about smart security, designed to tackle the challenges that our IT and security teams face every day across various cloud platforms.”

Making Security Predictive, Not Just Reactive

Ava’s passion is evident as she discusses the proactive nature of their security measures. “We can’t just be reactive anymore,” she says, emphasizing each word. “Being predictive, anticipating what’s next, that’s where we really add value. It’s about seeing the big picture, understanding the broader implications of connectivity and security. Our tools and solutions are built to be as dynamic and forward-thinking as the businesses we protect.”

Aligning Security With Business Goals

“There’s a beautiful alignment that happens when security and business goals come together,” Ava explains. “It’s not just about securing things; it’s about enabling business growth, expansion, and innovation. We integrate our security strategies with business objectives to ensure that as companies scale and evolve, their security posture does too.”

A Vision for the Future

With a reflective tone, Ava looks ahead. “What excites me the most about the future is our commitment to innovation and staying ahead of the curve. We’re not just keeping up; we’re setting the pace. We envision a world where technology empowers, enhances, and expands human potential. That’s the future we’re building towards—a secure, thriving digital landscape.”

A Closing Thought

As the conversation wraps up, Ava’s enthusiasm is palpable. “Our promise at AlgoSec is simple: we empower businesses without interfering with their productivity. We turn digital challenges into growth opportunities. It’s not just about managing risks—it’s about leveraging them for growth.”

In a world driven by rapid technological advancements and significant security risks, Ava Chawla and her team at AlgoSec are crafting solutions that ensure businesses can navigate the complexities of the digital landscape with confidence and creativity.

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Cloud Security is a broad domain with many different aspects, some of them human. Even the most sophisticated and secure systems can be jeopardized by human elements such as mistakes and miscalculations. Many organizations are susceptible to such dangers, especially during critical tech configurations and transfers. Especially for example, during digital transformation and cloud migration may result in misconfigurations that can leave your critical applications vulnerable and your company’s sensitive data an easy target for cyber-attacks.

The good news is that Prevasio, and other cybersecurity providers have brought in new technologies to help improve the cybersecurity situation across multiple organizations. Today, we discuss Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and how it can help prevent not just misconfigurations in cloud systems but also protect against supply chain attacks.

Understanding Cloud Security Posture ManagementFirst, we need to fully understand what a CSPM is before exploring how it can prevent cloud security issues. CSPM is first of all a practice for adopting security best practices as well as automated tools to harden and manage the company security strength across various cloud based services such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS).

These practices and tools can be used to determine and solve many security issues within a cloud system. Not only is CSPM critical to the growth and integrity of your cloud infrastructure, but it’s also mandatory for organizations with CIS, GDPR, PCI-DSS, NIST, HIPAA and similar compliance requirements.

How Does CSPM Work?There are numerous cloud service providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and others that provide hyper scaling cloud hosted platforms as well as various cloud compute services and solutions to organizations that previously faced many hurdles with their on-site cloud infrastructures. When you migrate your organization to these platforms, you can effectively scale up and cut down on on-site infrastructure spending.

However, if not appropriately handled, cloud migration comes with potential security risks. For instance, an average Lift and Shift transfer that involves a legacy application may not be adequately security hardened or reconfigured for safe use in a public cloud setup. This may result in security loopholes that expose the network and data to breaches and attacks.

Cloud misconfiguration can happen in multiple ways. However, the most significant risk is not knowing that you are endangering your organization with such misconfigurations. That being the case, below are a few examples of cloud misconfigurations that can be identified and solved by CSPM tools such as Prevasio within your cloud infrastructure:

• Improper identity and access management: Your organization may not have the best identity and access management system in place. For instance, lack of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all users, unreliable password hygiene, and discriminatory user policies instead of group access, Role-based access, and everything contrary to best practices, including least privilege.
• You are unable to log in to events in your cloud due to an accidental CloudTrail error.
• Cloud storage misconfigurations: Having unprotected S3 buckets on AWS or Azure.
• CSPM can compute situations that have the most vulnerabilities within applications
• Incorrect secret management: Secret credentials are more than user passwords or pins. They include encryption keys, API keys, among others. For instance, every admin must use encryption keys on the server-side and rotate the keys every 90 days. Failure to do this can lead to credentials misconfigurations. Ideally, part of your cloud package must include and rely on solutions such as AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, and other secrets management solutions.

The above are a mere few examples of common misconfigurations that can be found in your cloud infrastructure, but CSPM can provide additional advanced security and multiple performance benefits.

Benefits Of CSPMCSPM manages your cloud infrastructure. Some of the benefits of having your cloud infrastructure secured with CSPM boils down to peace of mind, that reassurance of knowing that your organization’s critical data is safe.

It further provides long-term visibility to your cloud networks, enables you to identify violations of policies, and allows you to remediate your misconfigurations to ensure proper compliance. Furthermore, CSPM provides remediation to safeguard cloud assets as well as existing compliance libraries

Technology is here to stay, and with CSPM, you can advance the cloud security posture of your organization. To summarize it all, here are what you should expect with CSPM cloud security:

• Risk assessment: CSPM tools can enable you to see your network security level in advance to gain visibility into security issues such as policy violations that expose you to risk.
• Continuous monitoring: Since CSPM tools are versatile they present an accurate view of your cloud system and can identify and instantly flag off policy violations in real-time.
• Compliance: Most compliance laws require the adoption of CIS, NIST, PCI-DSS, SOC2, HIPAA, and other standards in the cloud. With CSPM, you can stay ahead of internal governance, including ISO 27001.
• Prevention: Most CSPM allows you to identify potential vulnerabilities and provide practical recommendations to prevent possible risks presented by these vulnerabilities without additional vendor tools.
• Supply Chain Attacks: Some CSPM tools, such as Prevasio, provides you malware scanning features to your applications, data, and their dependency chain on data from external supply chains, such as git imports of external libraries and more.

With automation sweeping every industry by storm, CSPM is the future of all-inclusive cloud security. With cloud security posture management, you can do more than remediate configuration issues and monitor your organization’s cloud infrastructure.

You’ll also have the capacity to establish cloud integrity from existing systems and ascertain which technologies, tools, and cloud assets are widely used. CSPM’s capacity to monitor cloud assets and cyber threats and present them in user-friendly dashboards is another benefit that you can use to explore, analyze and quickly explain to your team(s) and upper management. Even find knowledge gaps in your team and decide which training or mentorship opportunities your security team or other teams in the organization might require.

Who Needs Cloud Security Posture Management?At the moment, cloud security is a new domain that its need and popularity is growing by the day. CSPM is widely used by organizations looking to maximize in a safe way the most of all that hyper scaling cloud platforms can offer, such as agility, speed, and cost-cutting strategies. The downside is that the cloud also comes with certain risks, such as misconfigurations, vulnerabilities and internalexternal supply chain attacks that can expose your business to cyber-attacks.

CSPM is responsible for protecting users, applications, workloads, data, apps, and much more in an accessible and efficient manner under the Shared Responsibility Model. With CSPM tools, any organization keen on enhancing its cloud security can detect errors, meet compliance regulations, and orchestrate the best possible defenses.

Let Prevasio Solve Your Cloud Security NeedsPrevasio’s Next-Gen CSPM solution focus on the three best practices: light touchagentless approach, super easy and user-friendly configuration, easy to read and share security findings context, for visibility to all appropriate users and stakeholders in mind. Our cloud security offerings are ideal for organizations that want to go beyond misconfiguration, legacy compliance or traditional vulnerability scanning.

We offer an accelerated visual assessment of your cloud infrastructure, perform automated analysis of a wide range of cloud assets, identify policy errors, supply-chain threats, and vulnerabilities and position all these to your unique business goals.

What we provide are prioritized recommendations for well-orchestrated cloud security risk mitigations. To learn more about us, what we do, our cloud security offerings, and how we can help your organization prevent cloud infrastructure attacks, read all about it here.

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Before I became a Sale Engineer I started my career working in operations and I don’t remember the first time I heard the term zero trust but I all I knew is that it was very important and everyone was striving to get to that level of security. Today I’ll get into how AlgoSec can help achieve those goals, but first let’s have a quick recap on what zero trust is in the first place. There are countless whitepapers and frameworks that define zero trust much better than I can, but they are also multiple pages long, so I’ll do a quick recap.

Traditionally when designing a network you may have different zones and each zone might have different levels of access. In many of these types of designs there is a lot of trust that is given once they are in a certain zone. For example, once someone gets to their workplace at the hospital, the nursing home, the dental center or any other medical office and does all the necessary authentication steps (proper company laptop, credentials, etc…) they potentially have free reign to everything. This is a very simple example and in a real-world scenario there would hopefully be many more safeguards in place. But what does happen in real world scenarios is that devices still manage to get trusted more than they should. And from my own experience and from working with customers this happens way too often.

Especially in the healthcare industry this is becoming more and more important. These days there are many different types of medical devices, some that hold sensitive information, some scanning instruments, and some that might even be critical to patient support. More importantly many are connected to some type of network. Because of this level of connectivity, we do need to start shifting toward this idea of zero trust. In healthcare cybersecurity isn’t just a matter of maintaining the network, it’s about maintaining the critical operations of the hospitals running smoothly and patient data safe and secure.

Maintaining security policies is critical to achieving zero trust. Below you can see some of the key features that AlgoSec has that can help achieve that goal.

| Feature | Description | | Security Policy Analysis | Analyze existing security policy sets across all parts of the network (on-premises and cloud) with various vendors. | | Policy Cleanup | Identify and remove redundant rules, duplicate rules, and more from the first report. | | Specific Recommendations | Over time, recommendations become more specific, such as identifying unnecessary rules (e.g., a printer talking to a medical device without actual use). | | Application Perspective | Tie firewall rules to actual applications to understand the business function they support, leading to more targeted security policies. | | Granularity & Visibility | Higher level of visibility and granularity in security policies, focusing on specific application flows rather than broad network access. | | Security Posture by Application | View and assess security risks and vulnerabilities at the application level, improving overall security posture. |

One of my favorite aspects of the AlgoSec platform is that we not only help optimize your security policies, but we also start to look at security from an application perspective. Traditionally, firewall change requests come in and it’s just asking for very specific things, “Source A to Destination B using Protocol C.” But using AlgoSec we tie those rules to actual applications to see what business function this is supporting. By knowing the specific flows and tying them to a specific application this allows us to keep a closer eye on the actual security policies we need to create. This helps with that zero trust journey because having that higher level of visibility and granularity helps to keep the rules more specific. Instead of a change request coming in that is allowing wide open access between two subnets the application can be designed for only the access that is required. It also allows for an overall better view of the security posture.

Zero trust, like many other ideas and frameworks in our industry might seem farfetched at first. We ask ourselves, how do we get there or how do we implement without it becoming so cumbersome that we give up on it. I think it’s normal to be a bit pessimistic about achieving the goal and it’s completely fine to look at some projects as moving targets that we might not have a hard deadline on. There usually isn’t a magic bullet that accomplish our goals, especially something like achieving zero trust. Multiple initiatives and projects are necessary. With AlgoSec’s expertise in application connectivity and policy management, we can be a key partner in that journey.

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Every business needs to manage risks. If not, they won’t be around for long. The same is true in cloud computing. As more companies move their resources to the cloud, they must ensure efficient risk management to achieve resilience, availability, and integrity.

Yes, moving to the cloud offers more advantages than on-premise environments. But, enterprises must remain meticulous because they have too much to lose.

For example, they must protect sensitive customer data and business resources and meet cloud security compliance requirements.

The key to these – and more – lies in cloud risk management. That’s why in this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about managing enterprise risk in cloud computing, the challenges you should expect, and the best ways to navigate it.

If you stick around, we’ll also discuss the skills cloud architects need for risk management.

What is Cloud Risk Management and Why is it Important?In cloud computing, risk management refers to the process of identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and mitigating the risks associated with cloud computing environments.

It’s a process of being proactive rather than reactive. You want to identify and prevent an unexpected or dangerous event that can damage your systems before it happens.

Most people will be familiar with Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). Organizations use ERM to prepare for and minimize risks to their finances, operations, and goals.

The same concept applies to cloud computing.

Cyber threats have grown so much in recent years that your organization is almost always a target. For example, a recent report revealed 80 percent of organizations experienced a cloud security incident in the past year.

While cloud-based information systems have many security advantages, they may still be exposed to threats. Unfortunately, these threats are often catastrophic to your business operations.

This is why risk management in cloud environments is critical.

Through effective cloud risk management strategies, you can reduce the likelihood or impact of risks arising from cloud services.

Types of RisksManaging risks is a shared responsibility between the cloud provider and the customer – you. While the provider ensures secure infrastructure, you need to secure your data and applications within that infrastructure.

Some types of risks organizations face in cloud environments are:

• Data breaches are caused by unauthorized access to sensitive data and information stored in the cloud.
• Service disruptions caused by redundant servers can affect the availability of services to users.
• Non-compliance to regulatory requirements like CIS compliance, HIPAA, and GDPR.
• Insider threats like malicious insiders, cloud misconfigurations, and negligence.
• External threats like account hijacking and insecure APIs.

But risk assessment and management aren’t always straightforward. You will face certain challenges – and we’ll discuss them below:

Challenges Facing Enterprise Cloud Risk ManagementMost organizations often face difficulties when managing cloud or third-party/vendor risks. These risks are particularly associated with the challenges that cloud deployments and usage cause.

Understanding the cloud security challenges sheds more light on your organization’s potential risks.

The Complexity of Cloud EnvironmentsCloud security is complex, particularly for enterprises. For example, many organisations leverage multi-cloud providers.

They may also have hybrid environments by combining on-premise systems and private clouds with multiple public cloud providers.

You’ll admit this poses more complexities, especially when managing configurations, security controls, and integrations across different platforms.

Unfortunately, this means organizations leveraging the cloud will likely become dependent on cloud services.

So, what happens when these services become unavailable?

Your organisation may be unable to operate, or your customers can’t access your services.

Thus, there’s a need to manage this continuity and lock-in risks.

Lack of Visibility and ControlCloud consumers have limited visibility and control. First, moving resources to the public cloud means you’ll lose many controls you had on-premises.

Cloud service providers don’t grant access to shared infrastructure. Plus, your traditional monitoring infrastructure may not work in the cloud.

So, you can no longer deploy network taps or intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to monitor and filter traffic in real-time. And if you cannot directly access the data packets moving within the cloud or the information contained within them, you lack visibility or control.

Lastly, cloud service providers may provide logs of cloud workloads. But this is far from the real deal. Alerts are never really enough. They’re not enough for investigations, identifying the root cause of an issue, and remediating it.

Investigating, in this case, requires access to data packets, and cloud providers don’t give you that level of data.

Compliance and Regulatory RequirementsIt can be quite challenging to comply with regulatory requirements. For instance, there are blind spots when traffic moves between public clouds or between public clouds and on-premises infrastructures.

You can’t monitor and respond to threats like man-in-the-middle attacks. This means if you don’t always know where your data is, you risk violating compliance regulations.

With laws like GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations, managing cloud data security and privacy risks has never been more critical.

Understanding Existing Systems and ProcessesPart of cloud risk management is understanding your existing systems and processes and how they work.

Understanding the requirements is essential for any service migration, whether it is to the cloud or not. This must be taken into consideration when evaluating the risk of cloud services. How can you evaluate a cloud service for requirements you don’t know?

Evolving RisksOrganizations struggle to have efficient cloud risk management during deployment and usage because of evolving risks.

Organizations often develop extensive risk assessment questionnaires based on audit checklists, only to discover that the results are virtually impossible to assess.

While checklists might be useful in your risk assessment process, you shouldn’t rely on them.

Pillars of Effective Cloud Risk Management – Actionable ProcessesHere’s how efficient risk management in cloud environments looks like:

Risk Assessment and AnalysisThe first stage of every risk management – whether in cloud computing or financial settings – is identifying the potential risks.

You want to answer questions like, what types of risks do we face? For example, are they data breaches? Unauthorized access to sensitive data? Or are they service disruptions in the cloud?

The next step is analysis. Here, you evaluate the likelihood of the risk happening and the impact it can have on your organization. This lets you prioritize risks and know which ones have the most impact.

For instance, what consequences will a data breach have on the confidentiality and integrity of the information stored in the cloud?

Security Controls and Safeguards to Mitigate RisksOnce risks are identified, it’s time to implement the right risk mitigation strategies and controls.

The cloud provider will typically offer security controls you can select or configure. However, you can consider alternative or additional security measures that meet your specific needs.

Some security controls and mitigation strategies that you can implement include:

• Encrypting data at rest and in transit to protect it from unauthorized access. For example, you could encrypt algorithms and implement secure key management practices that protect the information in the cloud while it’s being transmitted.
• Implementing accessing control and authentication measures like multi-factor authentication (MFA), role-based access control (RBAC), and privileged access management (PAM). These mechanisms ensure that only authorized users can access resources and data stored in the cloud.
• Network security and segmentation: Measures like firewalls, intrusion detection/intrusion prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and virtual private networks (VPN) will help secure network communications and detect/prevent malicious actors. On the other hand, network segmentation mechanisms help you set strict rules on the services permitted between accessible zones or isolated segments.

Regulatory Compliance and Data GovernanceDue to the frequency and complexity of cyber threats, authorities in various industries are releasing and updating recommendations for cloud computing. These requirements outline best practices that companies must adhere to avoid and respond to cyber-attacks.

This makes regulatory compliance an essential part of identifying and mitigating risks.

It’s important to first understand the relevant regulations, such as PCI DSS, ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA. Then, understand each one’s requirements. For example, what are your obligations for security controls, breach notifications, and data privacy?

Part of ensuring regulatory compliance in your cloud risk management effort is assessing the cloud provider’s capabilities.

Do they meet the industry compliance requirements? What are their previous security records? Have you assessed their compliance documentation, audit reports, and data protection practices?

Lastly, it’s important to implement data governance policies that prescribe how data is stored, handled, classified, accessed, and protected in the cloud.

Continuous Monitoring and Threat IntelligenceCloud risks are constantly evolving. This could be due to technological advancements, revised compliance regulations and frameworks, new cyber-treats, insider threats like misconfigurations, and expanding cloud service models like Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

What does this mean for cloud computing customers like you?

There’s an urgent need to conduct regular security monitoring and threat intelligence to address emerging risks proactively.

It has to be an ongoing process of performing vulnerability scans of your cloud infrastructure. This includes log management, periodic security assessments, patch management, user activity monitoring, and regular penetration testing exercises.

Incident Response and Business ContinuityUltimately, there’s still a chance your organization will face cyber incidents. Part of cloud risk management is implementing cyber incident response plans (CIRP) that help contain threats.

Whether these incidents are low-level risks that were not prioritized or high-impact risks you missed, an incident response plan will ensure business continuity.

It’s also important to gather evidence through digital forensics and analyze system artifacts after incidents.

Backup and RecoveryImplementing data backup and disaster recovery into your risk management ensures you minimize the impact of data loss or service disruptions. For example, backing up data and systems regularly is important.

Some cloud services may offer redundant storage and versioning features, which can be valuable when your data is corrupted or accidentally deleted.

Additionally, it’s necessary to document backup and recovery procedures to ensure consistency and guide architects.

Best Practices for Effective Cloud Risk ManagementAchieving cloud risk management involves combining the risk management processes above, setting internal controls, and corporate governance. Here are some best practices for effective cloud risk management:

1. Careful Selection of Your Cloud Service Provider (CSP)

Carefully select a reliable cloud service provider (CSP). You can do this by evaluating factors like contract clarity, ethics, legal liability, viability, security, compliance, availability, and business resilience. Note that it’s important to assess if the CSP relies on other service providers and adjust accordingly.

2. Establishing a Cloud Risk Management Framework

Consider implementing cloud risk management frameworks for a structured approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks. Some notable frameworks include:

• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cloud Computing Risk Management Framework (CC RMF)
• ISO/IEC 27017
• Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM)
• Cloud Audit and Compliance (CAC) Criteria
• Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls for Cloud, etc.

3. Collaboration and Communication with Stakeholders

You should always inform all stakeholders about potential risks, their impact, and incident response plans. A collaborative effort can improve risk assessment and awareness, help your organization leverage collective expertise, and facilitates effective decision-making against identified risks.

4. Implement Technical Safeguards

Deploying technical safeguards like cloud access security broker (CASB) in cloud environments can enhance security and protect against risks. CASB can be implemented in the cloud or on-premise and enforces security policies for users accessing cloud-based resources.

5. Set Controls Based on Risk Treatment

After identifying risks and determining your risk appetite, it’s important to implement dedicated measures to mitigate them. Develop robust data classification and lifecycle mechanisms and integrate processes that outline data protection, erasure, and hosting into your service-level agreements (SLA).

6. Employee Training and Awareness Programs

What’s cloud risk management without training personnel? At the crux of risk management is identifying potential threats and taking steps to prevent them. Insider threats and the human factor contribute significantly to threats today.

So, training employees on what to do to prevent risks during and after incidents can make a difference.

7. Adopt an Optimized Cloud Service Model

Choose a cloud service model that suits your business, minimizes risks, and optimizes your cloud investment cost.

8. Continuous Improvement and Adaptation to Emerging Threats

As a rule of thumb, you should always look to stay ahead of the curve. Conduct regular security assessments and audits to improve cloud security posture and adapt to emerging threats.

Skills Needed for Cloud Architects in Risk ManagementImplementing effective cloud risk management requires having skilled architects on board.

Through their in-depth understanding of cloud platforms, services, and technologies, these professionals can help organizations navigate complex cloud environments and design appropriate risk mitigation strategies.

• Cloud Security Expertise: This involves an understanding of cloud-specific security challenges and a solid knowledge of the cloud provider’s security capabilities.
• Risk Assessment and Management Skills: Cloud architects must be proficient in risk assessment processes, methodologies, and frameworks. It is also essential to prioritize risks based on their perceived impact and implement appropriate controls.
• Compliance and Regulatory Knowledge: Not complying with regulatory requirements may cause similar damage as poor risk management. Due to significant legal fees or fines, cloud architects must understand relevant industry regulations and compliance standards. They must also incorporate these requirements into the company’s risk management strategies.
• Incident Response and Incident Handling: Risk management aims to reduce the likelihood of incidents or their impact. It doesn’t mean completely eradicating incidents. So, when these incidents eventually happen, you want cloud security architects who can respond adequately and implement best practices in cloud environments.

ConclusionThe importance of prioritizing risk management in cloud environments cannot be overstated. It allows you to proactively identify risks, assess, prioritize, and mitigate them. This enhances the reliability and resilience of your cloud systems, promotes business continuity, optimizes resource utilization, and helps you manage compliance.

Do you want to automate your cloud risk assessment and management? Prevasio is the ideal option for identifying risks and achieving security compliance. Request a demo now to see how Prevasio’s agentless platform can protect your valuable assets and streamline your multi-cloud environments.

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Cloud-native organizations need an efficient and automated way to identify the security risks across their cloud infrastructure. Sergei Shevchenko, Prevasio’s Co-Founder & CTO breaks down the essence of a CSPM and explains how CSPM platforms enable organizations to improve their cloud security posture and prevent future attacks on their cloud workloads and applications.

In 2019, Gartner recommended that enterprise security and risk management leaders should invest in CSPM tools to “proactively and reactively identify and remediate these risks”. By “these”, Gartner meant the risks of successful cyberattacks and data breaches due to “misconfiguration, mismanagement, and mistakes” in the cloud. So how can you detect these intruders now and prevent them from entering your cloud environment in future? Cloud Security Posture Management is one highly effective way but is often misunderstood.

Cloud Security: A real-world analogyThere are many solid reasons for organizations to move to the cloud. Migrating from a legacy, on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-native infrastructure can lower IT costs and help make teams more agile. Moreover, cloud environments are more flexible and scalable than on-prem environments, which helps to enhance business resilience and prepares the organization for long-term opportunities and challenges.

That said, if your production environment is in the cloud, it is also prone to misconfiguration errors, which opens the firm to all kinds of security threats and risks. Think of this environment as a building whose physical security is your chief concern. If there are gaps in this security, for example, a window that doesn’t close all the way or a lock that doesn’t work properly, you will try to fix them on priority in order to prevent unauthorized or malicious actors from accessing the building.

But since this building is in the cloud, many older security mechanisms will not work for you. Thus, simply covering a hypothetical window or installing an additional hypothetical lock cannot guarantee that an intruder won’t ever enter your cloud environment. This intruder, who may be a competitor, enemy spy agency, hacktivist, or anyone with nefarious intentions, may try to access your business-critical services or sensitive data. They may also try to persist inside your environment for weeks or months in order to maintain access to your cloud systems or applications. Old-fashioned security measures cannot keep these bad guys out. They also cannot prevent malicious outsiders or worse, insiders from cryptojacking your cloud resources and causing performance problems in your production environment.

What a CSPM isThe main purpose of a CSPM is to help organizations minimize risk by providing cloud security automation, ensuring multi-cloud environments remain secure as they grow in scale and complexity. But, as organizations reach scale and add more complexity to their multi- cloud cloud environment, how can CSPMs help companies minimize such risks and better protect their cloud environments?

Think of a CSPM as a building inspector who visits the building regularly (say, every day, or several times a day) to inspect its doors, windows, and locks. He may also identify weaknesses in these elements and produce a report detailing the gaps. The best, most experienced inspectors will also provide recommendations on how you can resolve these security issues in the fastest possible time.

Similar to the role of a building inspector, CSPM provides organizations with the tools they need to secure your multi-cloud environment efficiently in a way that scales more readily than manual processes as your cloud deployments grow. Here are some CSPM key benefits:

Efficient early detection: A CSPM tool allows you to automatically and continuously monitor your cloud environment. It will scan your cloud production environment to detect misconfiguration errors, raise alerts, and even predict where these errors may appear next,

Responsive risk remediation: With a CSPM in your cloud security stack, you can also automatically remediate security risks and hidden threats, thus shortening remediation timelines and protecting your cloud environment from threat actors.

Consistent compliance monitoring: CSPMs also support automated compliance monitoring, meaning they continuously review your environment for adherence to compliance policies. If they detect drift (non-compliance), appropriate corrective actions will be initiated automatically.

What a CSPM is notUsing the inspector analogy, it’s important to keep in mind that a CSPM can only act as an observer, not a doer. Thus, it will only assess the building’s security environment and call out its weakness. It won’t actually make any changes himself, say, by doing intrusive testing. Even so, a CSPM can help you prevent 80% of misconfiguration-related intrusions into your cloud environment. What about the remaining 20%? For this, you need a CSPM that offers something container scanning.

Why you need an agentless CSPM across your multi-cloud environmentIf your network is spread over a multi-cloud environment, an agentless CSPM solution should be your optimal solution. Here are three main reasons in support of this claim:

1. Closing misconfiguration gaps: It is especially applicable if you’re looking to eliminate misconfigurations across all your cloud accounts, services, and assets.

2. Ensuring continuous compliance: It also detects compliance problems related to three important standards: HIPAA, PCI DSS, and CIS. All three are strict standards with very specific requirements for security and data privacy. In addition, it can detect compliance drift from the perspectives of all three standards, thus giving you the peace of mind that your multi-cloud environment remains consistently compliant.

3. Comprehensive container scanning: An agentless CSPM can scan container environments to uncover hidden backdoors. Through dynamic behavior analyses, it can detect new threats and supply chain attack risks in cloud containers. It also performs container security static analyses to detect vulnerabilities and malware, thus providing a deep cloud scan – that too in just a few minutes.

Why Prevasio is your ultimate agentless CSPM solution Multipurpose: Prevasio combines the power of a traditional CSPM with regular vulnerability assessments and anti-malware scans for your cloud environment and containers. It also provides a prioritized risk list according to CIS benchmarks, so you can focus on the most critical risks and act quickly to adequately protect your most valuable cloud assets. * User friendly: Prevasio’s CSPM is easy to use and easier still to set up. You can connect your AWS account to Prevasio in just 7 mouse clicks and 30 seconds. Then start scanning your cloud environment immediately to uncover misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, or malware. * Built for scale:* Prevasio’s CSPM is the only solution that can scan cloud containers and provide more comprehensive cloud security configuration management with vulnerability and malware scans.

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Organizations transitioning to the cloud require robust security concepts to protect their most critical assets, including business applications and sensitive data. Rony Moshkovitch, Prevasio’s co-founder, explains these concepts and why reinforcing a DevSecOps culture would help organizations strike the right balance between security and agility.

In the post-COVID era, enterprise cloud adoption has grown rapidly. Per a 2022 security survey, over 98% of organizations use some form of cloud-based infrastructure. But 27% have also experienced a cloud security incident in the previous 12 months. So, what can organizations do to protect their critical business applications and sensitive data in the cloud?

Why Consider Paved Road, Guardrails, and Least Privilege Access for Cloud SecurityIt is in the organization’s best interest to allow developers to expedite the lifecycle of an application. At the same time, it’s the security teams’ job to facilitate this process in tandem with the developers to help them deliver a more secure application on time. As organizations migrate their applications and workloads to a multi-cloud platform, it’s incumbent to use a Shift left approach to DevSecOps. This enables security teams to build tools, and develop best practices and guidelines that enable the DevOps teams to effectively own the security process during the application development stage without spending time responding to risk and compliance violations issued by the security teams. This is where Paved Road, Guardrails and Least Privilege could add value to your DevSecOps.

Concept #1: The Paved Road + Guardrails ApproachSuppose your security team builds numerous tools, establishes best practices, and provides expert guidance. These resources enable your developers to use the cloud safely and protect all enterprise assets and data without spending all their time or energy on these tasks. They can achieve these objectives because the security team has built a “paved road” with strong “guardrails” for the entire organization to follow and adopt.

By following and implementing good practices, such as building an asset inventory, creating safe templates, and conducting risk analyses for each cloud and cloud service, the security team enables developers to execute their own tasks quickly and safely. Security staff will implement strong controls that no one can violate or bypass. They will also clearly define a controlled exception process, so every exception is clearly tracked and accountability is always maintained.

Over time, your organization may work with more cloud vendors and use more cloud services. In this expanding cloud landscape, the paved road and guardrails will allow users to do their jobs effectively in a security-controlled manner because security is already “baked in” to everything they work with. Moreover, they will be prevented from doing anything that may increase the organization’s risk of breaches, thus keeping you safe from the bad guys.

How Paved Road Security and Guardrails Can Be Applied SuccessfullyExample #1: Set Baked-in Security Controls

Remember to bake security into reusable Terraform templates or AWS CloudFormation modules of paved roads. You may apply this tactic to provision new infrastructure, create new storage buckets, or adopt new cloud services. When you create a paved road and implement appropriate guardrails, all your golden modules and templates are already secure from the outset – safeguarding your assets and preventing undesirable security events.

Example #2: Introducing Security Standardizations

When creating resource functions with built-in security standards, developers should adhere to these standards to confidently configure required resources without introducing security issues into the cloud ecosystem.

Example #3: Automating Security with Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

IaC is a way to manage and provision new infrastructure by coding specifications instead of following manual processes. To create a paved road for IaC, the security team can introduce tagging to provision and track cloud resources. They can also incorporate strong security guardrails into the development environment to secure the new infrastructure right from the outset.

Concept #2: The Principle of Least Privileged Access (PoLP)The Principle of Least Privilege Access (PoLP) is often synonymous with Zero Trust. PoLP is about ensuring that a user can only access the resources they need to complete a required task. The idea is to prevent the misuse of critical systems and data and reduce the attack surface to decrease the probability of breaches.

How Can PoLP Be Applied SuccessfullyExample #1: Ring-fencing critical assetsThis is the process of isolating specific “crown jewel” applications so that even if an attacker could make it into your environment, they would be unable to reach that data or application. As few people as possible would be given credentials that allow access, therefore following least privilege access rules. Crown jewel applications could be anything from where sensitive customer data is stored, to business-critical systems and processes.

Example #2: Establishing Role Based Access Control (RABC)Based on the role that they hold at the company, RBAC or role-based access control allows specific access to certain data or applications, or parts of the network. This goes hand in hand with the principle of least privilege, and means that if credentials are stolen, the attackers are limited to what access the employee in question holds. As this is based on users, you could isolate privileged user sessions specifically to keep them with an extra layer of protection. Only if an administrator account or one with wide access privilege is stolen, would the business be in real trouble.

Example 3#: Isolate applications, tiers, users, or dataThis task is usually done with micro-segmentation, where specific applications, users, data, or any other element of the business is protected from an attack with internal, next-gen firewalls. Risk is reduced in a similar way to the examples above, where the requisite access needed is provided using the principle of least privilege to allow access to only those who need it, and no one else. In some situations, you might need to allow elevated privileges for a short period of time, for example during an emergency. Watch out for privilege creep, where users gain more access over time without any corrective oversight.

Conclusion and Next StepsPaved Road, Guardrails and PoLP concepts are all essential for a strong cloud security posture. By adopting these concepts, your organization can move to the next stage of cloud security maturity and create a culture of security-minded responsibility at every level of the enterprise.

The Prevasio cloud security platform allows you to apply these concepts across your entire cloud estate while securing your most critical applications.

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Organizations no longer keep their data in one centralized location. Users and assets responsible for processing data may be located outside the network, and may share information with third-party vendors who are themselves removed from those external networks.

The Zero Trust approach addresses this situation by treating every user, asset, and application as a potential attack vector whether it is authenticated or not. This means that everyone trying to access network resources will have to verify their identity, whether they are coming from inside the network or outside.

What are the Zero Trust Principles and Concepts?The Zero Trust approach is made up of six core concepts that work together to mitigate network security risks and reduce the organization’s attack surface.

1. The principle of least privilegeUnder the Zero Trust model, network administrators do not provide users and assets with more network access than strictly necessary. Access to data is also revoked when it is no longer needed. This requires security teams to carefully manage user permissions, and to be able to manage permissions based on users’ identities or roles.

The principle of least privilege secures the enterprise network ecosystem by limiting the amount of damage that can result from a single security failure. If an attacker compromises a user’s account, it won’t automatically gain access to a wide range of systems, tools, and workloads beyond what that account is provisioned for. This can also dramatically simplify the process of responding to security events, because no user or asset has access to assets beyond the scope of their work.

2. Continuous data monitoring and validationZero trust policy assumes that there are attackers both inside and outside the network. To guarantee the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of network assets, it must continuously evaluate users and assets on the network. User identity and privileges must be checked periodically along with device identity and security.

Organizations accomplish this in a variety of ways. Connection and login time-outs are one way to ensure periodic monitoring and validation since it requires users to re-authenticate even if they haven’t done anything suspicious. This helps protect against the risk of threat actors using credential-based attacks to impersonate authenticated users, as well as a variety of other attacks.

3. Device access controlOrganizations undergoing the Zero Trust journey must carefully manage and control the way users interact with endpoint devices. Zero Trust relies on verifying and authenticating user identities separately from the devices they use. For example, Zero Trust security tools must be able to distinguish between two different individuals using the same endpoint device.

This approach requires fundamental changes to the way certain security tools work. For example, firewalls that allow or deny access to network assets based purely on IP address and port information aren’t sufficient. Most end users have more than one device at their disposal, and it’s common for mobile devices to change IP addresses. As a result, the cybersecurity tech stack needs to be able to grant and revoke permissions based on the user’s actual identity or role.

4. Network micro segmentationNetwork segmentation is a good security practice even outside the Zero Trust framework, but it takes on special significance when threats can come from inside and outside the network. Microsegmentation takes this one step further by breaking regular network segments down into small zones with their own sets of permissions and authorizations.

These microsegments can be as small as a single asset, and an enterprise data center may have dozens of separately secured zones like these. Any user or asset with permission to access one zone will not necessarily have access to any of the others. Microsegmentation improves security resilience by making it harder for attackers to move between zones.

5. Detecting lateral movementLateral movement is when threat actors move from one zone to another in the network. One of the benefits of micro segmentation is that threat actors must interact with security tools in order to move between different zones on the network. Even if the attackers are successful, their activities generate logs and audit trails that analysts can follow when investigating security incidents.

Zero Trust architecture is designed to contain attackers and make it harder for them to move laterally through networks. When an attack is detected, the compromised asset can be quarantined from the rest of the network. Assets can be as small as individual devices or user accounts, or as large as entire network segments. The more granular your security architecture is, the more choices you have for detecting and preventing lateral movement on the network.

6. Multi-factor authentication (MFA)Passwords are a major problem for traditional security models, because most security tools automatically extend trust to anyone who knows the password. Once a malicious actor learns a privileged user’s login credentials, they can bypass most security checks by impersonating that user.

Multi-factor authentication solves that problem by requiring users to provide more information. Knowing a password isn’t enough – users must authenticate by proving their identity in another way. These additional authentication factors can come in the form of biometrics, challenge/response protocols, or hardware-based verifications.

How To Implement a Zero Trust Network1. Map Out Your Attack SurfaceThere is no one-size-fits-all solution for designing and implementing Zero Trust architecture. You must carefully define your organization’s attack surface and implement solutions that protect your most valuable assets.

This will require a variety of tools, including firewalls, user access controls, permissions, and encryption. You will need to segment your network into individual zones and use microsegmentation to secure high-value and high-volume zones separately.

Pay close attention to how your organization secures its most important assets and connections:

• Sensitive data. This might include customer and employee data, proprietary information, and intellectual property that you can’t allow threat actors to gain access to. It should benefit from the highest degree of security.
• Critical applications. These applications play a central role in your organization’s business processes, and must be protected against the risk of disruption. Many of them process sensitive data and must benefit from the same degree of security.
• Physical assets. This includes everything from customer-facing kiosks to hardware servers located in a data center. Access control is vital for preventing malicious actors from interacting with physical assets.
• Third-party services. Your organization relies on a network of partners and service providers, many of whom need privileged access to your data. Your Zero Trust policy must include safeguards against attacks that compromise third-party partners in your supply chain.

2. Implement Zero Trust Controls using Network Security ToolsThe next step in your Zero Trust journey is the implementation of security tools that allow you collect, analyze, and respond to user behaviors on your network. This may require the adjustment of your existing security tech stack, and the addition of new tools designed for Zero Trust use cases.

• Firewalls must be able to capture connection data beyond the traditional IP, port, and protocol data that most simple solutions rely on. The Zero Trust approach requires inspecting the identities of users and assets that connect with network assets, which requires more advanced firewall technology. This is possible with next generation firewall (NGFW) technology.
• VPNs may need to be reconfigured or replaced because they do not typically enforce the principle of least privilege. Usually, VPNs grant users access to the entire connected network – not just one small portion of it. In most cases, organizations pursuing Zero Trust stop using VPNs altogether because they no longer provide meaningful security benefits.
• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) provides secure access to network resources while concealing network infrastructure and services. It is similar to a software-defined perimeter that dynamically responds to network changes and grants flexibility to security policies. ZTNA works by establishing one-to-one encrypted connections between network assets, making imprecise VPNs largely redundant.

3. Configure for Identity and Access ManagementIdentity-based monitoring is one of the cornerstones of the Zero Trust approach. In order to accurately grant and revoke permissions to users and assets on the network, you must have some visibility into the identities behind the devices being used.

Zero Trust networks verify user identities in a variety of ways. Some next-generation firewalls can distinguish between user traffic, device traffic, application traffic, and content. This allows the firewall to assign application sessions to individual users and devices, and inspect the data being transmitted between individuals on networks.

In practice, this might mean configuring a firewall to compare outgoing content traffic with an encrypted list of login credentials. If a user accidentally logs onto a spoofed phishing website and enters their login credentials, the firewall can catch the data before it is transferred off the network. This would not be possible without the ability to distinguish between different types of traffic using next-generation firewall technology.

Multi-factor authentication is also vital to identity and access management. A Zero Trust network should not automatically authenticate a user who presents the correct username and password combination to access a secure account. This does not prove the identity of the individual who owns the account – it only proves that the individual knows the username and password. Additional verification factors make it more likely that this person is, in fact, the owner of the account.

4. Create a Zero Trust Policy for Your IT EnvironmentThe process of implementing Zero Trust policies in cloud-native environments can be complex. Every third-party vendor and service provider has a role to play in establishing and maintaining Zero Trust. This often puts significant technical demands on third-party partners, which may require organizations to change their existing agreements. If a third-party partner cannot support Zero Trust, they can’t be allowed onto the network.

The same is true for on-premises and data center environments, but with added emphasis on physical security and access control. Security leaders need to know who has physical access to servers and similar assets so they can conduct investigations into security incidents properly. Data centers need to implement strict controls on who interacts with protected equipment and how their access is supervised.

How to Operationalize Zero TrustYour Zero Trust implementation will not automatically translate to an operational security context that you can immediately use. You will need to adopt security operations that reflect the Zero Trust strategy and launch adaptive security measures that address vulnerabilities in real-time.

• Gain visibility into your network. Your network perimeter is no longer strictly defined by its hardware. It consists of cloud resources, automated workflows, operating systems, and more. You won’t be able to enforce Zero Trust without gaining visibility into every aspect of your network environment.
• Monitor network infrastructure and traffic. Your security team will need to monitor and respond to access requests coming from inside and outside your network. This can lead to significant bottlenecks if your team is not equipped with solutions for automatically managing network traffic and access.
• Streamline detection and response. Zero Trust networks mitigate the risks of cyberattacks, malware, ransomware, and other potential threats, but it’s still up to individual security analysts to detect and investigate security incidents. The volume of data analysts must inspect may increase significantly, so you should be prepared to mitigate the issue of alert fatigue.
• Automate Endpoint Security. Consider implementing an automated Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution that can identify malicious behaviors on network devices and address them in real-time.

Implement Zero Trust With AlgoSecAlgoSec is a global cybersecurity leader that provides secure application connectivity and policy management through a unified platform. It aligns with Zero Trust principles to provide comprehensive traffic flow analysis and optimization while automated policy changes and eliminating the risk of compliance violations.

Security leaders rely on AlgoSec to implement and operationalize Zero Trust deployments while proactively managing complex security policies.

AlgoSec can help you establish a Zero Trust network quickly and efficiently, providing visibility and change management capabilities to your entire security tech stack and enabling security personnel to address misconfiguration risks in real-time.

Book a demo now to find out how AlgoSec can help you adopt Zero Trust security and prevent attackers from infiltrating your organization.

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Network vulnerability scanning provides in-depth insight into your organization’s security posture and highlights the specific types of vulnerabilities attackers may exploit when targeting it.

These tools work by systematically scanning your network environment — including all desktops, laptops, mobile endpoints, servers, and other assets for known weaknesses and misconfigurations. Your analyzer then produces a detailed report that tells you exactly how hackers might breach your systems.

Find out how these important tools contribute to successfully managing your security policies and protecting sensitive assets from cybercriminals and malware.

What is Network Vulnerability Management?Network vulnerability scanners are cybersecurity solutions typically delivered under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. These solutions match your network asset configurations with a comprehensive list of known misconfigurations and security threats, including unpatched software, open ports, and other security issues.

By comparing system details against a comprehensive database of known vulnerabilities, network scanning helps pinpoint areas of weakness that could potentially be exploited by threat actors. This proactive approach is essential for maintaining robustnetwork security and protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access and cyberattacks.

This provides your organization with several valuable benefits:

• Early detection of known security vulnerabilities. If your organization is exposed to security threats that leverage known vulnerabilities, you’ll want to address these security gaps as soon as possible.
• Comprehensive data for efficient risk management. Knowing exactly how many security vulnerabilities your organization is exposed to gives you clear data for conducting in-depth risk management.
• Regulatory compliance. Many regulatory compliance frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS require organizations to undergo regular vulnerability scanning.
• Reduced costs. Automating the process of scanning for vulnerabilities reduces the costs associated with discovering and remediating security weaknesses manually.

Key Features and FunctionsThe best network security vulnerability scanners have several important features in common:

• Prioritized vulnerability assessment tools. You need to be able to assess and prioritize vulnerabilities based on their severity. This allows you to commit security resources to addressing high-priority vulnerabilities first, and taking care of low-impact weaknesses afterwards.
• Automation and real-time analysis. Manual scanning is a difficult and time-consuming process. Your vulnerability scanner must support automated, ongoing scanning for real-time vulnerability detection, providing on-demand insights into your security risk profile.
• Integration with remediation tools: The best network vulnerability scanners integrate with other security tools for quick mitigation and remediation. This lets security teams quickly close security gaps and move on to the next, without having to spend time accessing and managing a separate set of security tools.

How Network Vulnerability Scanning Tools WorkStep 1. Scanning ProcessInitial network mapping is the first step in the vulnerability scanning process. At this point, your scanner maps your entire network and identifies every device and asset connected to it. This includes all web servers, workstations, firewalls, and network devices.

The automatic discovery process should produce a comprehensive map showing how your network is connected, and show detailed information about each network device. It should include comprehensive port scanning to identify open ports that attackers could use to gain entry to the network.

Step 2. Detection TechniquesThe next step in the process involves leveraging advanced detection techniques to identify known vulnerabilities in the network. Most network vulnerability scanners rely on two specific techniques to achieve this:

• Signature-Based Detection: The scanner checks for known vulnerabilities by comparing system details against a database of known issues. This database is drawn from extensive threat intelligence feeds and public records like the MITRE CVE Program.
• Heuristic Analysis: This technique relies on heuristic and behavioral techniques to identify unknown or zero-day vulnerabilities based on unusual system behavior or configurations. It may detect suspicious activities that don’t correspond to known threats, prompting further investigation.

Step 3. Vulnerability IdentificationThis step involves checking network assets for known vulnerabilities according to their unique risk profile. This includes scanning for outdated software and operating system versions, and looking for misconfigurations in network devices and settings.

Most network scanners achieve this by pinging network-accessible systems, sending them TCP/UDP packets, and remotely logging into compatible systems to gather detailed information about them. Highly advanced network vulnerability scanning tools have more comprehensive sets of features for identifying these vulnerabilities, because they recognize a wider, more up-to-date range of network devices.

Step 4. Assessment and ReportingThis step describes the process of matching network data to known vulnerabilities and prioritizing them based on their severity. Advanced network scanning devices may use automation and sophisticated scripting to produce a list of vulnerabilities and exposed network components.

First, each vulnerability is assessed for its potential impact and risk level, often based on industry-wide compliance standards like NIST. Then the tool prioritizes each vulnerability based on its severity, ease of exploitation, and potential impact on the network. Afterwards, the tool generates a detailed report outlining every vulnerability assessed and ranking it according to its severity. These reports guide the security teams in addressing the identified issues.

Step 5. Continuous Monitoring and UpdatesScanning for vulnerabilities once is helpful, but it won’t help you achieve the long-term goal of keeping your network protected against new and emerging threats. To do that, you need to continuously monitor your network for new weaknesses and establish workflows for resolving security issues proactively.

Many advanced scanners provide real-time monitoring, constantly scanning the network for new vulnerabilities as they emerge. Regular updates to the scanner’s vulnerability database ensure it can recognize the latest known vulnerabilities and threats. If your vulnerability scanner doesn’t support these two important features, you may need to invest additional time and effort into time-consuming manual operations that achieve the same results.

Step 6. Integration with Other Security MeasuresSecurity leaders must pay close attention to what happens after a vulnerability scan detects an outdated software patch or misconfiguration. Alerting security teams to the danger represented by these weaknesses is only the first step towards actually resolving them, and many scanning tools offer comprehensive integrations for launching remediation actions.

Remediation integrations are valuable because they allow security teams to quickly address vulnerabilities immediately upon discovering them. The alternative is creating a list of weaknesses and having the team manually go through them, which takes time and distracts from higher-impact security tasks.

Another useful integration involves large-scale security posture analytics. If your vulnerability assessment includes analysis and management tools for addressing observable patterns in your network vulnerability scans, it will be much easier to dedicate resources to the appropriate security-enhancing initiatives.

Choosing a Network Vulnerability Scanning SolutionThere are two major categories of features that network vulnerability scanning tools must offer in order to provide best-in-class coverage against sophisticated threats. Keep these aspects in mind when reviewing your options for deploying vulnerability scans in your security workflow.

Important Considerations Comprehensive Vulnerability Database. Access to an extensive CVE database is vital. Many of these are open-source and available to the general public, but the sheer number of CVE records can drag down performance. The best vulnerability management tools have highly optimized APIs capable of processing these records quickly. * Customizability and Templates. Tailoring scans to specific needs and environments is important for every organization, but it takes on special significance for organizations seeking to demonstrate regulatory compliance. That’s because the outcome of compliance assessments and audits will depend on the quality of data included in your reports. * False Positive Management.* All vulnerability scanners are susceptible to displaying false positives, but some manage these events better than others. This is especially important in misconfiguration cases, because it can cause security teams to mistakenly misconfigure security tools that were configured correctly in the first place.

Business Essentials Support for Various Platforms. Your vulnerability scan must ingest data from multiple operating systems like Windows, Linux, and a variety of cloud platforms. If any of these systems are not compatible with the scanning process, you may end up with unstable performance or unreliable data. * Reporting and Analytics. Detailed reports and analytics help you establish a clear security posture assessment. Your vulnerability management tool must provide clear reports that are easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand. This will help you make the case for necessary security investments in the future. * Scalability and Flexibility. These solutions must scale with the growth of your organization’s IT infrastructure*. Pay attention to the usage and payment model each vulnerability scanning vendor uses. Some of them may be better suited to small, growing organizations while others are more appropriate for large enterprises and government agencies.

Top 5 Network Vulnerability Scanning Providers1. AlgoSecAlgoSec is a network security platform that helps organizations identify vulnerabilities and orchestrate network security policies in response. It includes comprehensive features for managing firewalls routers, and other security device configurations, and enables teams to proactively scan for new vulnerabilities on their network.

AlgoSec reports on misconfigurations and vulnerabilities, and can show how simulated changes to IT infrastructure impact the organization’s security posture. It provides in-depth visibility and control over multi-cloud and on-premises environments.

Key features: Comprehensive network mapping. AlgoSec supports automatic network asset discovery, giving security teams complete coverage of the hybrid network. * In-depth automation. The platform supports automatic security policy updates in response to detected security vulnerabilities, allowing security teams to manage risk proactively. * Detailed risk analysis.* When AlgoSec detects a vulnerability, it provides complete details and background on the vulnerability itself and the risk it represents.

2. Tenable NessusTenable Nessus is one of the industry’s most reputable names in vulnerability assessment and management. It is widely used to identify and fix vulnerabilities including software flaws, missing security patches, and misconfigurations. It supports a wide range of operating systems and applications, making it a flexible tool for many different use cases.

Key features: High-speed discovery. Tenable supports high speed network asset discovery scans through advanced features. Break up scans into easily managed subnetworks and configure ping settings to make the scan faster. * Configuration auditing. Security teams can ensure IT assets are compliant with specific compliance-oriented audit policies designed to meet a wide range of assets and standards. * Sensitive data discovery.* Tenable Nessus can discover sensitive data located on the network and provide clear, actionable steps for protecting that data in compliance with regulatory standards.

3. Rapid7 NexposeNexpose offers real-time monitoring and risk assessment designed for enterprise organizations. As an on-premises vulnerability scanner, the solution is well-suited to the needs of large organizations with significant IT infrastructure deployments. It collects vulnerability information, prioritizes it effectively, and provides guidance on remediating risks.

Key Features: Enterprise-ready on-premises form factor. Rapid7 designed Nexpose to meet the needs of large organizations with constant vulnerability scanning needs. * Live monitoring of the attack surface. Organizations can continuously scan their IT environment and prioritize discovered vulnerabilities using more than 50 filters to create asset groups that correspond to known threats. * Integration with penetration testing.* Rapid7 comes with a wide range of fully supported integrations and provides vulnerability and exploitability context useful for pentest scenarios.

4. QualysQualys is an enterprise cloud security provider that includes vulnerability management in its IT security and compliance platform. It includes features that help security teams understand and manage security risks while automating remediation with intuitive no-code workflows. It integrates well with other enterprise security solutions, but may not be accessible for smaller organizations.

Key features: All-in-one vulnerability management workflow. Qualys covers all of your vulnerability scanning and remediation needs in a single, centralized platform. It conducts asset discovery, detects vulnerabilities, prioritizes findings, and launches responses with deep customization and automation capabilities. * Web application scanning. The platform is well-suited to organizations with extensive public-facing web applications outside the network perimeter. It supports container runtime security, including container-as-a-service environments. * Complete compliance reporting*. Security teams can renew expiring certificates directly through Qualys, making it a comprehensive solution to obtaining and maintaining compliance.

5. OpenVAS (Greenbone Networks)OpenVAS is an open-source tool that offers a comprehensive scanning to organizations of all sizes. It is available under a General Public License (GPL) agreement, making it a cost-effective option compared to competing proprietary software options. It supports a range of customizable plugins through its open source developer community.

Key Features: Open-source vulnerability scanner. Organizations can use and customize OpenVAS at no charge, giving it a significant advantage for organizations that prioritize cost savings. * Customizable plugins. As with many open-source tools, there is a thriving community of developers involved in creating customizable plugins for unique use cases. * Supports a wide range of vulnerability tests*. The high level of customization offered by OpenVAS allows security teams to run many different kinds of vulnerability tests from a single, centralized interface.

Honorable Mentions1. Nmap (Network Mapper): A versatile and free open-source tool, NMAP is popular for network discovery and security auditing. It’s particularly noted for its flexibility in scanning both large networks and single hosts. Nmap is a powerful and popular Linux command-line tool commonly featured in cybersecurity education courses. 2. Microsoft’s Azure Security Center: Ideal for organizations heavily invested in the Azure cloud platform, this tool provides integrated security monitoring and policy management across hybrid cloud workloads. It unifies many different security features, including vulnerability assessment, proactive threat hunting, and more. 3. IBM Security QRadar Vulnerability Manager: This is a comprehensive solution that integrates with other IBM QRadar products, providing a full-spectrum view of network vulnerabilities. It’s especially valuable for enterprises that already rely on IBM infrastructure for security workflows. 4. McAfee Vulnerability Manager: A well-known solution offering robust vulnerability scanning capabilities, with additional features for risk and compliance management. It provides a combination of active and passive monitoring, along with penetration testing and authentication scanning designed to provide maximum protection to sensitive network assets.

Choosing the Right Vulnerability Management ToolChoosing the right vulnerability management tool requires in-depth knowledge of your organization’s security and IT infrastructure context. You need to select the tool that matches your unique use cases and security requirements while providing the support you need to achieve long-term business goals.

Those goals may change over time, which makes ongoing evaluation of your security tools an even more important strategic asset to keep in your arsenal. Gathering clear and detailed information about your organization’s security posture allows you to flexibility adapt to changes in your IT environment without exposing sensitive assets to additional risk.

AlgoSec provides a wide range of flexible options for vulnerability scanning, policy change management, and proactive configuration simulation. Enhance your organization’s security capabilities by deploying a vulnerability management solution that provides the visibility and flexibility you need to stay on top of a challenging industry.

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Modern organizations face a wide and constantly changing range of network security threats, and security leaders must constantly update their security posture against them.

As threat actors change their tactics, techniques, and procedures, exploit new vulnerabilities, and deploy new technologies to support their activities — it’s up to security teams to respond by equipping themselves with solutions that address the latest threats.

The arms race between cybersecurity professionals and cybercriminals is ongoing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, high-profile ransomware attacks took the industry by storm.

When enterprise security teams responded by implementing secure backup functionality and endpoint detection and response, cybercriminals shifted towards double extortion attacks.

The cybercrime industry constantly invests in new capabilities to help hackers breach computer networks and gain access to sensitive data. Security professionals must familiarize themselves with the latest network security threats and deploy modern solutions that address them.

What are the Biggest Network Security Threats?1. Malware-based CyberattacksMalware deserves a category of its own because so many high-profile attacks rely on malicious software to work. These include everything from the Colonial Pipeline Ransomware attack to historical events like Stuxnet.

Broadly speaking, cyberattacks that rely on launching malicious software on computer systems are part of this category.

There are many different types of malware-based cyberattacks, and they vary widely in scope and capability. Some examples include:

• Viruses. Malware that replicates itself by inserting its own code into other applications are called viruses. They can spread across devices and networks very quickly.
• Ransomware. This type of malware focuses on finding and encrypting critical data on the victim’s network and then demanding payment for the decryption key. Cybercriminals typically demand payment in the form of cryptocurrency, and have developed a sophisticated industrial ecosystem for conducting ransomware attacks.
• Spyware. This category includes malware variants designed to gather information on victims and send it to a third party without your consent. Sometimes cybercriminals do this as part of a more elaborate cyberattack. Other times it’s part of a corporate espionage plan. Some spyware variants collect sensitive information that cybercriminals value highly.
• Trojans. These are malicious applications disguised as legitimate applications. Hackers may hide malicious code inside legitimate software in order to trick users into becoming victims of the attack. Trojans are commonly hidden as an email attachment or free-to-download file that launches its malicious payload after being opened in the victim’s environment.
• Fileless Malware. This type of malware leverages legitimate tools native to the IT environment to launch an attack. This technique is also called “living off the land” because hackers can exploit applications and operating systems from inside, without having to download additional payloads and get them past firewalls.

2. Network-Based AttacksThese are attacks that try to impact network assets or functionality, often through technical exploitations. Network-based attacks typically start at the edge of the network, where it sends and receives traffic to the public internet.

• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks. These attacks overwhelm network resources, leading to downtime and service unavailability, and in some cases, data loss. To launch DDoS attacks, cybercriminals must gain control over a large number of compromised devices and turn them into bots. Once thousands (or millions) of bots using unique IP addresses request server resources, the server breaks down and stops functioning.
• Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: These attacks let cybercriminals eavesdrop on communications between two parties. In some cases, they can also alter the communications between both parties, allowing them to plan and execute more complex attacks. Many different types of man-in-the-middle attacks exist, including IP spoofing, DNS spoofing, SSL stripping, and others.

3. Social Engineering and PhishingThese attacks are not necessarily technical exploits. They focus more on abusing the trust that human beings have in one another. Usually, they involve the attacker impersonating someone in order to convince the victim to give up sensitive data or grant access to a secure asset.

• Phishing Attacks. This is when hackers create fake messages telling victims to take some kind of action beneficial to the attacker. These deceptive messages can result in the theft of login credentials, credit card information, or more. Most major institutions are regularly impersonated by hackers running phishing scams, like the IRS.
• Social Engineering Attacks. These attacks use psychological manipulation to trick victims into divulging confidential information. A common example might be a hacker contacting a company posing as a third-party technology vendor, asking for access to a secure system, or impersonating the company CEO and demanding an employee pay a fictitious invoice.

4. Insider Threats and Unauthorized AccessThese network security threats are particularly dangerous because they are very difficult to catch. Most traditional security tools are not configured to detect malicious insiders, who generally have permission to access sensitive data and assets.

• Insider Threats. Employees, associates, and partners with access to sensitive data may represent severe security risks. If an authorized user decides to steal data and sell it to a hacker or competitor, you may not be able to detect their attack using traditional security tools. That’s what makes insider threats so dangerous, because they are often undetectable.
• Unauthorized Access. This includes a broad range of methods used to gain illegal access to networks or systems. The goal is usually to steal data or alter it in some way. Attackers may use credential-stuffing attacks to access sensitive networks, or they can try brute force methods that involve automatically testing millions of username and password combinations until they get the right one. This often works because people reuse passwords that are easy to remember.

Solutions to Network Security ThreatsEach of the security threats listed above comes with a unique set of risks, and impacts organizations in a unique way. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to navigating these risks. Every organization has to develop a cybersecurity policy that meets its specific needs. However, the most secure organizations usually share the following characteristics.

Fundamental Security Measures Well-configured Firewalls.* Firewalls control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on security rules. These rules can deny unauthorized traffic attempting to connect with sensitive network assets and block sensitive information from traveling outside the network. In each case, robust configuration is key to making the most of your firewall deployment. Choosing a firewall security solution like AlgoSec can dramatically improve your defenses against complex network threats. * Anti-malware and Antivirus Software**. These solutions detect and remove malicious software throughout the network. They run continuously, adapting their automated scans to include the latest threat detection signatures so they can block malicious activity before it leads to business disruption. Since these tools typically rely on threat signatures, they cannot catch zero-day attacks that leverage unknown vulnerabilities.

Advanced Protection Tools Intrusion Prevention Systems.* These security tools monitor network traffic for behavior that suggests unauthorized activity. When they find evidence of cyberattacks and security breaches, they launch automated responses that block malicious activity and remove unauthorized users from the network. * Network Segmentation*.* This is the process of dividing networks into smaller segments to control access and reduce the attack surface. Highly segmented networks are harder to compromise because hackers have to repeatedly pass authentication checks to move from one network zone to another. This increases the chance that they fail, or generate activity unusual enough to trigger an alert. * Security and Information Event Management (SIEM) platforms. These solutions give security analysts complete visibility into network and application activity across the IT environment. They capture and analyze log data from firewalls, endpoint devices, and other assets and correlate them together so that security teams can quickly detect and respond to unauthorized activity, especially insider threats. * Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). These solutions provide real-time visibility into the activities of endpoint devices like laptops, desktops, and mobile phones. They monitor these devices for threat indicators and automatically respond to identified threats before they can reach the rest of the network. More advanced Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions draw additional context and data from third party security tools and provide in-depth automation**.

Authentication and Access Control Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This technology enhances security by requiring users to submit multiple forms of verification before accessing sensitive data. This makes it useful against phishing attacks, social engineering, and insider threats, because hackers need more than just a password to gain entry to secure networks. MFA also plays an important role in Zero Trust architecture. * Strong Passwords and Access Policies.* There is no replacement for strong password policies and securely controlling user access to sensitive data. Security teams should pay close attention to password policy compliance, making sure employees do not reuse passwords across accounts and avoid simple memory hacks like adding sequential numbers to existing passwords.

Preventing Social Engineering and PhishingWhile SIEM platforms, MFA policies and strong passwords go a long way towards preventing social engineering and phishing attacks, there are a few additional security measures worth taking to reduce these risks:

• Security Awareness Training. Leverage a corporate training LMS to educate employees about phishing and social engineering tactics. Phishing simulation exercises can help teach employees how to distinguish phishing messages from legitimate ones, and pinpoint the users at highest risk of falling for a phishing scam.
• Email Filtering and Verification: Email security tools can identify and block phishing emails before they arrive in the inbox. They often rely on scanning the reputation of servers that send incoming emails, and can detect discrepancies in email metadata that suggest malicious intent. Even if these solutions generally can’t keep 100% of malicious emails out of the inbox, they significantly reduce email-related threat risks.

Dealing with DDoS and MitM AttacksThese technical exploits can lead to significant business disruption, especially when undertaken by large-scale threat actors with access to significant resources. Your firewall configuration and VPN policies will make the biggest difference here:

• DDoS Prevention Systems. Protect against distributed denial of service attacks by implementing third-party DDoS prevention solutions, deploying advanced firewall configurations, and using load balancers. Some next generation firewalls (NGFWs) can increase protection against DDoS attacks by acting as a handshake proxy and dropping connection requests that do not complete the TCP handshake process.
• VPNs and Encryption: VPNs provide secure communication channels that prevent MitM attacks and data eavesdropping. Encrypted traffic can only be intercepted by attackers who go through the extra step of obtaining the appropriate decryption key. This makes it much less likely they focus on your organization instead of less secure ones that are easier to target.

Addressing Insider ThreatsInsider threats are a complex security issue that require deep, multi-layered solutions to address. This is especially true when malicious insiders are actually employees with legitimate user credentials and privileges.

• Behavioral Auditing and Monitoring: Regular assessments and monitoring of user activities and network traffic are vital for detecting insider threats. Security teams need to look beyond traditional security deployments and gain insight into user behaviors in order to catch authorized users doing suspicious things like escalating their privileges or accessing sensitive data they do not normally access.
• Zero Trust Security Model. Assume no user or device is trustworthy until verified. Multiple layers of verification between highly segmented networks — with multi-factor authentication steps at each layer — can make it much harder for insider threats to steal data and conduct cyberattacks.

Implementing a Robust Security StrategyDirectly addressing known threats should be just one part of your cybersecurity strategy. To fully protect your network and assets from unknown risks, you must also implement a strong security posture that can address risks associated with new and emerging cyber threats.

Continual Assessment and ImprovementThe security threat landscape is constantly changing, and your security posture must adapt and change in response. It’s not always easy to determine exactly how your security posture should change, which is why forward-thinking security leaders periodically invest in vulnerability assessments designed to identify security vulnerabilities that may have been overlooked.

Once you have a list of security weaknesses you need to address, you can begin the process of proactively addressing them by configuring your security tech stack and developing new incident response playbooks. These playbooks will help you establish a coordinated, standardized response to security incidents and data breaches before they occur.

Integration of Security ToolsCoordinating incident response plans isn’t easy when every tool in your tech stack has its own user interface and access control permissions. You may need to integrate your security tools into a single platform that allows security teams to address issues across your entire network from a single point of reference.

This will help you isolate and address security issues on IoT devices and mobile devices without having to dedicate a particular team member exclusively to that responsibility. If a cyberattack that targets mobile apps occurs, your incident response plan won’t be limited by the bottleneck of having a single person with sufficient access to address it.

Similarly, highly integrated security tools that leverage machine learning and automation can enhance the scalability of incident response and speed up incident response processes significantly. Certain incident response playbooks can be automated entirely, providing near-real-time protection against sophisticated threats and freeing your team to focus on higher-impact strategic initiatives.

Developing and Enforcing Security PoliciesDeveloping and enforcing security policies is one of the high-impact strategic tasks your security team should dedicate a great deal of time and effort towards. Since the cybersecurity threat landscape is constantly changing, you must commit to adapting your policies in response to new and emerging threats quickly. That means developing a security policy framework that covers all aspects of network and data security.

Similarly, you can pursue compliance with regulatory standards that ensure predictable outcomes from security incidents. Achieving compliance with standards like NIST, CMMC, PCI-DSS, and HIPPA can help you earn customers’ trust and open up new business opportunities.

AlgoSec: Your Partner in Network SecurityProtecting against network threats requires continuous vigilance and the ability to adapt to fast-moving changes in the security landscape. Every level of your organization must be engaged in security awareness and empowered to report potential security incidents.

Policy management and visibility platforms like AlgoSec can help you gain control over your security tool configurations. This enhances the value of continuous vigilance and improvement, and boosts the speed and accuracy of policy updates using automation. Consider making AlgoSec your preferred security policy automation and visibility platform.

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Cloud misconfigurations can cause devastating financial and reputational damage to organizations. Yet, such undesirable circumstances can be avoided by understanding common misconfiguration errors and mitigating them before malicious actors can exploit them. Ava Chawla, AlgoSec’s Global Head of Cloud Security provides some valuable insights on cloud misconfigurations and offers useful tips on how to avoid them

It may come as a surprise to some, but did you know that misconfigurations were the #1 cause of cloud-security incidents in 2021 and were also responsible for 65-70% of cloud-security challenges in 2020?

Cloud Misconfigurations: The Insidious yet Serious ThreatClearly, misconfigurations are a common cause of security loopholes. These security loopholes – usually the result of oversights, errors, or poor configuration choices by inexperienced or careless users – often result in cyberattacks and the exposure of mission-critical information.

Most cloud environments are saturated with misconfigurations, with 99% of them going unseen. As a result, they become vulnerable to many cyberthreats, including malware, ransomware, and insider threats. Threat actors may also exploit the vulnerabilities caused by misconfigurations to access enterprise networks, compromise assets, or exfiltrate sensitive data.

So why are cloud misconfigurations such a serious threat in cloud environments? And, how can your organization avoid these errors and keep your cloud environment safe from the bad guys?

Jarring Data Breaches Resulting from Cloud Misconfigurations: More than Food for ThoughtIn 2018 and 2019, misconfigurations caused hundreds of data breaches that cost companies a whopping $5 trillion. Threat actors also took advantage of misconfigurations to attack many organizations in 2020. An exposed database is a perfect example of how misconfiguration errors like forgetting to password-protect critical cloud assets can create huge security risks for companies.

In early 2020, a database belonging to cosmetics giant Estée Lauder that contained over 440 million records ended up online – all because it was not password-protected. How bad was this oversight? It allowed malicious actors to access its sensitive contents, such as email addresses, middleware records, references to internal documents, and information about company IP addresses and ports.

And misconfiguration-related breaches didn’t stop in 2021. In May of that year, Cognyte left a database unsecured, leading to the online exposure of 5 billion records, including names, passwords, and email addresses. The incident is particularly ironic because Cognyte is a cyber-intelligence service that alerts users to potential data breaches.

So how can your organization avoid suffering the same fates as Estée Lauder and Cognyte? By preventing misconfiguration errors.

How to Eliminate Common Misconfiguration Errors?1) One of the most common cloud misconfiguration errors is not implementing monitoring. A failure to monitor the cloud environment creates huge security risks because the organization can’t even know that there’s a threat, much less mitigate it.

Solution: By integrating monitoring and logging tools into your entire cloud estate, you can keep an eye on all the activity happening within it. More importantly, you can identify suspicious or malicious actions, and act early to mitigate threats and prevent serious security incidents. An example of a monitoring tool is CloudTrail in the AWS Cloud.

2) The second-biggest misconfiguration risk stems from overly permissive access settings. Enterprise teams frequently forget to change the default settings or make the settings overly-permissive, resulting in critical assets being exposed to the Internet and to threat actors lurking in cyberspace.

3) Another misconfiguration mistake is mismanaging identity and access management (IAM) roles and permissions. Unrestricted access, particularly admin-level access, significantly increases the probability of breaches. The compromise of this user could allow a malicious actor to exploit the entire network and its sensitive data.

4) Mismanaged secrets are another common misconfiguration mistake that can lead to attacks and breaches. Secrets like passwords, API keys, encryption keys, and access tokens are the keys to your (cloud) kingdom, and their compromise or theft can severely damage your enterprise.

Solution: You can avoid mistakes #2, #3 and #4 by granting least-privilege access (also known as the principle of least privilege) and implementing detailed security policies, standards, and procedures for IAM, secrets management, remote access, etc.

5) The fifth misconfiguration error is not patching vulnerabilities. Patch management pitfalls include pushing out updates too quickly and devices going offline. But the most significant risk when patch management doesn’t take place, not surprisingly, is leaving a system vulnerable to malicious actors.

Solution: Proactively scanning your cloud environment is vital to find the vulnerabilities that can be exploited by threat actors to elevate their privileges in your network and execute remote attacks.

Conclusion and Next StepsCloud misconfigurations are the most common cause of security incidents in the cloud. Fortunately, most of them are avoidable. If you’ve found this action-packed guide a valuable read, then you’re on the right path to reaching a solution that includes protecting your most valuable assets, securing the connectivity of your most critical business applications, and streamlining the management of your entire multi cloud environment. Prevasio can help you get there faster.

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What is network change management?Network Change Management (NCM) is the process of planning, testing, and approving changes to a network infrastructure. The goal is to minimize network disruptions by following standardized procedures for controlled network changes.

NCM, or network configuration and change management (NCCM), is all about staying connected and keeping things in check. When done the right way, it lets IT teams seamlessly roll out and track change requests, and boost the network’s overall performance and safety.

There are 2 main approaches to implementing NCM: manual and automated.

Manual NCM is a popular choice that’s usually complex and time-consuming. A poor implementation may yield faulty or insecure configurations causing disruptions or potential noncompliance. These setbacks can cause application outages and ultimately need extra work to resolve.

Fortunately, specialized solutions like the AlgoSec platform and its FireFlow solution exist to address these concerns. With inbuilt intelligent automation, these solutions make NCM easier as they cut out errors and rework usually tied to manual NCM.

The network change management processThe network change management process is a structured approach that organizations use to manage and implement changes to their network infrastructure. When networks are complex with many interdependent systems and components, change needs to be managed carefully to avoid unintended impacts.

A systematic NCM process is essential to make the required changes promptly, minimize risks associated with network modifications, ensure compliance, and maintain network stability.

The most effective NCM process leverages an automated NCM solution like the intelligent automation provided by the AlgoSec platform to streamline effort, reduce the risks of redundant changes, and curtail network outages and downtime. The key steps involved in the network change management process are:

Step 1: Security policy development and documentation Creating a comprehensive set of security policies involves identifying the organization’s specific security requirements, relevant regulations, and industry best practices. * These policies and procedures help establish baseline configurations for network devices. They govern how network changes should be performed – from authorization to execution and management. * They also document who is responsible for what, how critical systems and information are protected, and how backups are planned. * In this way, they address various aspects of network security and integrity, such as access control*, encryption, incident response, and vulnerability management.

Step 2: Change the request A formal change request process streamlines how network changes are requested and approved. Every proposed change is clearly documented, preventing the implementation of ad-hoc or unauthorized changes. * Using an automated tool* ensures that every change complies with the regulatory standards relevant to the organization, such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NIST FISMA, etc. * This tool should be able to send automated notifications to relevant stakeholders, such as the Change Advisory Board (CAB), who are required to validate and approve normal and emergency changes (see below).

Step 3: Change Implementation Standard changes – those implemented using a predetermined process, need no validation or testing as they’re already deemed low- or no-risk. Examples include installing a printer or replacing a user’s laptop. These changes can be easily managed, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption to daily operations. * On the other hand, normal and emergency changes require testing and validation, as they pose a more significant risk if not implemented correctly. Normal changes, such as adding a new server or migrating from on-premises to the cloud, entail careful planning and execution. * Emergency changes address urgent issues that could introduce risks if not resolved promptly, like failing to install security patches or software upgrades, which may leave networks vulnerable to zero-day exploits and cyberattacks. * Testing uncovers these potential risks, such as network downtime or new vulnerabilities that increase the likelihood of a malware attack. * Automated network change management (NCM) solutions streamline simple changes, saving time and effort. For instance, AlgoSec’s firewall policy cleanup solution* optimizes changes related to firewall policies, enhancing efficiency. * Documenting all implemented changes is vital, as it maintains accountability and service level agreements (SLAs) while providing an audit trail for optimization purposes. The documentation should outline the implementation process, identified risks, and recommended mitigation steps. * Network teams must establish monitoring systems to continuously review performance and flag potential issues during change implementation. They must also set up automated configuration backups for devices like routers and firewalls ensuring that organizations can recover from change errors and avoid expensive downtime.

Step 4: Troubleshooting and rollbacks* Rollback procedures are important because they provide a way to restore the network to its original state (or the last known “good” configuration) if the proposed change could introduce additional risk into the network or deteriorate network performance. * Some automated tools include ready-to-use templates to simplify configuration changes and rollbacks. The best platforms use a tested change approval process that enables organizations to avoid bad, invalid, or risky configuration changes before they can be deployed. * Troubleshooting is also part of the NCM process. Teams must be trained in identifying and resolving network issues as they emerge, and in managing any incidents that may result from an implemented change. They must also know how to roll back changes using both automated and manual methods.

Step 5: Network automation and integrationAutomated network change management (NCM) solutions streamline and automate key aspects of the change process, such as risk analysis, implementation, validation, and auditing.

These automated solutions prevent redundant or unauthorized changes, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations before deployment.

Multi-vendor configuration management tools eliminate the guesswork in network configuration and change management.

They empower IT or network change management teams to:

• Set real-time alerts to track and monitor every change
• Detect and prevent unauthorized, rogue, and potentially dangerous changes
• Document all changes, aiding in SLA tracking and maintaining accountability
• Provide a comprehensive audit trail for auditors
• Execute automatic backups after every configuration change
• Communicate changes to all relevant stakeholders in a common “language”
• Roll back undesirable changes as needed

AlgoSec’s NCM platform can also be integrated with IT service management (ITSM) and ticketing systems to improve communication and collaboration between various teams such as IT operations and admins.

Infrastructure as code (IaC) offers another way to automate network change management. IaC enables organizations to “codify” their configuration specifications in config files. These configuration templates make it easy to provision, distribute, and manage the network infrastructure while preventing ad-hoc, undocumented, or risky changes.

Risks associated with network change managementNetwork change management is a necessary aspect of network configuration management. However, it also introduces several risks that organizations should be aware of.

Network downtimeThe primary goal of any change to the network should be to avoid unnecessary downtime. Whenever these network changes fail or throw errors, there’s a high chance of network downtime or general performance. Depending on how long the outage lasts, it usually results in users losing productive time and loss of significant revenue and reputation for the organization. IT service providers may also have to monitor and address potential issues, such as IP address conflicts, firmware upgrades, and device lifecycle management.

Human errorsManual configuration changes introduce human errors that can result in improper or insecure device configurations. These errors are particularly prevalent in complex or large-scale changes and can increase the risk of unauthorized or rogue changes.

Security issuesManual network change processes may lead to outdated policies and rulesets, heightening the likelihood of security concerns. These issues expose organizations to significant threats and can cause inconsistent network changes and integration problems that introduce additional security risks. A lack of systematic NCM processes can further increase the risk of security breaches due to weak change control and insufficient oversight of configuration files, potentially allowing rogue changes and exposing organizations to various cyberattacks.

Compliance issuesPoor NCM processes and controls increase the risk of non-compliance with regulatory requirements. This can potentially result in hefty financial penalties and legal liabilities that may affect the organization’s bottom line, reputation, and customer relationships.

Rollback failures and backup issuesManual rollbacks can be time-consuming and cumbersome, preventing network teams from focusing on higher-value tasks. Additionally, a failure to execute rollbacks properly can lead to prolonged network downtime. It can also lead to unforeseen issues like security flaws and exploits. For network change management to be effective, it’s vital to set up automated backups of network configurations to prevent data loss, prolonged downtime, and slow recovery from outages.

Troubleshooting issuesInconsistent or incorrect configuration baselines can complicate troubleshooting efforts. These wrong baselines increase the chances of human error, which leads to incorrect configurations and introduces security vulnerabilities into the network.

Simplified network change management with AlgoSecAlgoSec’s configuration management solution automates and streamlines network management for organizations of all types. It provides visibility into the configuration of every network device and automates many aspects of the NCM process, including change requests, approval workflows, and configuration backups. This enables teams to safely and collaboratively manage changes and efficiently roll back whenever issues or outages arise.

The AlgoSec platform monitors configuration changes in real-time. It also provides compliance assessments and reports for many security standards, thus helping organizations to strengthen and maintain their compliance posture. Additionally, its lifecycle management capabilities simplify the handling of network devices from deployment to retirement.

Vulnerability detection and risk analysis features are also included in AlgoSec’s solution. The platform leverages these features to analyze the potential impact of network changes and highlight possible risks and vulnerabilities. This information enables network teams to control changes and ensure that there are no security gaps in the network.

Click here to request a free demo of AlgoSec’s feature-rich platform and its configuration management tools.

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Protecting cloud-based applications and workloads requires robust security solutions such as CSPM, CIEM and CWPP. CNAPP tries to answer all 3 but how do you know which solution is right for your specific organization? Ava Chawla, AlgoSec’s Global Head of Cloud Security unravels the differences between them and shares her expert opinion on the solution that offers the most value for organizations.

What is Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)?A CSPM tool monitors the logs and configuration files of the services you use in your cloud environment. It will scan the entire cloud environment to detect and prevent misconfiguration errors. This is important because configurations in the cloud happen quickly and just as quickly introduce new threats into the environment. For robust ongoing protection, you need to monitor the environment continuously and automatically. Here’s where CSPM comes in.

The best CSPM solutions implement configuration best practices and automatically initiate corrective actions to remove risks, thus improving cloud security, ensuring adherence to compliance policies, and reducing the likelihood of breaches. Additionally, they are agentless, do not require long configuration, and don’t add to your cloud bills by utilizing additional cloud resources.

What is Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)?In cloud environments, identity goes beyond users and groups. It also plays a vital role in managing all the resources and services that need to access data. All these accesses happen very quickly and constitute a complex web of interactions. It’s crucial to know when and between whom these interactions occur to ensure that only legitimate resources can access or modify data. But as your cloud resources increase, the complexity of entitlements also grows. It’s not easy to keep track of these entitlements or to maintain the security-focused principle of least privilege (PoLP).

CIEM tools are specialized identity-centric solutions to manage cloud access risk and govern entitlements in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. With CIEM, you can manage entitlements across all your cloud resources and maintain PoLP to mitigate the risk created by granting excessive permissions to cloud resources.

What is a Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)?CWPP solutions manage cloud applications and workloads. They can reach back into on- prem environments and thus effectively detect and prevent security problems like malware and vulnerabilities across the entire hybrid landscape. CWPP solutions can scale automatically and support your organization as your cloud environment grows or changes.

What is a Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)?Each of these solutions are geared towards a specific area of cloud security. CSPM prevents misconfiguration errors, CIEM platforms manage cloud access risks, and CWPP protects your assets and workloads.

But what if you want a single solution that can completely manage the security of your cloud environment?

Try a Cloud Native Application Protection Platform. CNAPP solutions combine security posture management, workload protection, and entitlement management into one single platform to provide comprehensive, holistic security across multi-cloud environments. Thus, you can protect your entire cloud estate with one solution instead of having to implement and manage multiple point solutions.

Another advantage of a CNAPP tool is that it will enable you to “shift left”. Thus, you can not only secure applications in production environments, but also manage the runtime and DevOps aspects of security. For this reason, these platforms are aimed at both security professionals and DevOps practitioners.

Conclusion and Next StepsA CNAPP solution is the most comprehensive solution. However, in today’s market there is no one tool that truly covers all the functionalities that CNAPP promises. Therefore, each organization should choose the solution that fits its immediate needs, including taking other considerations into account such as the skill level and the maturity of its cloud adoption. One important thing to remember: Regardless of the solution you choose, make sure it’s agentless.

Agentless is important in today’s cloud security because agent-based solutions are hard to manage, expensive, and intrusive. If you’re looking for a modern agentless CSPM with container protection to safeguard your cloud-based application and workload data, then Prevasio might be the best option for you.

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What is Network Security Monitoring?Network security monitoring is the process of inspecting network traffic and IT infrastructure for signs of security issues. These signs can provide IT teams with valuable information about the organization’s cybersecurity posture.

For example, security teams may notice unusual changes being made to access control policies. This may lead to unexpected traffic flows between on-premises systems and unrecognized web applications. This might provide early warning of an active cyberattack, giving security teams enough time to conduct remediation efforts and prevent data loss.

Detecting this kind of suspicious activity without the visibility that network security monitoring provides would be very difficult. These tools and policies enhance operational security by enabling network intrusion detection, anomaly detection, and signature-based detection.

Full-featured network security monitoring solutions help organizations meet regulatory compliance requirements by maintaining records of network activity and security incidents. This gives analysts valuable data for conducting investigations into security events and connect seemingly unrelated incidents into a coherent timeline.

What To Evaluate in a Network Monitoring Software ProviderYour network monitoring software provider should offer a comprehensive set of features for collecting, analyzing, and responding to suspicious activity anywhere on your network. It should unify management and control of your organization’s IT assets while providing unlimited visibility into how they interact with one another.

Comprehensive alerting and reportingYour network monitoring solution must notify you of security incidents and provide detailed reports describing those incidents in real-time. It should include multiple toolsets for collecting performance metrics, conducting in-depth analysis, and generating compliance reports.

Future-proof scalabilityConsider what kind of network monitoring needs your organization might have several years from now. If your monitoring tool cannot scale to accommodate that growth, you may end up locked into a vendor agreement that doesn’t align with your interests.

This is especially true with vendors that prioritize on-premises implementations since you run the risk of paying for equipment and services that you don’t actually use. Cloud-delivered software solutions often perform better in use cases where flexibility is important.

Integration with your existing IT infrastructureYour existing security tech stack may include a selection of SIEM platforms, IDS/IPS systems, firewalls, and endpoint security solutions. Your network security monitoring software will need to connect all of these tools and platforms together in order to grant visibility into network traffic flows between them.

Misconfigurations and improper integrations can result in dangerous security vulnerabilities. A high-performance vulnerability scanning solution may be able to detect these misconfigurations so you can fix them proactively.

Intuitive user experience for security teams and IT adminsComplex tools often come with complex management requirements. This can create a production bottleneck when there aren’t enough fully-trained analysts on the IT security team.

Monitoring tools designed for ease of use can improve security performance by reducing training costs and allowing team members to access monitoring insights more easily. Highly automated tools can drive even greater performance benefits by reducing the need for manual control altogether.

Excellent support and documentationDeploying network security monitoring tools is not always a straightforward task. Most organizations will need to rely on expert support to assist with implementation, troubleshooting, and ongoing maintenance. Some vendors provide better technical support to customers than others, and this difference is often reflected in the price. Some organizations work with managed service providers who can offset some of their support and documentation needs by providing on-demand expertise when needed.

Pricing structures that work for youDifferent vendors have different pricing structures. When comparing network monitoring tools, consider the total cost of ownership including licensing fees, hardware requirements, and any additional costs for support or updates. Certain usage models will fit your organization’s needs better than others, and you’ll have to document them carefully to avoid overpaying.

Compliance and reporting capabilitiesIf you plan on meeting compliance requirements for your organization, you will need a network security monitoring tool that can generate the necessary reports and logs to meet these standards. Every set of standards is different, but many reputable vendors offer solutions for meeting specific compliance criteria. Find out if your network security monitoring vendor supports compliance standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and NIST.

A good reputation for customer successResearch the reputation and track record of every vendor you could potentially work with. Every vendor will tell you that they are the best – ask for evidence to back up their claims. Vendors with high renewal rates are much more likely to provide you with valuable security technology than lower-priced competitors with a significant amount of customer churn. Pay close attention to reviews and testimonials from independent, trustworthy sources.

Compatibility with network infrastructureYour network security monitoring tool must be compatible with the entirety of your network infrastructure. At the most basic level, it must integrate with your hardware fleet of routers, switches, and endpoint devices. If you use devices with non-compatible operating systems, you risk introducing blind spots into your security posture. For the best results, you must enjoy in-depth observability for every hardware and software asset in your network, from the physical layer to the application layer.

Regular updates and maintenanceUpdates are essential to keep security tools effective against evolving threats. Check the update frequency of any monitoring tool you consider implementing and look for the specific security vulnerabilities addressed in those updates. If there is a significant delay between the public announcement of new vulnerabilities and the corresponding security patch, your monitoring tools may be vulnerable during that period of time.

9 Best Network Security Monitoring Providers for Identifying Cybersecurity Threats1. AlgoSecAlgoSec is a network security policy management solution that helps organizations automate and orchestrate network security policies. It keeps firewall rules, routers, and other security devices configured correctly, ensuring network assets are secured properly. AlgoSec protects organizations from misconfigurations that can lead to malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks, and gives security teams the ability to proactively simulate changes to their IT infrastructure.

2. SolarWindsSolarWinds offers a range of network management and monitoring solutions, including network security monitoring tools that detect changes to security policies and traffic flows. It provides tools for network visibility and helps identify and respond to security incidents. However, SolarWinds can be difficult for some organizations to deploy because customers must purchase additional on-premises hardware.

3. Security OnionSecurity Onion is an open-source Linux distribution designed for network security monitoring. It integrates multiple monitoring tools like Snort, Suricata, Bro, and others into a single platform, making it easier to set up and manage a comprehensive network security monitoring solution. As an open-source option, it is one of the most cost-effective solutions available on the market, but may require additional development resources to customize effectively for your organization’s needs.

4. ELK StackElastic ELK Stack is a combination of three open-source tools: Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana. It’s commonly used for log data and event analysis. You can use it to centralize logs, perform real-time analysis, and create dashboards for network security monitoring. The toolset provides high-quality correlation through large data sets and provides security teams with significant opportunities to improve security and network performance using automation.

5. Cisco StealthwatchCisco Stealthwatch is a commercial network traffic analysis and monitoring solution. It uses NetFlow and other data sources to detect and respond to security threats, monitor network behavior, and provide visibility into your network traffic. It’s a highly effective solution for conducting network traffic analysis, allowing security analysts to identify threats that have infiltrated network assets before they get a chance to do serious damage.

6. WiresharkWireshark is a widely-used open-source packet analyzer that allows you to capture and analyze network traffic in real-time. It can help you identify and troubleshoot network issues and is a valuable tool for security analysts. Unlike other entries on this list, it is not a fully-featured monitoring platform that collects and analyzes data at scale – it focuses on providing deep visibility into specific data flows one at a time.

7. SnortSnort is an open-source intrusion detection system (IDS) and intrusion prevention system (IPS) that can monitor network traffic for signs of suspicious or malicious activity. It’s highly customizable and has a large community of users and contributors. It supports customized rulesets and is easy to use. Snort is widely compatible with other security technologies, allowing users to feed signature updates and add logging capabilities to its basic functionality very easily. However, it’s an older technology that doesn’t natively support some modern features users will expect it to.

8. SuricataSuricata is another open-source IDS/IPS tool that can analyze network traffic for threats. It offers high-performance features and supports rules compatible with Snort, making it a good alternative. Suricata was developed more recently than Snort, which means it supports modern workflow features like multithreading and file extraction. Unlike Snort, Suricata supports application-layer detection rules and can identify traffic on non-standard ports based on the traffic protocol.

9. Zeek (formerly Bro)Zeek is an open-source network analysis framework that focuses on providing detailed insights into network activity. It can help you detect and analyze potential security incidents and is often used alongside other NSM tools. This tool helps security analysts categorize and model network traffic by protocol, making it easier to inspect large volumes of data. Like Suricata, it runs on the application layer and can differentiate between protocols.

Essential Network Monitoring Features Traffic AnalysisThe ability to capture, analyze, and decode network traffic in real-time is a basic functionality all network security monitoring tools should share. Ideally, it should also include support for various network protocols and allow users to categorize traffic based on those categories.

Alerts and NotificationsReliable alerts and notifications for suspicious network activity, enabling timely response to security threats. To avoid overwhelming analysts with data and contributing to alert fatigue, these notifications should consolidate data with other tools in your security tech stack.

Log ManagementYour network monitoring tool should contribute to centralized log management through network devices, apps, and security sensors for easy correlation and analysis. This is best achieved by integrating a SIEM platform into your tech stack, but you may not wish to store all of your network’s logs on the SIEM, because of the added expense.

Threat DetectionUnlike regular network traffic monitoring, network security monitoring focuses on indicators of compromise in network activity. Your tool should utilize a combination of signature-based detection, anomaly detection, and behavioral analysis to identify potential security threats.

Incident Response SupportYour network monitoring solution should facilitate the investigation of security incidents by providing contextual information, historical data, and forensic capabilities. It may correlate detected security events so that analysts can conduct investigations more rapidly, and improve security outcomes by reducing false positives.

Network VisibilityBest-in-class network security monitoring tools offer insights into network traffic patterns, device interactions, and potential blind spots to enhance network monitoring and troubleshooting. To do this, they must connect with every asset on the network and successfully observe data transfers between assets.

IntegrationNo single security tool can be trusted to do everything on its own. Your network security monitoring platform must integrate with other security solutions, such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and SIEM platforms to create a comprehensive security ecosystem. If one tool fails to detect malicious activity, another may succeed.

CustomizationNo two organizations are the same. The best network monitoring solutions allow users to customize rules, alerts, and policies to align with specific security requirements and network environments. These customizations help security teams reduce alert fatigue and focus their efforts on the most important data traffic flows on the network.

Advanced Features for Identifying Vulnerabilities & WeaknessesThreat Intelligence IntegrationThreat intelligence feeds enhance threat detection and response capabilities by providing in-depth information about the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by threat actors. These feeds update constantly to reflect the latest information on cybercriminal activities so analysts always have the latest data.

Forensic CapabilitiesDetailed data and forensic tools provide in-depth analysis of security breaches and related incidents, allowing analysts to attribute attacks to hackers and discover the extent of cyberattacks. With retroactive forensics, investigators can include historical network data and look for evidence of compromise in the past.

Automated ResponseAutomated responses to security threats can isolate affected devices or modify firewall rules the moment malicious behavior is detected. Automated detection and response workflows must be carefully configured to avoid business disruptions stemming from misconfigured algorithms repeatedly denying legitimate traffic.

Application-level VisibilitySome network security monitoring tools can identify and classify network traffic by applications and services, enabling granular control and monitoring. This makes it easier for analysts to categorize traffic based on its protocol, which can streamline investigations into attacks that take place on the application layer.

Cloud and Virtual Network SupportCloud-enabled organizations need monitoring capabilities that support cloud environments and virtualized networks. Without visibility into these parts of the hybrid network, security vulnerabilities may go unnoticed. Cloud-native network monitoring tools must include data on public and private cloud instances as well as containerized assets.

Machine Learning and AIAdvanced machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms can improve threat detection accuracy and reduce false positives. These features often work by examining large-scale network traffic data and identifying patterns within the dataset. Different vendors have different AI models and varying levels of competence with emerging AI technology.

User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA)UEBA platforms monitor asset behaviors to detect insider threats and compromised accounts. This advanced feature allows analysts to assign dynamic risk scores to authenticated users and assets, triggering alerts when their activities deviate too far from their established routine.

Threat Hunting ToolsNetwork monitoring tools can provide extra features and workflows for proactive threat hunting and security analysis. These tools may match observed behaviors with known indicators of compromise, or match observed traffic patterns with the tactics, techniques, and procedures of known threat actors.

AlgoSec: The Preferred Network Security Monitoring SolutionAlgoSec has earned an impressive reputation for its network security policy management capabilities. The platform empowers security analysts and IT administrators to manage and optimize network security policies effectively. It includes comprehensive firewall policy and change management capabilities along with comprehensive solutions for automating application connectivity across the hybrid network.

Here are some reasons why IT leaders choose AlgoSec as their preferred network security policy management solution:

1. Policy Optimization: AlgoSec can analyze firewall rules and network security policies to identify redundant or conflicting rules, helping organizations optimize their security posture and improve rule efficiency.
2. Change Management: It offers tools for tracking and managing changes to firewall and network data policies, ensuring that changes are made in a controlled and compliant manner.
3. Risk Assessment: AlgoSec can assess the potential security risks associated with firewall rule changes before they are implemented, helping organizations make informed decisions.
4. Compliance Reporting: It provides reports and dashboards to assist with compliance audits, making it easier to demonstrate regulatory compliance to regulators.
5. Automation: AlgoSec offers automation capabilities to streamline policy management tasks, reducing the risk of human error and improving operational efficiency.
6. Visibility: It provides visibility into network traffic and policy changes, helping security teams monitor and respond to potential security incidents.

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Multi-cloud environments create complex IT architectures that are hard to secure. Although cloud computing creates numerous advantages for companies, it also increases the risk of data breaches. Did you know that you can mitigate these risks with a CSPM? Rony Moshkovitch, Prevasio’s co-founder, discusses why modern organizations need to opt for a CSPM solution when migrating to the cloud and also offers three powerful tips to finding and implementing the right one.

Cloud Security Can Get Messy if You Let itA cloud-based IT infrastructure can lower your IT costs, boost your agility, flexibility, and scalability, and enhance business resilience. These great advantages notwithstanding, the cloud also has one serious drawback: it is not easy to secure. When you move from an on-premise infrastructure to the cloud, the size of your digital footprint expands. This can attract hackers on the prowl who are looking for the first opportunity to compromise your assets or steal your data.

Cloud security solutions include multiple elements that must be managed and protected, such as microservices, containers, and serverless functions. These elements increase cloud complexity, reduce visibility into the cloud estate, and make it harder to secure. For all these reasons, security issues arise in the cloud, increasing the risk of breaches that may result in financial losses, legal liabilities, or reputational damage. To protect the complex and fluid cloud environment, sophisticated automation is essential. Enter cloud security posture management.

How to Identify and Implement the Right CSPM Solution1) It must offer a flat learning curve to accelerate time to value: The CSPM solution can be easy to implement, adopt, and use. It should not burden your security team. Rather, it should simplify cloud security by providing non-intrusive, agentless scans of all cloud accounts, services, and assets. It should also provide actionable information in a single-pane-of-glass view that clearly reveals what needs to be remediated in order to strengthen your cloud security posture. In addition, the solution should generate reports that are easy to understand and share.

2) It must support non-intrusive, agentless, static and dynamic analyses: Some CSPM solutions only support static scans, leaving dynamic scans to other intrusive solutions. The problem with the latter is that they require agents to be deployed, managed, and updated for every scan, increasing the organization’s technical debt and forcing security teams to spend expensive (and scarce) resources on solution management. The best way to minimize the debt and the management burden on security teams is to choose a CSPM that can scan for threats in an agentless manner. It should also perform agentless dynamic analyses on all container applications and images that can reveal valuable information about exposed network ports and other risks.

3) It must be reasonably priced: CSPM is important but it shouldn’t burn a hole in your pocket. The solution should fit your security budget and match your organization’s size, cloud environment complexity, and cloud asset usage. Also, look for a vendor that provides a transparent license model and dynamic security features instead of just dynamic, expensive billing (that could reduce your ability to control your cloud costs).

Conclusion and next stepsThe global CSPM market is set to double from $4.2 billion in 2022 to $8.6 billion by 2027. Already, many CSPM vendors and solutions are available. In order to select the best solution for your organization, make sure to consider the three tips discussed here. Need more tailored advice about the security needs of your enterprise cloud?

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As your organization adopts a hybrid IT infrastructure, there are more ways for hackers to steal your sensitive data.

This is why cloud application security is a critical part of data protection.

It allows you to secure your cloud-based applications from cyber threats while ensuring your data is safe.

This post will walk you through cloud application security, including its importance. We will also discuss the main cloud application security threats and how to mitigate them.

What is Cloud Application SecurityCloud application security refers to the security measures taken to protect cloud-based assets throughout their development lifecycle. These security measures are a framework of policies, tools, and controls that protect your cloud against cyber threats.
Here is a list of security measures that cloud application security may involve:

• Compliance with industry standards such as CIS benchmarks to prevent data breaches.
• Identity management and access controls to prevent unauthorized access to your cloud-based apps.
• Data encryption and tokenization to protect sensitive data.
• Vulnerability management through vulnerability scanning and penetration testing.
• Network perimeter security, such as firewalls, to prevent unwanted access.

The following are some of the assets that cloud security affects:

• Third-party cloud providers like Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google GCP.
• Collaborative applications like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
• Data Servers.
• Computer Networks.

Why is Cloud Application Security ImportantCloud application security is becoming more relevant as businesses migrated their data to the cloud in recent years.

This is especially true for companies with a multi-cloud environment. These types of environments create a larger attack surface for hackers to exploit.

According to IBM, the cost of a data breach in 2022 was $4.35 million. And this represents an increase of 2.6% from the previous year.
The report also revealed that it took an average of 287 days to find and stop a data breach in a cloud environment. This time is enough for hackers to steal sensitive data and really damage your assets.

Here are more things that can go wrong if organizations don’t pay attention to cloud security:

• Brand image damage:

A security breach may cause a brand’s reputation to suffer and a decline in client confidence.

During a breach, your company’s servers may be down for days or weeks. This means customers who paid for your services will not get access in that time.

They may end up destroying your brand’s image through word of mouth.

• Lost consumer trust:

Consumer confidence is tough to restore after being lost due to a security breach. Customers could migrate to rivals they believe to be more secure.

• Organizational disruption:

A security breach may cause system failures preventing employees from working. This, in turn, could affect their productivity. You may also have to fire employees tasked with ensuring cloud security.

• Data loss:

You may lose sensitive data, such as client information, resulting in legal penalties. Trade secrets theft may also affect the survival of your organization. Your competitors may steal your only leverage in the industry.

• Compliance violations:

You may be fined for failing to comply with industry regulations such as GDPR. You may also face legal consequences for failing to protect consumer data.

What are the Major Cloud Application Security ThreatsThe following is a list of the major cloud application security threats:

• Misconfigurations:

Misconfigurations are errors made when setting up cloud-based applications. They can occur due to human errors, lack of expertise, or mismanagement of cloud resources.

Examples include weak passwords, unsecured storage baskets, and unsecured ports. Hackers may use these misconfigurations to access critical data in your public cloud.

• Insecure data sharing:

This is the unauthorized or unintended sharing of sensitive data between users. Insecure data sharing can happen due to a misconfiguration or inappropriate access controls.

It can lead to data loss, breaches, and non-compliance with regulatory standards.

• Limited visibility into network operations:

This is the inability to monitor and control your cloud infrastructure and its apps. Limited network visibility prevents you from quickly identifying and responding to cyber threats.

Many vulnerabilities may go undetected for a long time. Cybercriminals may exploit these weak points in your network security and gain access to sensitive data.

• Account hijacking:

This is a situation where a hacker gains unauthorized access to a legitimate user’s cloud account.

The attackers may use various social engineering tactics to steal login credentials. Examples include phishing attacks, password spraying, and brute-force attacks.

Once they access the user’s cloud account, they can steal data or damage assets from within.

• Employee negligence and inadequately trained personnel:

This threat occurs when employees are not adequately trained to recognize, report and prevent cyber risks.

It can also happen when employees unintentionally or intentionally engage in risky behavior. For example, they could share login credentials with unauthorized users or set weak passwords.

Weak passwords enable attackers to gain entry into your public cloud. Rogue employees can also intentionally give away your sensitive data.

• Compliance risks:

Your organization faces cloud computing risks when non-compliant with industry regulations such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA.

Some of these cloud computing risks include data breaches and exposure of sensitive information. This, in turn, may result in fines, legal repercussions, and reputational harm.

• Data loss:

Data loss is a severe security risk for cloud applications. It may happen for several causes, including hardware malfunction, natural calamities, or cyber-attacks.

Some of the consequences of data loss may be the loss of customer trust and legal penalties.

• Outdated security software:

SaaS vendors always release updates to address new vulnerabilities and threats. Failing to update your security software on a regular basis may leave your system vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

Hackers may exploit the flaws in your outdated SaaS apps to gain access to your cloud.

• Insecure APIs:

APIs are a crucial part of cloud services but can pose a severe security risk if improperly secured.

Insecure APIs and other endpoint infrastructure may cause many severe system breaches. They can lead to a complete system takeover by hackers and elevated privileged access.

How to Mitigate Cloud Application Security RisksThe following is a list of measures to mitigate cloud app security risks:

• Conduct a thorough risk analysis:

This entails identifying possible security risks and assessing their potential effects. You then prioritize correcting the risks depending on their level of severity.

By conducting risk analysis on a regular basis, you can keep your cloud environment secure. You’ll quickly understand your security posture and select the right security policies.

• Implement a firm access control policy:

Access control policies ensure that only authorized users gain access to your data. They also outline the level of access to sensitive data based on your employees’ roles.

A robust access control policy comprises features such as:

• Multi-factor authentication
• Role-based access control
• Least Privilege Access
• Strong password policies.
• Use encryption:

Encryption is a crucial security measure that protects sensitive data in transit and at rest. This way, if an attacker intercepts data in transit, it will only be useful if they have a decryption key.

Some of the cloud encryption solutions you can implement include:

• Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
• Rivest -Shamir-Addleman (RSA)
• Transport Layer Security (TSL)
• Set up data backup and disaster recovery policies:

A data backup policy ensures data is completely recovered in case of breaches. You can always recover the lost data from your data backup files.

Data backup systems also help reduce the impact of cyberattacks as you will restore normal operations quickly.

Disaster recovery policies focus on establishing protocols and procedures to restore critical systems during a major disaster. This way, your data security will stay intact even when disaster strikes.

• Keep a constant watch over cloud environments:

Security issues in cloud settings can only be spotted through continuous monitoring. Cloud security posture management tools like Prevasio can help you monitor your cloud for such issues.

With its layer analysis feature, you’ll know the exact area in your cloud and how to fix it.

• Test and audit cloud security controls regularly:

Security controls help you detect and mitigate potential security threats in your cloud. Examples of security controls include firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and database encryption.

Auditing these security controls helps to identify gaps they may have. And then you take corrective actions to restore their effectiveness.

Regularly evaluating your security controls will reduce the risk of security incidents in your cloud.

• Implement a security awareness training program:

Security awareness training helps educate employees on cloud best practices. When employees learn commonly overlooked security protocols, they reduce the risks of data breaches due to human error.

Organize regular assessment tests with your employees to determine their weak points. This way, you’ll reduce chances of hackers gaining access to your cloud through tactics such as phishing and ransomware attacks

• Use the security tools and services that cloud service providers offer:

Cloud service providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offer security tools and services such as:

• Web application firewalls (WAF),
• Runtime application self-protection (RASP),
• Intrusion detection and prevention systems
• Identity and access management (IAM) controls

You can strengthen the security of your cloud environments by utilizing these tools. However, you should not rely solely on these features to ensure a secure cloud. You also need to implement your own cloud security best practices.

• Implement an incident response strategy:

A security incident response strategy describes the measures to take during a cyber attack. It provides the procedures and protocols to bring the system back to normal in case of a breach.

Designing incident response plans helps to reduce downtime. It also minimizes the impact of the damages due to cyber attacks.

• Apply the Paved Road Security Approach in DevSecOps Processes:

DevSecOps environments require security to be integrated into development workflows and tools. This way, cloud security becomes integral to an app development process.

The paved road security approach provides a secure baseline that DevSecOps can use for continuous monitoring and automated remediation.

Automate your cloud application security practicesUsing on-premise security practices such as manual compliance checks to mitigate cloud application security threats can be tiring. Your security team may also need help to keep up with the updates as your cloud needs grow.

Cloud vendors that can automate all the necessary processes to maintain a secure cloud. They have cloud security tools to help you achieve and maintain compliance with industry standards.

You can improve your visibility into your cloud infrastructures by utilizing these solutions. They also spot real-time security challenges and offer remediations.

For example, Prevasio’s cloud security solutions monitor cloud environments continually from the cloud. They can spot possible security threats and vulnerabilities using AI and machine learning.

What Are Cloud Application Security Solutions?Cloud application security solutions are designed to protect apps and other assets in the cloud.

Unlike point devices, cloud application security solutions are deployed from the cloud. This ensures you get a comprehensive cybersecurity approach for your IT infrastructure.

These solutions are designed to protect the entire system instead of a single point of vulnerability. This makes managing your cybersecurity strategy easier.

Here are some examples of cloud security application solutions:

1. Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM):

CSPM tools enable monitoring and analysis of cloud settings for security risks and vulnerabilities.

They locate incorrect setups, resources that aren’t compliant, and other security concerns that might endanger cloud infrastructures.

1. The Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP):

This cloud application security solution provides real-time protection for workloads in cloud environments. It does this by detecting and mitigating real-time threats regardless of where they are deployed.

CWPP solutions offer various security features, such as

• Network segmentation
• File integrity monitoring
• Vulnerability scanning.

Using CWPP products will help you optimize your cloud application security strategy.

3. Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB):

CASB products give users visibility into and control over the data and apps they access in the cloud.

These solutions help businesses enforce security guidelines and monitor user behavior in cloud settings. The danger of data loss, leakage, and unauthorized access is lowered in the process. CASB products also help with malware detection.

4. Runtime Application Self Protection (RASP):

This solution addresses security issues that may arise while a program is working. It identifies potential threats and vulnerabilities during runtime and thwarts them immediately.

Some of the RASP solutions include:

• Input validation
• Runtime hardening
• Dynamic Application Security testing

5. Web Application and API protection (WAAP):

These products are designed to protect your organization’s Web applications and APIs. They monitor outgoing and incoming web apps and API traffic to detect malicious activity.

WAAP products can block any unauthorized access attempts. They can also protect against cyber threats like SQL injection and Cross-site scripting.

6. Data Loss Prevention (DLP):

DLP products are intended to stop the loss or leaking of private information in cloud settings.

These technologies keep track of sensitive data in use and at rest. They can also enforce rules to stop unauthorized people from losing or accessing it.

7. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems:

SIEM systems track and analyze real-time security incidents and events in cloud settings.

The effect of security breaches is decreased thanks to these solutions. They help firms in detecting and responding to security issues rapidly.

Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)The CNAPP, which Prevasio created, raises the bar for cloud security. It combines CSPM, CIEM, IAM, CWPP, and more in one tool.

A CNAPP delivers a complete security solution with sophisticated threat detection and mitigation capabilities for packaged workloads, microservices, and cloud-native applications.

The CNAPP can find and eliminate security issues in your cloud systems before hackers can exploit them.

With its layer analysis feature, you can quickly fix any potential vulnerabilities in your cloud. It pinpoints the exact layer of code where there are errors, saving you time and effort.

CNAPP also offers a visual dynamic analysis of your cloud environment. This lets you grasp the state of your cloud security at a glance. In the process, saving you time as you know exactly where to go.

CNAPP is also a scalable cloud security solution. The cloud-native design of Prevasio’s CNAPP enables it to expand dynamically and offer real-time protection against new threats.

Let Prevasio Solve Your Cloud Application Security NeedsCloud security is paramount to protecting sensitive data and upholding a company’s reputation in the modern digital age.

To be agile to the constantly changing security issues in cloud settings, Prevasio’s Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) offers an all-inclusive solution.

From layer analysis to visual dynamic analysis, CNAPP gives you the tools you need to keep your cloud secure.

You can rely on Prevasio to properly manage your cloud application security needs.

Try Prevasio today!

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Protecting an organization against every conceivable threat is rarely possible. There is a practically unlimited number of potential threats in the world, and security leaders don’t have unlimited resources available to address them. Prioritizing risks associated with more severe potential impact allows leaders to optimize cybersecurity decision-making and improve the organization’s security posture.

Cybersecurity risk management is important because many security measures come with large costs. Before you can implement security controls designed to protect against cyberattacks and other potential risks, you must convince key stakeholders to support the project.

Having a structured approach to cyber risk management lets you demonstrate exactly how your proposed changes impact the organization’s security risk profile. This makes it much easier to calculate the return on cybersecurity investment – making it a valuable tool when communicating with board members and executives.

Here are seven tips every security leader should keep in mind when creating a risk management strategy:

• Cultivate a security-conscious risk management culture
• Use risk registers to describe potential risks in detail
• Prioritize proactive, low-cost risk remediation when possible
• Treat risk management as an ongoing process
• Invest in penetration testing to discover new vulnerabilities
• Demonstrate risk tolerance by implementing the NIST Cybersecurity Framework
• Don’t forget to consider false positives in your risk assessment

What is a Risk Management Strategy?The first step to creating a comprehensive risk management plan is defining risk. According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) risk is “the effect of uncertainty on objectives”.

This definition is accurate, but its scope is too wide. Uncertainty is everywhere, including things like market conditions, natural disasters, or even traffic jams. As a cybersecurity leader, your risk management process is more narrowly focused on managing risks to information systems, protecting sensitive data, and preventing unauthorized access.

Your risk management program should focus on identifying these risks, assessing their potential impact, and creating detailed plans for addressing them. This might include deploying tools for detecting cyberattacks, implementing policies to prevent them, or investing in incident response and remediation tools to help you recover from them after they occur. In many cases, you’ll be doing all of these things at once.

Crucially, the information you uncover in your cybersecurity risk assessment will help you prioritize these initiatives and decide how much to spend on them. Your risk management framework will provide you with the insight you need to address high-risk, high-impact cybersecurity threats first and manage low-risk, low-impact threats later on.

7 Tips for Creating a Comprehensive Risk Management Strategy1. Cultivate a security-conscious risk management cultureNo CISO can mitigate security risks on their own. Every employee counts on their colleagues, partners, and supervisors to keep sensitive data secure and prevent data breaches. Creating a risk management strategy is just one part of the process of developing a security-conscious culture that informs risk-based decision-making.

This is important because many employees have to make decisions that impact security on a daily basis. Not all of these decisions are critical-severity security scenarios, but even small choices can influence the way the entire organization handles risk.

For example, most organizations list their employees on LinkedIn. This is not a security threat on its own, but it can contribute to security risks associated with phishing attacks and social engineering. Cybercriminals may create spoof emails inviting employees to fake webinars hosted by well-known employees, and use the malicious link to infect employee devices with malware.

Cultivating a risk management culture won’t stop these threats from happening, but it might motivate employees to reach out when they suspect something is wrong. This gives security teams much greater visibility into potential risks as they occur, and increases the chance you’ll detect and mitigate threats before they launch active cyberattacks.

2. Use risk registers to describe potential risks in detailA risk register is a project management tool that describes risks that could disrupt a project during execution. Project managers typically create the register during the project planning phase and then refer to it throughout execution.

A risk register typically uses the following characteristics to describe individual risks:

• Description: A brief overview of the risk itself.
• Category: The formal classification of the risk and what it affects.
• Likelihood: How likely this risk is to take place.
• Analysis: What would happen if this risk occurred.
• Mitigation: What would the team need to do to respond in this scenario.
• Priority: How critical is this risk compared to others.

The same logic applies to business initiatives both large and small. Using a risk register can help you identify and control unexpected occurrences that may derail the organization’s ongoing projects. If these projects are actively supervised by a project manager, risk registers should already exist for them. However, there may be many initiatives, tasks, and projects that do not have risk registers. In these cases, you may need to create them yourself.

Part of the overall risk assessment process should include finding and consolidating these risk registers to get an idea of the kinds of disruptions that can take place at every level of the organization. You may find patterns in the types of security risks that you find described in multiple risk registers. This information should help you evaluate the business impact of common risks and find ways to mitigate those risks effectively.

3. Prioritize proactive, low-cost risk remediation when possibleYour organization can’t afford to prevent every single risk there is. That would require an unlimited budget and on-demand access to technical specialist expertise. However, you can prevent certain high-impact risks using proactive, low-cost policies that can make a significant difference in your overall security posture. You should take these opportunities when they present themselves.

Password policies are a common example. Many organizations do not have sufficiently robust password policies in place. Cybercriminals know this –that’s why dictionary-based credential attacks still occur. If employees are reusing passwords across accounts or saving them onto their devices in plaintext, it’s only a matter of time before hackers notice.

At the same time, upgrading a password policy is not an especially expensive task. Even deploying an enterprise-wide password manager and investing in additional training may be several orders of magnitude cheaper than implementing a new SIEM or similarly complex security platform.

Your cybersecurity risk assessment will likely uncover many opportunities like this one. Take a close look at things like password policies, change management, and security patch update procedures and look for easy, low-cost projects that can provide immediate security benefits without breaking your budget. Once you address these issues, you will be in a much better position to pursue larger, more elaborate security implementations.

4. Treat risk management as an ongoing processEvery year, cybercriminals leverage new tactics and techniques against their victims. Your organization’s security team must be ready to address the risks of emerging malware, AI-enhanced phishing messages, elaborate supply chain attacks, and more. As hackers improve their attack methodologies, your organization’s risk profile shifts. As the level of risk changes, your approach to information security must change as well.

This means developing standards and controls that adjust according to your organization’s actual information security risk environment. Risk analysis should not be a one-time event, but a continuous one that delivers timely results about where your organization is today – and where it may be in the future.

For example, many security teams treat firewall configuration and management as a one-time process. This leaves them vulnerable to emerging threats that they may not have known about during the initial deployment. Part of your risk management strategy should include verifying existing security solutions and protecting them from new and emerging risks.

5. Invest in penetration testing to discover new vulnerabilitiesThere is more to discovering new risks than mapping your organization’s assets to known vulnerabilities and historical data breaches. You may be vulnerable to zero-day exploits and other weaknesses that won’t be immediately apparent. Penetration testing will help you discover and assess risks that you can’t find out about otherwise.

Penetration testing mitigates risk by pinpointing vulnerabilities in your environment and showing how hackers could exploit them. Your penetration testing team will provide a comprehensive report showing you what assets were compromised and how. You can then use this information to close those security gaps and build a stronger security posture as a result.

There are multiple kinds of penetration testing. Depending on your specific scenario and environment, you may invest in:

• External network penetration testing focuses on the defenses your organization deploys on internet-facing assets and equipment. The security of any business application exposed to the public may be assessed through this kind of test.
• Internal network penetration testing determines how cybercriminals may impact the organization after they gain access to your system and begin moving laterally through it. This also applies to malicious insiders and compromised credential attacks.
• Social engineering testing looks specifically at how employees respond to attackers impersonating customers, third-party vendors, and internal authority figures. This will help you identify risks associated with employee security training.
• Web application testing focuses on your organization’s web-hosted applications. This can provide deep insight into how secure your web applications are, and whether they can be leveraged to leak sensitive information.

6. Demonstrate risk tolerance by implementing the NIST Cybersecurity FrameworkThe National Institute of Standards and Technology publishes one of the industry’s most important compliance frameworks for cybersecurity risk mitigation. Unlike similar frameworks like PCI DSS and GDPR, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is voluntary – you are free to choose when and how you implement its controls in your organization.

This set of security controls includes a comprehensive, flexible approach to risk management. It integrates risk management techniques across multiple disciplines and combines them into an effective set of standards any organization can follow. As of 2023, the NIST Risk Management Framework focuses on seven steps:

• Prepare the organization to change the way it secures its information technology solutions.
• Categorize each system and the type of information it processes according to a risk and impact analysis/
• Select which NIST SP 800-53 controls offer the best data protection for the environment.
• Implement controls and document their deployment.
• Assess whether the correct controls are in place and operating as intended.
• Authorize the implementation in partnership with executives, stakeholders, and IT decision-makers.
• Monitor control implementations and IT systems to assess their effectiveness and discover emerging risks.

7. Don’t forget to consider false positives in your risk assessmentFalse positives refer to vulnerabilities and activity alerts that have been incorrectly flagged. They can take many forms during the cybersecurity risk assessment process – from vulnerabilities that don’t apply to your organization’s actual tech stack to legitimate traffic getting blocked by firewalls.

False positives can impact risk assessments in many ways. The most obvious problem they present is skewing your assessment results. This may lead to you prioritizing security controls against threats that aren’t there. If these controls are expensive or time-consuming to deploy, you may end up having an uncomfortable conversation with key stakeholders and decision-makers later on.

However, false positives are also a source of security risks. This is especially true with automated systems like next-generation firewalls, extended detection and response (XDR) solutions, and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms.

Imagine one of these systems detects an outgoing video call from your organization. It flags the connection as suspicious and begins investigating it. It discovers the call is being made from an unusual location and contains confidential data, so it blocks the call and terminates the connection.

This could be a case of data exfiltration, or it could be the company CEO presenting a report to stockholders while traveling. Most risk assessments don’t explore the potential risk of blocking high-level executive communications or other legitimate communications due to false positives.

Use AlgoSec to Identify and Assess Network Security Risks More AccuratelyBuilding a comprehensive risk management strategy is not an easy task. It involves carefully observing the way your organization does business and predicting how cybercriminals may exploit those processes. It demands familiarity with almost every task, process, and technology the organization uses, and the ability to simulate attack scenarios from multiple different angles.

There is no need to accomplish these steps manually. Risk management platforms like AlgoSec’s Firewall Analyzer can help you map business applications throughout your network and explore attack simulations with detailed “what-if” scenarios. Use Firewall Analyzer to gain deep insight into how your organization would actually respond to security incidents and unpredictable events, then use those insights to generate a more complete risk management approach.

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Enterprise cybersecurity must constantly evolve to meet the threat posed by new malware variants and increasingly sophisticated hacker tactics, techniques, and procedures. This need drives the way security professionals categorize different technologies and approaches.

The difference between network security and application security is an excellent example. These two components of the enterprise IT environment must be treated separately in any modern cybersecurity framework. This is because they operate on different levels of the network and they are exposed to different types of threats and security issues.

To understand why, we need to cover what each category includes and how they contribute to an organization’s overall information security posture. IT leaders and professionals can use this information to their organization’s security posture, boost performance, and improve event outcomes.

What is Network Security?Network security focuses on protecting assets located within the network perimeter. These assets include data, devices, systems, and other facilities that enable the organization to pursue its interests — just about anything that has value to the organization can be an asset.

This security model worked well in the past, when organizations had a clearly defined network perimeter. Since the attack surface was well understood, security professionals could deploy firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and secure web gateways directly at the point of connection between the internal network and the public internet. Since most users, devices and applications were located on-site, security leaders had visibility and control over the entire network.

This started to change when organizations shifted to cloud computing and remote work, supported by increasingly powerful mobile devices. Now most organizations do not have a clear network perimeter, so the castle-and-moat approach to network security is no longer effective.

However, the network security approach isn’t obsolete. It is simply undergoing a process of change, adjusting to smaller, more segmented networks governed by Zero Trust principles and influenced by developments in application security.

Key Concepts of Network SecurityNetwork security traditionally adopts a castle-and-moat approach, where all security controls exist at the network perimeter. Users who attempt to access the network must authenticate and verify themselves before being allowed to enter. Once they enter, they can freely move between assets, applications, and systems without the need to re-authenticate themselves.

In modern, cloud-enabled networks, the approach is less like a castle and more like a university campus. There may be multiple different subnetworks working together, with different security controls based on the value of the assets under protection. In these environments, network security is just one part of a larger, multi-layered security deployment.

This approach focuses on protecting IT infrastructure, like routers, firewalls, and network traffic. Each of these components has a unique role to play securing assets inside the network:

• Firewalls act as filters for network traffic, deciding what traffic is allowed to pass through and denying the rest. Well-configured firewall deployments don’t just protect internal assets from incoming traffic, they also protect against data from leaking outside the network as well.
• Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) are security tools that continuously monitor the network for malicious activity and take action to block unauthorized processes. They may search for known threat signatures, monitor for abnormal network activity, or enforce custom security policies.
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) encrypt traffic between networks and hide users’ IP addresses from the public internet. This is useful for maintaining operational security in a complex network environment because it prevents threat actors from intercepting data in transit.
• Access control tools allow security leaders to manage who is authorized to access data and resources on the network. Secure access control policies determine which users have permission to access sensitive assets, and the conditions under which that access might be revoked.

Why is Network Security Important?Network security tools protect organizations against cyberattacks that target their network infrastructure, and prevent hackers from conducting lateral movement. Many modern network security solutions focus on providing deep visibility into network traffic, so that security teams can identify threat actors who have successfully breached the network perimeter and gained unauthorized access.

Network Security Technologies and Strategies Firewalls:* These tools guard the perimeters of network infrastructure. Firewalls filter incoming and outgoing traffic to prevent malicious activity. They also play an important role in establishing boundaries between network zones, allowing security teams to carefully monitor users who move between different parts of the network. These devices must be continuously monitored and periodically reconfigured to meet the organization’s changing security needs. * VPNs*:* Secure remote access and IP address confidentiality is an important part of network security. VPNs ensure users do not leak IP data outside the network when connecting to external sources. They also allow remote users to access sensitive assets inside the network even when using unsecured connections, like public Wi-Fi. * Zero Trust Models**: Access control and network security tools provide validation for network endpoints, including IoT and mobile devices. This allows security teams to re-authenticate network users even when they have already verified their identities and quickly disconnect users who fail these authentication checks.

What is Application Security?Application security addresses security threats to public-facing applications, including APIs. These threats may include security misconfigurations, known vulnerabilities, and threat actor exploits. Since these network assets have public-facing connections, they are technically part of the network perimeter — but they do not typically share the same characteristics as traditional network perimeter assets.

Unlike network security, application security extends to the development and engineering process that produces individual apps. It governs many of the workflows that developers use when writing code for business contexts.

One of the challenges to web application security is the fact that there is no clear and universal definition for what counts as an application. Most user-interactive tools and systems count, especially ones that can process data automatically through API access. However, the broad range of possibilities leads to an enormous number of potential security vulnerabilities and exposures, all of which must be accounted for.

Several frameworks and methods exist for achieving this:

• The OWASP Top Ten is a cybersecurity awareness document that gives developers a broad overview of the most common application vulnerabilities. Organizations that adopt the document give software engineers clear guidance on the kinds of security controls they need to build into the development lifecycle.
• The Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) is a long list of software weaknesses known to lead to security issues. The CWE list is prioritized by severity, giving organizations a good starting point for improving application security.
• Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) codes contain extensive information on publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities, including application vulnerabilities. Every vulnerability has its own unique CVE code, which gives developers and security professionals the ability to clearly distinguish them from one another.

Key Concepts of Application SecurityThe main focus of application security is maintaining secure environments inside applications and their use cases. It is especially concerned with the security vulnerabilities that arise when web applications are made available for public use. When public internet users can interact with a web application directly, the security risks associated with that application rise significantly. As a result, developers must adopt security best practices into their workflows early in the development process.

The core elements of application security include:

• Source code security, which describes a framework for ensuring the security of the source code that powers web-connected applications. Code reviews and security approvals are a vital part of this process, ensuring that vulnerable code does not get released to the public.
• Securing the application development lifecycle by creating secure coding guidelines, providing developers with the appropriate resources and training, and creating remediation service-level agreements (SLAs) for application security violations.
• Web application firewalls, which operate separately from traditional firewalls and exclusively protect public-facing web applications and APIs. Web application firewalls monitor and filter traffic to and from a web source, protecting web applications from security threats wherever they happen to be located.

Why is Application Security Important?Application security plays a major role ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data processed by applications. Since public-facing applications often collect and process end-user data, they make easy targets for opportunistic hackers. At the same time, robust application security controls must exist within applications to address security vulnerabilities when they emerge and prevent data breaches.

Application Security Technologies Web Application Firewalls. These firewalls provide protection specific to web applications, preventing attackers from conducting SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and denial-of-service attacks, among others. These technical attacks can lead to application instability and leak sensitive information to attackers. * Application Security Testing. This important step includes penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and the use of CWE frameworks. Pentesters and application security teams work together to ensure public-facing web applications and APIs hold up against emerging threats and increasingly sophisticated attacks. * App Development Security.* Organizations need to incorporate security measures into their application development processes. DevOps security best practices include creating modular, containerized applications uniquely secured against threats regardless of future changes to the IT environment or device operating systems.

Integrating Network and Application SecurityNetwork and application security are not mutually exclusive areas of expertise. They are two distinct parts of your organization’s overall security posture. Identifying areas where they overlap and finding solutions to common problems will help you optimize your organization’s security capabilities through a unified security approach.

Overlapping AreasNetwork and application security solutions protect distinct areas of the enterprise IT environment, but they do overlap in certain areas. Security leaders should be aware of the risk of over-implementation, or deploying redundant security solutions that do not efficiently improve security outcomes.

• Security Solutions: Both areas use security tools like intrusion prevention systems, authentication, and encryption. Network security solutions may treat web applications as network entry points, but many hosted web applications are located outside the network perimeter. This makes it difficult to integrate the same tools, policies, and controls uniformly across web application toolsets.
• Cybersecurity Strategy: Your strategy is an integral part of your organization’s security program, guiding your response to different security threats. Security architects must configure network and application security solutions to work together in use case scenarios where one can meaningfully contribute to the other’s operations.

Unique ChallengesSuccessful technology implementations of any kind come with challenges, and security implementations are no different. Both application and network security deployments will present issues that security leaders must be prepared to address.

Application security challenges include:

• Maintaining usability. End users will not appreciate security implementations that make apps harder to use. Security teams need to pay close attention to how new features impact user interfaces and workflows.
• Detecting vulnerabilities in code. Ensuring all code is 100% free of vulnerabilities is rarely feasible. Instead, organizations need to adopt a proactive approach to detecting vulnerabilities in code and maintaining source code security.
• Managing source code versioning. Implementing DevSecOps processes can make it hard for organizations to keep track of continuously deployed security updates and integrations. This may require investing in additional toolsets and versioning capabilities.

Network security challenges include:

• Addressing network infrastructure misconfigurations. Many network risks stem from misconfigured firewalls and other security tools. One of the main challenges in network security is proactively identifying these misconfigurations and resolving them before they lead to security incidents.
• Monitoring network traffic efficiently. Monitoring network traffic can make extensive use of limited resources, leading to performance issues or driving up network-related costs. Security leaders must find ways to gain insight into security issues without raising costs beyond what the organization can afford.
• Managing network-based security risks effectively. Translating network activity insights into incident response playbooks is not always easy. Simply knowing that unauthorized activity might be happening is not enough. Security teams must also be equipped to address those risks and mitigate potential damage.

Integrating Network and Application Security for Unified ProtectionA robust security posture must contain elements of both network and application security. Public-facing applications must be able to filter out malicious traffic and resist technical attacks, and security teams need comprehensive visibility into network activity and detecting insider threats.

This is especially important in cloud-enabled hybrid environments. If your organization uses cloud computing through a variety of public and private cloud vendors, you will need to extend network visibility throughout the hybrid network. Maintaining cloud security requires a combination of network and web application security capable of producing results in a cost-effective way.

Highly automated security platforms can help organizations implement proactive security measures that reduce the need to hire specialist internal talent for every configuration and policy change. Enterprise-ready cloud security solutions leverage automation and machine learning to reduce operating costs and improve security performance across the board.

Unify Network and Application Security with AlgoSecNo organization can adequately protect itself from a wide range of cyber threats without investing in both network and application security. Technology continues to evolve and threat actors will adapt their tactics to exploit new vulnerabilities as they are discovered. Integrating network and application security into a single, unified approach gives security teams the ability to create security policies and incident response plans that address real-world threats more effectively.

Network visibility and streamlined change management are vital to achieving this goal. AlgoSec is a security policy management and application connectivity platform that provides in-depth information on both aspects of your security posture. Find out how AlgoSec can help you centralize policy and change management in your network.

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In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, containers have become a cornerstone for deploying and managing applications efficiently. However, with the increasing reliance on containers, understanding their intricacies and addressing security concerns has become paramount. In this blog, we will delve into the fundamental concept of containers and explore the crucial security challenges they pose. Additionally, we will introduce a cutting-edge solution from our technology partner, Prevasio, that empowers organizations to fortify their containerized environments.

Talk to one of our cloud security experts Request a Demo Understanding containersAt its core, a container is a standardized software package that seamlessly bundles and isolates applications for deployment. By encapsulating an application’s code and dependencies, containers ensure consistent performance across diverse computing environments.

Notably, containers share access to an operating system (OS) kernel without the need for traditional virtual machines (VMs), making them an ideal choice for running microservices or large-scale applications.

Security concerns in containersContainer security encompasses a spectrum of risks, ranging from misconfigured privileges to malware infiltration in container images. Key concerns include using vulnerable container images, lack of visibility into container overlay networks, and the potential spread of malware between containers and operating systems. Recognizing these challenges is the first step towards building a robust security strategy for containerized environments.

Introducing Prevasio’s innovative solutionIn collaboration with our technology partner Prevasio, we’ve identified an advanced approach to mitigating container security risks. Prevasio’s Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) is an unparalleled, agentless solution designed to enhance visibility into security and compliance gaps. This empowers cloud operations and security teams to prioritize risks and adhere to internet security benchmarks effectively.

Dynamic threat protection for containersPrevasio’s focus on threat protection for containers involves a comprehensive static and dynamic analysis. In the static analysis phase, Prevasio meticulously scans packages for malware and known vulnerabilities, ensuring that container images are free from Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) or viruses during the deployment process.

On the dynamic analysis front, Prevasio employs a multifaceted approach, including:

1. Behavioral analysis: Identifying malware that evades static scanners by analyzing dynamic payloads.
2. Network traffic inspection: Intercepting and inspecting all container-generated network traffic, including HTTPS, to detect any anomalous patterns.
3. Activity correlation: Establishing a visual hierarchy, presented as a force-directed graph, to identify problematic containers swiftly. This includes monitoring new file executions and executed scripts within shells, enabling the identification of potential remote access points.

In conclusion, container security is a critical aspect of modern application deployment. By understanding the nuances of containers and partnering with innovative solutions like Prevasio’s CNAPP, organizations can fortify their cloud-native applications, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

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In today’s digital world, is your data 100% secure?

As more people and businesses use cloud services to handle their data, vulnerabilities multiply. Around six out of ten companies have moved to the cloud, according to Statista. So keeping data safe is now a crucial concern for most large companies – in 2022, the average data leak cost companies $4.35 million.

This is where cloud security architecture comes in.

Done well, it protects cloud-based data from hackers, leaks, and other online threats. To give you a thorough understanding of cloud security architecture, we’ll look at;

• What cloud security architecture is
• The top risks for your cloud
• How to build your cloud security
• How to choose a CPSM (Cloud Security Posture Management) tool

Let’s jump in

What is cloud security architecture?Let’s start with a definition:

“Cloud security architecture is the umbrella term used to describe all hardware, software and infrastructure that protects the cloud environment and its components, such as data, workloads, containers, virtual machines and APIs.” (source)

Cloud security architecture is a framework to protect data stored or used in the cloud. It includes ways to keep data safe, such as controlling access, encrypting sensitive information, and ensuring the network is secure. The framework has to be comprehensive because the cloud can be vulnerable to different types of attacks.

Three key principles behind cloud securityAlthough cloud security sounds complex, it can be broken down into three key ideas. These are known as the ‘CIA triad’, and they are;

• Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Availability

‘The CIA Triad’ Image source

ConfidentialityConfidentiality is concerned with data protection. If only the correct people can access important information, breaches will be reduced. There are many ways to do this, like encryption, access control, and user authentication.

IntegrityIntegrity means making sure data stays accurate throughout its lifecycle. Organizations can use checksums and digital signatures to ensure that data doesn’t get changed or deleted. These protect against data corruption and make sure that information stays reliable.

AvailabilityAvailability is about ensuring data and resources are available when people need them. To do this, you need a robust infrastructure and ways to switch to backup systems when required. Availability also means designing systems that can handle ‘dos attacks’ and will interrupt service.

However, these three principles are just the start of a strong cloud infrastructure. The next step is for the cloud provider and customer to understand their security responsibilities.

A model developed to do this is called the ‘Shared Responsibility Model.’

Understanding the Shared Responsibility ModelBig companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform offer public cloud services. These companies have a culture of being security-minded, but security isn’t their responsibility alone.

Companies that use these services also share responsibility for handling data. The division of responsibility depends on the service model a customer chooses. This division led Amazon AWS to create a ‘shared responsibility model’ that outlines these.

Image Source

There are three main kinds of cloud service models and associated duties:

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS),

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

3. Software as a Service (SaaS).

Each type gives different levels of control and flexibility.

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

With IaaS, the provider gives users virtual servers, storage, and networking resources. Users control operating systems, but the provider manages the basic infrastructure. Customers must have good security measures, like access controls and data encryption. They also need to handle software updates and security patches.

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS lets users create and run apps without worrying about having hardware on-premises. The provider handles infrastructure like servers, storage, and networking. Customers still need to control access and keep data safe.

3. Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS lets users access apps without having to manage any software themselves. The provider handles everything, like updates, security, and basic infrastructure. Users can access the software through their browser and start using it immediately. But customers still need to manage their data and ensure secure access.

Top six cybersecurity risksAs more companies move their data and apps to the cloud, there are more chances for security to occur. Although cybersecurity risks change over time, some common cloud security risks are:

1. Human error

99% of all cloud security incidents from now until 2025 are expected to result from human error. Errors can be minor, like using weak passwords or accidentally sharing sensitive information. They can also be bigger, like setting up security incorrectly. To lower the risk of human error, organizations can take several actions. For example, educating employees, using automation, and having good change management procedures.

2. Denial-of-service attacks

DoS attacks stop a service from working by sending too many requests. This can make essential apps, data, and resources unavailable in the cloud. DDoS attacks are more advanced than DoS attacks, and can be very destructive. To protect against these attacks, organizations should use cloud-based DDoS protection. They can also install firewalls and intrusion prevention systems to secure cloud resources.

3. Hardware strength

The strength of the physical hardware used for cloud services is critical. Companies should look carefully at their cloud service providers (CSPs) hardware offering. Users can also use special devices called hardware security modules (HSMs). These are used to protect encryption codes and ensure data security.

4. Insider attacks

Insider attacks could be led by current or former employees, or key service providers. These are incredibly expensive, costing companies $15.38 million on average in 2021. To stop these attacks, organizations should have strict access control policies. These could include checking access regularly and watching for strange user behavior. They should also only give users access to what they need for their job.

5. Shadow IT

Shadow IT is when people use unauthorized apps, devices, or services. Easy-to-use cloud services are an obvious cause of shadow IT. This can lead to data breaches, compliance issues, and security problems. Organizations should have clear rules about using cloud services. All policies should be run through a centralized IT control to handle this.

6. Cloud edge

When we process data closer to us, rather than in a data center, we refer to the data as being in the cloud edge. The issue? The cloud edge can be attacked more easily. There are simply more places to attack, and sensitive data might be stored in less secure spots. Companies should ensure security policies cover edge devices and networks. They should encrypt all data, and use the latest application security patches.

Six steps to secure your cloudNow we know the biggest security risks, we can look at how to secure our cloud architecture against them.

An important aspect of cloud security practices is managing access your cloud resources. Deciding who can access and what they can do can make a crucial difference to security. Identity and Access Management (IAM) security models can help with this. Companies can do this by controlling user access based on roles and responsibilities. Security requirements of IAM include:

1. Authentication

Authentication is simply checking user identity when they access your data. At a superficial level, this means asking for a username and password. More advanced methods include multi-factor authentication for apps or user segmentation. Multi-factor authentication requires users to provide two or more types of proof.

2. Authorization

Authorization means allowing access to resources based on user roles and permissions. This ensures that users can only use the data and services they need for their job. Limiting access reduces the risk of unauthorized users. Role-based access control (RBAC) is one way to do this in a cloud environment. This is where users are granted access based on their job roles.

3. Auditing

Auditing involves monitoring and recording user activities in a cloud environment. This helps find possible security problems and keeps an access log. Organizations can identify unusual patterns or suspicious behavior by regularly reviewing access logs.

4. Encryption at rest and in transit

Data at rest is data when it’s not being used, and data in transit is data being sent between devices or users. Encryption is a way to protect data from unauthorized access. This is done by converting it into a code that can only be read by someone with the right key to unlock it. When data is stored in the cloud, it’s important to encrypt it to protect it from prying eyes. Many cloud service providers have built-in encryption features for data at rest.

For data in transit, encryption methods like SSL/TLS help prevent interception. This ensures that sensitive information remains secure as it moves across networks.

5. Network security and firewalls

Good network security controls are essential for keeping a cloud environment safe. One of the key network security measures is using firewalls to control traffic. Firewalls are gatekeepers, blocking certain types of connections based on rules.

Intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) are another important network security tool. IDPS tools watch network traffic for signs of bad activity, like hacking or malware. They then can automatically block or alert administrators about potential threats. This helps organizations respond quickly to security incidents and minimize damage.

6. Versioning and logging

Versioning is tracking different versions of cloud resources, like apps and data. This allows companies to roll back to a previous version in case of a security incident or data breach. By maintaining a version history, organizations can identify and address security vulnerabilities.

How a CSPM can help protect your cloud securityA Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tool helpful to safeguard cloud security. These security tools monitor your cloud environment to find and fix potential problems. Selecting the right one is essential for maintaining the security of your cloud.

A CSPM tool like Prevasio management service can help you and your cloud environment. It can provide alerts, notifying you of any concerns with security policies. This allows you to address problems quickly and efficiently.

Here are some of the features that Prevasio offers:

• Agentless CSPM solution
• Secure multi-cloud environments within 3 minutes
• Coverage across multi-cloud, multi-accounts, cloud-native services, and cloud applications
• Prioritized risk list based on CIS benchmarks
• Uncover hidden backdoors in container environments
• Identify misconfigurations and security threats
• Dynamic behavior analysis for container security issues
• Static analysis for container vulnerabilities and malware

All these allow you to fix information security issues quickly to avoid data loss. Investing in a reliable CSPM tool is a wise decision for any company that relies on cloud technology.

Final WordsAs the cloud computing security landscape evolves, so must cloud security architects. All companies need to be proactive in addressing their data vulnerabilities.

Advanced security tools such as Prevasio make protecting cloud environments easier. Having firm security policies avoids unnecessary financial and reputational risk. This combination of strict rules and effective tools is the best way to stay secure.

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2024 just started but cloud network security insights are already emerging. Amongst all the research and insights GigaOm’s comprehensive research emerges as a vital compass.

More than just a collection of data and trends, it’s a beacon for us – the decision-makers and thought leaders – guiding us to navigate these challenges with a focus on the human element behind the technology. GigaOm showcased indicators to where the market is heading.

1. Understanding multi-cloud complexity: GigaOm’s insights highlight the intricacies of multi-cloud environments. It’s about recognizing the human factor in these ecosystems – how these technologies affect our teams and processes, and ultimately, our business objectives.
2. Redefining security boundaries: The shift to adaptive security boundaries, as noted by GigaOm, is a testament to our evolving work environments. This new perspective acknowledges the need for flexible security measures that resonate with our changing human interactions and work dynamics.
3. The human impact of misconfigurations: Focusing on misconfiguration and anomaly detection goes beyond technical prowess. GigaOm’s emphasis here is about protecting our digital world from threats that carry significant human consequences, such as compromised personal data and the resulting erosion of trust.

To learn more about cloud misconfigurations and risk check out our joint webinar with SANS .

Leadership in a digitally transformed world1. Cultivating a Zero Trust culture: Implementing Zero Trust, as GigaOm advises, is more than a policy change. It’s about cultivating a mindset of continuous verification and trust within our organizations, reflecting the interconnected nature of our modern workspaces. 2. Building relationships with vendors: GigaOm’s analysis of vendors reminds us that choosing a security partner is as much about forging a relationship that aligns with our organizational values as it is about technical compatibility. 3. Security as a core organizational value: According to GigaOm, integrating security into our business strategy is paramount. It’s about making security an inherent part of our organizational ethos, not just a standalone strategy.

The human stories behind vendorsGigaOm’s insights into vendors reveal the visions and values driving these companies. This understanding helps us see them not merely as service providers but as partners sharing our journey toward a secure digital future.

Embracing GigaOm’s vision: A collaborative path forwardGigaOm’s research serves as more than just guidance; it’s a catalyst for collaborative discussions among us – leaders, innovators, and technologists. It challenges us to think beyond just the technical aspects and consider the human impacts of our cybersecurity decisions.

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90% of organizations use a multi-cloud operating model to help achieve their business goals in a 2022 survey.

AWS (Amazon Web Services) is among the biggest cloud computing platforms businesses use today. It offers cloud storage via data warehouses or data lakes, data analytics, machine learning, security, and more.

Given the prevalence of multi-cloud environments, cloud security is a major concern. 89% of respondents in the above survey said security was a key aspect of cloud success.

Security audits are essential for network security and compliance. AWS not only allows audits but recommends them and provides several tools to help, like AWS Audit Manager.

In this guide, we share the best practices for an AWS security audit and a detailed step-by-step list of how to perform an AWS audit. We have also explained the six key areas to review.

Best practices for an AWS security auditThere are three key considerations for an effective AWS security audit:

Time it correctlyYou should perform a security audit:

• On a regular basis. Perform the steps described below at regular intervals.
• When there are changes in your organization, such as new hires or layoffs.
• When you change or remove the individual AWS services you use. This ensures you have removed unnecessary permissions.
• When you add or remove software to your AWS infrastructure.
• When there is suspicious activity, like an unauthorized login.

Be thoroughWhen conducting a security audit:

• Take a detailed look at every aspect of your security configuration, including those that are rarely used.
• Do not make any assumptions. Use logic instead. If an aspect of your security configuration is unclear, investigate why it was instated and the business purpose it serves.
• Simplify your auditing and management process by using unified cloud security platforms.

Leverage the shared responsibility modelAWS uses a shared responsibility model. It splits the responsibility for the security of cloud services between the customer and the vendor.

A cloud user or client is responsible for the security of:

• Digital identities
• Employee access to the cloud
• Data and objects stored in AWS
• Any third-party applications and integrations

AWS handles the security of:

• The global AWS online infrastructure
• The physical security of their facilities
• Hypervisor configurations
• Managed services like maintenance and upgrades
• Personnel screening

Many responsibilities are shared by both the customer and the vendor, including:

• Compliance with external regulations
• Security patches
• Updating operating systems and software
• Ensuring network security
• Risk management
• Implementing business continuity and disaster recovery strategies

The AWS shared responsibility model assumes that AWS must manage the security of the cloud. The customer is responsible for security within the cloud.

Step-by-step process for an AWS security auditAn AWS security audit is a structured process to analyze the security of your AWS account. It lets you verify security policies and best practices and secure your users, roles, and groups. It also ensures you comply with any regulations.

You can use these steps to perform an AWS security audit:

Step 1: Choose a goal and audit standardSetting high-level goals for your AWS security audit process will give the audit team clear objectives to work towards. This can help them decide their approach for the audit and create an audit program. They can outline the steps they will take to meet goals.

Goals are also essential to measure the organization’s current security posture. You can speed up this process using a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tool.

Next, define an audit standard. This defines assessment criteria for different systems and security processes.

The audit team can use the audit standard to analyze current systems and processes for efficiency and identify any risks. The assessment criteria drive consistent analysis and reporting.

Step 2: Collect and review all assetsManaging your AWS system starts with knowing what resources your organization uses. AWS assets can be data stores, applications, instances, and the data itself.

Auditing your AWS assets includes:

• Create an asset inventory listing: Gather all assets and resources used by the organization. You can collect your assets using AWS Config, third-party tools, or CLI (Command Line Interface) scripts.
• Review asset configuration: Organizations must use secure configuration management practices for all AWS components. Auditors can validate if these standards are competent to address known security vulnerabilities.
• Evaluate risk: Asses how each asset impacts the organization’s risk profile. Integrate assets into the overall risk assessment program.
• Ensure patching: Verify that AWS services are included in the internal patch management process.

Step 3: Review access and identityReviewing account and asset access in AWS is critical to avoid cybersecurity attacks and data breaches. AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is used to manage role-based access control. This dictates which users can access and perform operations on resources.

Auditing access controls include:

• Documenting AWS account owners: List and review the main AWS accounts, known as the root accounts. Most modern teams do not use root accounts at all, but if needed, use multiple root accounts.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA): Implement MFA for all AWS accounts based on your security policies.
• Review IAM user accounts: Use the AWS Management Console to identify all IAM users. Evaluate and modify the permissions and policies for all accounts. Remove old users.
• Review AWS groups: AWS groups are a collection of IAM users. Evaluate each group and the permissions and policies assigned to them. Remove old groups.
• Check IAM roles: Create job-specific IAM roles. Evaluate each role and the resources it has access to. Remove roles that have not been used in 90 days or more.
• Define monitoring methods: Install monitoring methods for all IAM accounts and roles. Regularly review these methods.
• Use least privilege access: The Principle of Least Privilege Access (PoLP) ensures users can only access what they need to complete a task. It prevents overly-permissive access controls and the misuse of systems and data.
• Implement access logs: Use access logs to track requests to access resources and changes made to resources.

Step 4: Analyze data flowsProtecting all data within the AWS ecosystem is vital for organizations to avoid data leaks. Auditors must understand the data flow within an organization. This includes how data moves from one system to another in AWS, where data is stored, and how it is protected. Ensuring data protection includes:

• Assess data flow: Check how data enters and exits every AWS resource. Identify any vulnerabilities in the data flows and address them.
• Ensure data encryption: Check if all data is encrypted at rest and in transit.
• Review connection methods: Check connection methods to different AWS systems. Depending on your workloads, this could include AWS Console, S3, RDS (relational database service), and more.
• Use key management services: Ensure data is encrypted at rest using AWS key management services.
• Use multi-cloud management services: Since most organizations use more than one cloud system, using multi-cloud CSPM software is essential.

Step 5: Review public resourcesElements within the AWS ecosystem are intentionally public-facing, like applications or APIs.

Others are accidentally made public due to misconfiguration. This can lead to data loss, data leaks, and unintended access to accounts and services. Common examples include EBS snapshots, S3 objects, and databases.

Identifying these resources helps remediate risks by updating access controls. Evaluating public resources includes:

• Identifying all public resources: List all public-facing resources. This includes applications, databases, and other services that can access your AWS data, assets, and resources.
• Conduct vulnerability assessments: Use automated tools or manual techniques to identify vulnerabilities in your public resources. Prioritize the risks and develop a plan to address them.
• Evaluate access controls: Review the access controls for each public resource and update them as needed. Remove unauthorized access using security controls and tools like S3 Public Access Block and Guard Duty.
• Review application code: Check the code for all public-facing applications for vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. Conduct tests for common risks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows.

Key AWS areas to review in a security auditThere are six essential parts of an AWS system that auditors must assess to identify risks and vulnerabilities:

Identity access management (IAM)AWS IAM manages the users and access controls within the AWS infrastructure. You can audit your

IAM users by:

• List all IAM users, groups, and roles.
• Remove old or redundant users. Also, remove these users from groups.
• Delete redundant or old groups.
• Remove IAM roles that are no longer in use.
• Evaluate each role’s trust and access policies.
• Review the policies assigned to each group that a user is in.
• Remove old or unnecessary security credentials.
• Remove security credentials that might have been exposed.
• Rotate long-term access keys regularly.
• Assess security credentials to identify any password, email, or data leaks.

These measures prevent unauthorized access to your AWS system and its data.

Virtual private cloud (VPC)Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) enables organizations to deploy AWS services on their own virtual network.

Secure your VPC by:

• Checking all IP addresses, gateways, and endpoints for vulnerabilities.
• Creating security groups to control the inbound and outbound traffic to the resources within your VPC.
• Using route tables to check where network traffic from each subnet is directed.
• Leveraging traffic mirroring to copy all traffic from network interfaces. This data is sent to your security and monitoring applications.
• Using VPC flow logs to capture information about all IP traffic going to and from the network interfaces.
• Regularly monitor, update, and assess all of the above elements.

Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) enables organizations to develop and deploy applications in the AWS Cloud. Users can create virtual computing environments, known as instances, to launch as servers.

You can secure your Amazon EC2 instances by:

• Review key pairs to ensure that login information is secure and only authorized users can access the private key.
• Eliminate all redundant EC2 instances.
• Create a security group for each EC2 instance. Define rules for inbound and outbound traffic for every instance. Review security groups regularly.
• Eliminate unused security groups.
• Use Elastic IP addresses to mask instance failures and enable instant remapping.
• For increased security, use VPCs to deploy your instances.

Storage (S3)Amazon S3, or Simple Storage Service, is a cloud-native object storage platform. It allows users to store and manage large amounts of data within resources called buckets.

Auditing S3 involves:

• Analyze IAM access controls
• Evaluate access controls given using Access Control Lists (ACLs) and Query String Authentication
• Re-evaluate bucket policies to ensure adequate object permissions
• Check S3 audit logs to identify any anomalies
• Evaluate S3 security configurations like Block Public Access, Object Ownership, and PrivateLink.
• Use Amazon Macie to get alerts when S3 buckets are publically accessible, unencrypted, or replicated.

Mobile appsMobile applications within your AWS environment must be audited. Organizations can do this by:

• Review mobile apps to ensure none of them contain access keys.
• Use MFA for all mobile apps.
• Check for and remove all permanent credentials for applications. Use temporary credentials so you can frequently change security keys.
• Enable multiple login methods using providers like Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

Threat detection and incident responseThe AWS cloud infrastructure must include mechanisms to detect and react to security incidents. To do this, organizations and auditors can:

• Create audit logs by enabling AWS CloudTrail, storing and access logs in S3, CloudWatch logs, WAF logs, and VPC Flow Logs.
• Use audit logs to track assessment trails and detect any deviations or notable events
• Review logging and monitoring policies and procedures
• Ensure all AWS services, including EC2 instances, are monitored and logged
• Install logging mechanisms to centralize logs on one server and in proper formats
• Implement a dynamic Incident Response Plan for AWS services. Include policies to mitigate cybersecurity incidents and help with data recovery.
• Include AWS in your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to improve disaster recovery. Dictate policies related to preparedness, crisis management elements, and more.

Top tools for an AWS auditYou can use any number of AWS security options and tools as you perform your audit.

However, a Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) like Prevasio is the ideal tool for an AWS audit. It combines the features of multiple cloud security solutions and automates security management.

Prevasio increases efficiency by enabling fast and secure agentless cloud security configuration management. It supports Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. All security issues across these vendors are shown on a single dashboard.

You can also perform a manual comprehensive AWS audit using multiple AWS tools:

• Identity and access management: AWS IAM and AWS IAM Access Analyzer
• Data protection: AWS Macie and AWS Secrets Manager
• Detection and monitoring: AWS Security Hub, Amazon GuardDuty, AWS Config, AWS CloudTrail, AWS CloudWatch
• Infrastructure protection: AWS Web Application Firewall, AWS Shield

A manual audit of different AWS elements can be time-consuming. Auditors must juggle multiple tools and gather information from various reports.

A dynamic platform like Prevasio speeds up this process. It scans all elements within your AWS systems in minutes and instantly displays any threats on the dashboard.

The bottom line on AWS security auditsSecurity audits are essential for businesses using AWS infrastructures. Maintaining network security and compliance via an audit prevents data breaches, prevents cyberattacks, and protects valuable assets.

A manual audit using AWS tools can be done to ensure safety. However, an audit of all AWS systems and processes using Prevasio is more comprehensive and reliable. It helps you identify threats faster and streamlines the security management of your cloud system.

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For your organization to implement robust security policies, it must have clear information on the security risks it is exposed to. An effective IT security plan must take the organization’s unique set of systems and technologies into account. This helps security professionals decide where to deploy limited resources for improving security processes.

Cybersecurity risk assessments provide clear, actionable data about the quality and success of the organization’s current security measures. They offer insight into the potential impact of security threats across the entire organization, giving security leaders the information they need to manage risk more effectively.

Conducting a comprehensive cyber risk assessment can help you improve your organization’s security posture, address security-related production bottlenecks in business operations, and make sure security team budgets are wisely spent.

This kind of assessment is also a vital step in the compliance process. Organizations must undergo information security risk assessments in order to meet regulatory requirements set by different authorities and frameworks, including:

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),
• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework
• The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

What is a Security Risk Assessment?Your organization’s security risk assessment is a formal document that identifies, evaluates, and prioritizes cyber threats according to their potential impact on business operations.

Categorizing threats this way allows cybersecurity leaders to manage the risk level associated with them in a proactive, strategic way.

The assessment provides valuable data about vulnerabilities in business systems and the likelihood of cyber attacks against those systems. It also provides context into mitigation strategies for identified risks, which helps security leaders make informed decisions during the risk management process.

For example, a security risk assessment may find that the organization needs to be more reliant on its firewalls and access control solutions. If a threat actor uses phishing or social engineering to bypass these defenses (or take control of them entirely), the entire organization could suffer a catastrophic data breach. In this case, the assessment may recommend investing in penetration testing and advanced incident response capabilities.

Organizations that neglect to invest in network security risk assessments won’t know their weaknesses until after they are actively exploited. By the time hackers launch a ransomware attack, it’s too late to consider whether your antivirus systems are properly configured against malware.

Who Should Perform Your Organization’s Cyber Risk Assessment?A dedicated internal team should take ownership over the risk assessment process. The process will require technical personnel with a deep understanding of the organization’s IT infrastructure. Executive stakeholders should also be involved because they understand how information flows in the context of the organization’s business logic, and can provide broad insight into its risk management strategy.

Small businesses may not have the resources necessary to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis internally. While a variety of assessment tools and solutions are available on the market, partnering with a reputable managed security service provider is the best way to ensure an accurate outcome. Adhering to a consistent methodology is vital, and experienced vulnerability assessment professionals ensure the best results.

How to Conduct a Network Security Risk Assessment1. Develop a comprehensive asset mapThe first step is accurately mapping out your organization’s network assets. If you don’t have a clear idea of exactly what systems, tools, and applications the organization uses, you won’t be able to manage the risks associated with them.

Keep in mind that human user accounts should be counted as assets as well. The Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigation Report shows that the human element is involved in more than a quarter of all data breaches. The better you understand your organization’s human users and their privilege profiles, the more effectively you can protect them from potential threats and secure critical assets effectively.

Ideally, all of your organization’s users should be assigned and managed through a centralized system. For Windows-based networks, Active Directory is usually the solution that comes to mind. Your organization may have a different system in place if it uses a different operating system.

Also, don’t forget about information assets like trade secrets and intellectual property. Cybercriminals may target these assets in order to extort the organization. Your asset map should show you exactly where these critical assets are stored, and provide context into which users have permission to access them.

Log and track every single asset in a central database that you can quickly access and easily update. Assign security value to each asset as you go and categorize them by access level.

Here’s an example of how you might want to structure that categorization:

• Public data. This is data you’ve intentionally made available to the public. It includes web page content, marketing brochures, and any other information of no consequence in a data breach scenario.
• Confidential data. This data is not publicly available. If the organization shares it with third parties, it is only under a non-disclosure agreement. Sensitive technical or financial information may end up in this category.
• Internal use only. This term refers to data that is not allowed outside the company, even under non-disclosure terms. It might include employee pay structures, long-term strategy documents, or product research data.
• Intellectual property. Any trade secrets, issued patents, or copyrighted assets are intellectual property. The value of the organization depends in some way on this information remaining confidential.
• Compliance restricted data. This category includes any data that is protected by regulatory or legal obligations. For a HIPAA-compliant organization, that would include patient data, medical histories, and protected personal information.

This database will be one of the most important security assessment tools you use throughout the next seven steps.

2. Identify security threats and vulnerabilitiesOnce you have a comprehensive asset inventory, you can begin identifying risks and vulnerabilities for each asset. There are many different types of tests and risk assessment tools you can use for this step. Automating the process whenever possible is highly recommended, since it may otherwise become a lengthy and time-consuming manual task.

Vulnerability scanning tools can automatically assess your network and applications for vulnerabilities associated with known threats. The scan’s results will tell you exactly what kinds of threats your information systems are susceptible to, and provide some information about how you can remediate them.

Be aware that these scans can only determine your vulnerability to known threats. They won’t detect insider threats, zero-day vulnerabilities and some scanners may overlook security tool misconfigurations that attackers can take advantage of.

You may also wish to conduct a security gap analysis. This will provide you with comprehensive information about how your current security program compares to an established standard like CMMC or PCI DSS. This won’t help protect against zero-day threats, but it can uncover information security management problems and misconfigurations that would otherwise go unnoticed.

To take this step to the next level, you can conduct penetration testing against the systems and assets your organization uses. This will validate vulnerability scan and gap analysis data while potentially uncovering unknown vulnerabilities in the process. Pentesting replicates real attacks on your systems, providing deep insight into just how feasible those attacks may be from a threat actor’s perspective.

When assessing the different risks your organization faces, try to answer the following questions:

• What is the most likely business outcome associated with this risk?
• Will the impact of this risk include permanent damage, like destroyed data?
• Would your organization be subject to fines for compliance violations associated with this risk?
• Could your organization face additional legal liabilities if someone exploited this risk?

3. Prioritize risks according to severity and likelihoodOnce you’ve conducted vulnerability scans and assessed the different risks that could impact your organization, you will be left with a long list of potential threats. This list will include more risks and hazards than you could possibly address all at once. The next step is to go through the list and prioritize each risk according to its potential impact and how likely it is to happen.

If you implemented penetration testing in the previous step, you should have precise data on how likely certain attacks are to take place. Your team will tell you how many steps they took to compromise confidential data, which authentication systems they had to bypass, and what other security functionalities they disabled. Every additional step reduces the likelihood of a cybercriminal carrying out the attack successfully.

If you do not implement penetration testing, you will have to conduct an audit to assess the likelihood of attackers exploiting your organization’s vulnerabilities. Industry-wide threat intelligence data can give you an idea of how frequent certain types of attacks are.

During this step, you’ll have to balance the likelihood of exploitation with the severity of the potential impact for each risk. This will require research into the remediation costs associated with many cyberattacks.

Remediation costs should include business impact – such as downtime, legal liabilities, and reputational damage – as well as the cost of paying employees to carry out remediation tasks.

Assigning internal IT employees to remediation tasks implies the opportunity cost of diverting them from their usual responsibilities. The more completely you assess these costs, the more accurate your assessment will be.

4. Develop security controls in response to risksNow that you have a comprehensive overview of the risks your organization is exposed to, you can begin developing security controls to address them. These controls should provide visibility and functionality to your security processes, allowing you to prevent attackers from exploiting your information systems and detect them when they make an attempt.

There are three main types of security control available to the typical organization:

• Physical controls prevent unauthorized access to sensitive locations and hardware assets. Security cameras, door locks, and live guards all contribute to physical security. These controls prevent external attacks from taking place on premises.
• Administrative controls are policies, practices, and workflows that secure business assets and provide visibility into workplace processes. These are vital for protecting against credential-based attacks and malicious insiders.
• Technical controls include purpose-built security tools like hardware firewalls, encrypted data storage solutions, and antivirus software. Depending on their configuration, these controls can address almost any type of threat.

These categories have further sub-categories that describe how the control interacts with the threat it is protecting against. Most controls protect against more than one type of risk, and many controls will protect against different risks in different ways. Here are some of the functions of different controls that you should keep in mind:

• Detection-based controls trigger alerts when they discover unauthorized activity happening on the network. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and security information and event management (SIEM) platforms are examples of detection-based solutions. When you configure one of these systems to detect a known risk, you are implementing a detection-based technical control.
• Prevention-based controls block unauthorized activity from taking place altogether. Authentication protocols and firewall rules are common examples of prevention-based security controls. When you update your organization’s password policy, you are implementing a prevention-based administrative control.
• Correction and compensation-based controls focus on remediating the effects of cyberattacks once they occur. Disaster recovery systems and business continuity solutions are examples. When you copy a backup database to an on-premises server, you are establishing physical compensation-based controls that will help you recover from potential threats.

5. Document the results and create a remediation planOnce you’ve assessed your organization’s exposure to different risks and developed security controls to address those risks, you are ready to condense them into a cohesive remediation plan. You will use the data you’ve gathered so far to justify the recommendations you make, so it’s a good idea to present that data visually.

Consider creating a risk matrix to show how individual risks compare to one another based on their severity and likelihood. High-impact risks that have a high likelihood of occurring should draw more time and attention than risks that are either low-impact, unlikely, or both.

Your remediation plan will document the steps that security teams will need to take when responding to each incident you describe. If multiple options exist for a particular vulnerability, you may add a cost/benefit analysis of multiple approaches. This should provide you with an accurate way to quantify the cost of certain cyberattacks and provide a comparative cost for implementing controls against that type of attack.

Comparing the cost of remediation with the cost of implementing controls should show some obvious options for cybersecurity investment. It’s easy to make the case for securing against high-severity, high-likelihood attacks with high remediation costs and low control costs. Implementing security patches is an example of this kind of security control that costs very little but provides a great deal of value in this context.

Depending on your organization’s security risk profile, you may uncover other opportunities to improve security quickly. You will probably also find opportunities that are more difficult or expensive to carry out. You will have to pitch these opportunities to stakeholders and make the case for their approval.

6. Implement recommendations and evaluate the effectiveness of your assessmentOnce you have approval to implement your recommendations, it’s time for action. Your security team can now assign each item in the remediation plan to the team member responsible and oversee their completion. Be sure to allow a realistic time frame for each step in the process to be completed – especially if your team is not actively executing every task on its own.

You should also include steps for monitoring the effectiveness of their efforts and documenting the changes they make to your security posture. This will provide you with key performance metrics that you can compare with future network security assessments moving forward, and help you demonstrate the value of your remediation efforts overall.

Once you have implemented the recommendations, you can monitor and optimize the performance of your information systems to ensure your security posture adapts to new threats as they emerge. Risk assessments are not static processes, and you should be prepared to conduct internal audits and simulate the impact of configuration changes on your current deployment. You may wish to repeat your risk evaluation and gap analysis step to find out how much your organization’s security posture has changed.

You can use automated tools like AlgoSec to conduct configuration simulations and optimize the way your network responds to new and emerging threats. Investing time and energy into these tasks now will lessen the burden of your next network security risk assessment and make it easier for you to gain approval for the recommendations you make in the future.

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A Comprehensive Cloud Security Checklist for Your Cloud EnvironmentThere’s a lot to consider when securing your cloud environment.

Threats range from malware to malicious attacks, and everything in between. With so many threats, a checklist of cloud security best practices will save you time.

First we’ll get a grounding in the top cloud security risks and some key considerations.

The Top 5 Security Risks in Cloud ComputingUnderstanding the risks involved in cloud computing is a key first step. The top 5 security risks in cloud computing are:

1. Limited visibility

Less visibility means less control. Less control could lead to unauthorized practices going unnoticed.

1. Malware

Malware is malicious software, including viruses, ransomware, spyware, and others.

1. Data breaches

Breaches can lead to financial losses due to regulatory fines and compensation. They may also cause reputational damage.

1. Data loss

The consequences of data loss can be severe, especially it includes customer information.

1. Inadequate cloud security controls

If cloud security measures aren’t comprehensive, they can leave you vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Key Cloud Security Checklist Considerations1. Managing User Access and Privileges

Properly managing user access and privileges is a critical aspect of cloud infrastructure. Strong access controls mean only the right people can access sensitive data.

1. Preventing Unauthorized Access

Implementing stringent security measures, such as firewalls, helps fortify your environment.

1. Encrypting Cloud-Based Data Assets

Encryption ensures that data is unreadable to unauthorized parties.

1. Ensuring Compliance

Compliance with industry regulations and data protection standards is crucial.

1. Preventing Data Loss

Regularly backing up your data helps reduce the impact of unforeseen incidents.

1. Monitoring for Attacks

Security monitoring tools can proactively identify suspicious activities, and respond quickly.

Cloud Security Checklist1. Understand cloud security risks 2. Establish a shared responsibility agreement with your cloud services provider (CSP) 3. Establish cloud data protection policies 4. Set identity and access management rules 5. Set data-sharing restrictions 6. Encrypt sensitive data 7. Employ a comprehensive data backup and recovery plan 8. Use malware protection 9. Create an update and patching schedule 10. Regularly assess cloud security 11. Set up security monitoring and logging 12. Adjust cloud security policies as new issues emerge

Let’s take a look at these in more detail.

Full Cloud Security Checklist1. Understand Cloud Security Risks1a. Identify Sensitive Information

First, identify all your sensitive information. This data could range from customer information to patents, designs, and trade secrets.

1b. Understand Data Access and Sharing

Use access control measures, like role-based access control (RBAC), to manage data access. You should also understand and control how data is shared. One idea is to use data loss prevention (DLP) tools to prevent unauthorized data transfers.

1c. Explore Shadow IT

Shadow IT refers to using IT tools and services without your company’s approval. While these tools can be more productive or convenient, they can pose security risks.

2. Establish a Shared Responsibility Agreement with Your Cloud Service Provider (CSP)Understanding the shared responsibility model in cloud security is essential. There are various models – IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS. Common CSPs include Microsoft Azure and AWS.

2a. Establish Visibility and Control

It’s important to establish strong visibility into your operations and endpoints. This includes understanding user activities, resource usage, and security events.

Using security tools gives you a centralized view of your secure cloud environment. You can even enable real-time monitoring and prompt responses to suspicious activities. Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) or cloud-native security tools can be useful here.

2b. Ensure Compliance

Compliance with relevant laws and regulations is fundamental. This could range from data protection laws to industry-specific regulations.

2c. Incident Management

Despite your best efforts, security incidents can still occur. Having an incident response plan is a key element in managing the impact of any security events. This plan should tell team members how to respond to an incident.

3. Establish Cloud Data Protection PoliciesCreate clear policies around data protection in the cloud. These should cover areas such as data classification, encryption, and access control. These policies should align with your organizational objectives and comply with relevant regulations.

3a. Data Classification

You should categorize data based on its sensitivity and potential impact if breached. Typical classifications include public, internal, confidential, and restricted data.

3b. Data Encryption

Encryption protects your data in the cloud and on-premises. It involves converting your data so it can only be read by those who possess the decryption key. Your policy should mandate the use of strong encryption for sensitive data.

3c. Access Control

Each user should only have the access necessary to perform their job function and no more. Policies should include password policies and changes of workloads.

4. Set Identity and Access Management Rules4a. User Identity Management

Identity and Access Management tools ensure only the right people access your data.

Using IAM rules is critical to controlling who has access to your cloud resources. These rules should be regularly updated.

4b. 2-Factor and Multi-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) are useful tools. You reduce the risk by implementing 2FA or MFA, even if a password is compromised.

5. Set Data Sharing Restrictions5a. Define Data Sharing Policies

Define clear data-sharing permissions. These policies should align with the principles of least privilege and need-to-know basis.

5b. Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Measures

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools can help enforce data-sharing policies. These tools monitor and control data movements in your cloud environment.

5c. Audit and Review Data Sharing Activities

Regularly review and audit your data-sharing activities to ensure compliance. Audits help identify any inappropriate data sharing and provide insights for improvement.

6. Encrypt Sensitive DataData encryption plays a pivotal role in safeguarding your sensitive information. It involves converting your data into a coded form that can only be read after it’s been decrypted.

6a. Protect Data at Rest

This involves transforming data into a scrambled form while it’s in storage. It ensures that even if your storage is compromised, the data remains unintelligible.

6b. Data Encryption in Transit

This ensures that your sensitive data remains secure while it’s being moved. This could be across the internet, over a network, or between components in a system.

6c. Key Management

Managing your encryption keys is just as important as encrypting the data itself. Keys should be stored securely and rotated regularly. Additionally, consider using hardware security modules (HSMs) for key storage.

6d. Choose Strong Encryption Algorithms

The strength of your encryption depends significantly on the algorithms you use. Choose well-established encryption algorithms. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or RSA are solid algorithms.

7. Employ a Comprehensive Data Backup and Recovery Plan7a. Establish a Regular Backup Schedule

Install a regular backup schedule that fits your organization’s needs. The frequency of backups may depend on how often your data changes.

7b. Choose Suitable Backup Methods

You can choose from backup methods such as snapshots, replication, or traditional backups. Each method has its own benefits and limitations.

7c. Implement a Data Recovery Strategy

In addition to backing up your data, you need a solid strategy for restoring that data if a loss occurs. This includes determining recovery objectives.

7d. Test Your Backup and Recovery Plan

Regular testing is crucial to ensuring your backup and recovery plan works. Test different scenarios, such as recovering a single file or a whole system.

7e. Secure Your Backups

Backups can become cybercriminals’ targets, so they also need to be secured. This includes using encryption to protect backup data and implementing access controls.

8. Use Malware ProtectionImplementing robust malware protection measures is pivotal in data security. It’s important to maintain up-to-date malware protection and routinely scan your systems.

8a. Deploy Antimalware Software

Deploy antimalware software across your cloud environment. This software can detect, quarantine, and eliminate malware threats. Ensure the software you select can protect against a wide range of malware.

8b. Regularly Update Malware Definitions

Anti-malware relies on malware definitions. However, cybercriminals continuously create new malware variants, so these definitions become outdated quickly. Ensure your software is set to automatically update.

8c. Conduct Regular Malware Scans

Schedule regular malware scans to identify and mitigate threats promptly. This includes full system scans and real-time scanning.

8d. Implement a Malware Response Plan

Develop a comprehensive malware response plan to ensure you can address any threats. Train your staff on this plan to respond efficiently during a malware attack.

8e. Monitor for Anomalous Activity

Continuously monitor your systems for any anomalous activity. Early detection can significantly reduce the potential damage caused by malware.

9. Create an Update and Patching Schedule9a. Develop a Regular Patching Schedule

Develop a consistent schedule for applying patches and updates to your cloud applications. For high-risk vulnerabilities, consider implementing patches as soon as they become available.

9b. Maintain an Inventory of Software and Systems

You need an accurate inventory of all software and systems to manage updates and patches. This inventory should include the system version, last update, and any known vulnerabilities.

9c. Automation Where Possible

Automating the patching process can help ensure that updates are applied consistently. Many cloud service providers offer tools or services that can automate patch management.

9d. Test Patches Before Deployment

Test updates in a controlled environment to ensure work as intended. This is especially important for patches to critical systems.

9e. Stay Informed About New Vulnerabilities and Patches

Keep abreast of new vulnerabilities and patches related to your software and systems. Being aware of the latest threats and solutions can help you respond faster.

9f. Update Security Tools and Configurations

Don’t forget to update your cloud security tools and configurations regularly. As your cloud environment evolves, your security needs may change.

10. Regularly Assess Cloud Security10a. Set up cloud security assessments and audits

Establish a consistent schedule for conducting cybersecurity assessments and security audits. Audits are necessary to confirm that your security responsibilities align with your policies. These should examine configurations, security controls, data protection and incident response plans.

10b. Conduct Penetration Testing

Penetration testing is a proactive approach to identifying vulnerabilities in your cloud environment. These are designed to uncover potential weaknesses before malicious actors do.

10c. Perform Risk Assessments

These assessments should cover a variety of technical, procedural, and human risks. Use risk assessment results to prioritize your security efforts.

10d. Address Assessment Findings

After conducting an assessment or audit, review the findings and take appropriate action. It’s essential to communicate any changes effectively to all relevant personnel.

10f. Maintain Documentation

Keep thorough documentation of each assessment or audit. Include the scope, process, findings, and actions taken in response.

11. Set Up Security Monitoring and Logging11a. Intrusion Detection

Establish intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor your cloud environment. IDSs operate by recognizing patterns or anomalies that could indicate unauthorized intrusions.

11b. Network Firewall

Firewalls are key components of network security. They serve as a barrier between secure internal network traffic and external networks.

11c. Security Logging

Implement extensive security logging across your cloud environment. Logs record the events that occur within your systems.

11d. Automate Security Alerts

Consider automating security alerts based on triggering events or anomalies in your logs. Automated alerts can ensure that your security team responds promptly.

11e. Implement Information Security and Event Management (SIEM) System

A Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system can your cloud data. It can help identify patterns, security breaches, and generate alerts. It will give a holistic view of your security posture.

11f. Regular Review and Maintenance

Regularly review your monitoring and logging practices to ensure they remain effective. as your cloud environment and the threat landscape evolve.

12. Adjust Cloud Security Policies as New Issues Emerge12a. Regular Policy Reviews

Establish a schedule for regular review of your cloud security policies. Regular inspections allow for timely updates to keep your policies effective and relevant.

12b. Reactive Policy Adjustments

In response to emerging threats or incidents, it may be necessary to adjust on an as-needed basis. Reactive adjustments can help you respond to changes in the risk environment.

12c. Proactive Policy Adjustments

Proactive policy adjustments involve anticipating future changes and modifying your policies accordingly.

12d. Stakeholder Engagement

Engage relevant stakeholders in the policy review and adjustment process. This can include IT staff, security personnel, management, and even end-users. Different perspectives can provide valuable insights.

12e. Training and Communication

It’s essential to communicate changes whenever you adjust your cloud security policies. Provide training if necessary to ensure everyone understands the updated policies.

12f. Documentation and Compliance

Document any policy adjustments and ensure they are in line with regulatory requirements. Updated documentation can serve as a reference for future reviews and adjustments.

Use a Cloud Security Checklist to Protect Your Data TodayCloud security is a process, and using a checklist can help manage risks.

Companies like Prevasio specialize in managing cloud security risks and misconfigurations, providing protection and ensuring compliance. Secure your cloud environment today and keep your data protected against threats.

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Hybrid cloud security uses a combination of on-premises equipment, private cloud deployments, and public cloud platforms to secure an organization’s data, apps, and assets. It’s vital to the success of any organization that uses hybrid cloud network infrastructure.

The key factors that make hybrid cloud security different from other types of security solutions are flexibility and agility.

Your hybrid cloud security solution must be able to prevent, detect, and respond to threats regardless of the assets they compromise.

That means being able to detect anomalous behaviors and enforce policies across physical endpoints, cloud-hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS) deployments, and in public cloud data centers. You need visibility and control wherever your organization stores or processes sensitive data.

What is Hybrid Cloud Security?To understand hybrid cloud security, we must first cover exactly what the hybrid cloud is and how it works. Hybrid cloud infrastructure generally refers to any combination of public cloud providers (like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and private cloud environments.

It’s easy to predict the security challenges hosting some of your organization’s apps on public cloud infrastructure and other apps on its own private cloud. How do you gain visibility across these different environments? How do you address vulnerabilities and misconfiguration risks?

Hybrid cloud architecture can create complex problems for security leaders. However, it provides organizations with much-needed flexibility and offers a wide range of data deployment options.

Most enterprises use a hybrid cloud strategy because it’s very rare for a large organization to entrust its entire IT infrastructure to a single vendor. As a result, security leaders need to come up with solutions that address the risks unique to hybrid cloud environments.

Key Features of Hybrid Cloud SecurityAn optimized hybrid cloud security solution gives the organization a centralized point of reference for managing security policies and toolsets across the entire environment. This makes it easier for security leaders to solve complex problems and detect advanced threats before they evolve into business disruptions.

Hybrid cloud infrastructure can actually improve your security posture if managed appropriately. Some of the things you can do in this kind of environment include:

• Manage security risk more effectively. Lock down your most sensitive and highly regulated data in infrastructure under your direct control, while saving on cloud computing costs by entrusting less sensitive data to a third party.
• Distribute points of failure. Diversifying your organization’s cloud infrastructure reduces your dependence on any single cloud platform. This amplifies many of the practical benefits of network segmentation.
• Implement Zero Trust. Hybrid cloud networks can be configured with strict access control and authentication policies. These policies should work without regard to the network’s location, providing a strong foundation for demonstrating Zero Trust.
• Navigate complex compliance requirements. Organizations with hybrid cloud infrastructure are well-prepared to meet strict compliance requirements that apply to certain regions, like CCPA or GDPR data classification. With the right tools, demonstrating compliance through custom reports is easy.
• Real-time monitoring and remediation. With the right hybrid cloud security solutions in place, you can gain in-depth oversight into cloud workloads and respond immediately to security incidents when they occur.

How Do Hybrid Cloud Security Solutions Work?Integration with Cloud PlatformsThe first step towards building a hybrid cloud strategy is determining how your cloud infrastructure deployments will interact with one another. This requires carefully reviewing the capabilities of the major public cloud platforms you use and determining your own private cloud integration capabilities.

You will need to ensure seamless operation between these platforms while retaining visibility over your entire network. using APIs to programmatically connect different aspects of your cloud environment can help automate some of the most time-intensive manual tasks.

For example, you may need to manage security configurations and patch updates across many different cloud resources. This will be very difficult and time-consuming if done manually, but a well-integrated automation-ready policy management solution can make it easy.

Security Controls and MeasuresYour hybrid cloud solution will also need to provide comprehensive tools for managing firewalls and endpoints throughout your environment. These security tools can’t work in isolation — they need consistent policies informed by observation of your organization’s real-world risk profile. That means you’ll need to deploy a centralized solution for managing the policies and rulesets these devices use, and continuously configure them to address the latest threats.

You will also need to configure your hybrid cloud network to prevent lateral movement and make it harder for internal threat actors to execute attacks. This is achieved with network segmentation, which partitions different parts of your network into segments that do not automatically accept traffic from one another. Microsegmentation further isolates different assets in your network according to their unique security needs, allowing access only to an exclusive set of users and assets.

Dividing cloud workloads and resources into micro-segmented network zones improves network security and makes it harder for threat actors to successfully launch malware and ransomware attacks. It reduces the attack surface and enhances your endpoint security capabilities by enabling you to quarantine compromised endpoints the moment you detect unauthorized activity.

How to Choose a Hybrid Cloud Security ProviderYour hybrid cloud security provider should offer an extensive range of features that help you optimize your cloud service provider’s security capabilities. It should seamlessly connect your security team to the cloud platforms it’s responsible for protecting, while providing relevant context and visibility into cloud security threats.

Here are some of the key features to look out for when choosing a hybrid cloud security provider:

• Scalability and Flexibility. The solution must scale according to your hybrid environment’s needs. Changing security providers is never easy, and you should project its capabilities well into the future before deciding to go through with the implementation. Pay close attention to usage and pricing models that may not be economically feasible as your organization grows.
• SLAs and Compliance. Your provider must offer service-level agreements that guarantee a certain level of performance. These SLAs will also play an important role ensuring compliance requirements are always observed, especially in highly regulated sectors like healthcare.
• Security Posture Assessment. You must be able to easily leverage the platform to assess and improve your overall security posture in a hybrid cloud model. This requires visibility and control over your data, regardless of where it is stored or processed. Not all hybrid cloud security solutions have the integrations necessary to make this feasible.
• DevSecOps Integration. Prioritize cloud security providers that offer support for integrating security best practices into DevOps, and providing security support early in the software development lifecycle. If your organization plans on building continuous deployment capabilities now or in the future, you will need to ensure your cloud security platform is capable of supporting those workflows.

Top 6 Hybrid Cloud Security Solutions1. AlgoSecAlgoSec is an application connectivity platform that manages security policies across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. It allows security leaders to take control of their apps and security tools, managing and enforcing policies that safeguard cloud services from threats.

AlgoSec supports the automation of data security policy changes and allows users to simulate configuration changes across their tech stack. This makes it a powerful tool for in-depth risk analysis and compliance reporting, while giving security leaders the features they need to address complex hybrid cloud security challenges.

Key Features: Complete network visualization. AlgoSec intelligently analyzes application dependencies across the network, giving security teams clear visibility into their network topology. * Zero-touch change management. Customers can automate application and policy connectivity changes without requiring manual interaction between administrators and security tools. * Comprehensive security policy management.* AlgoSec lets administrators manage security policies across cloud and on-premises infrastructure, ensuring consistent security throughout the organization.

What Do People Say About AlgoSec?AlgoSec is highly rated for its in-depth policy management capabilities and its intuitive, user-friendly interface. Customers praise its enhanced visibility, intelligent automation, and valuable configuration simulation tools. AlgoSec provides security professionals with an easy way to discover and map their network, and scale policy management even as IT infrastructure grows.

2. Microsoft Azure Security CenterMicrosoft Azure Security Center provides threat protection and unified security management across hybrid cloud workloads. As a leader in cloud computing, Microsoft has equipped Azure Security Center with a wide range of cloud-specific capabilities like advanced analytics, DevOps integrations, and comprehensive access management features into a single cloud-native solution.

Adaptive Application Controls leverages machine learning to give users personalized recommendations for whitelisting applications. Just-in-Time VM Access protects cloud infrastructure from brute force attacks by reducing access when virtual machines are not needed.

Key Features: Unified security management. Microsoft’s security platform offers visibility both into cloud workflows and non-cloud assets. It can map your hybrid network and enable proactive threat detection across the enterprise tech stack. * Continuous security assessments. The platform supports automated security assessments for network assets, services, and applications. It triggers alerts notifying administrators when vulnerabilities are detected. * Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) compatibility.* Microsoft enables customers to extend visibility and protection to the IaaS layer, providing uniform security and control across hybrid networks.

What Do People Say About Microsoft Azure Security Center?Customers praise Microsoft’s hybrid cloud security solution for its user-friendly interface and integration capabilities. However, many users complain about false positives. These may be the result of security tool misconfigurations that lead to unnecessary disruptions and expensive investigations.

3. Amazon AWS Security HubAmazon AWS Security Hub is a full-featured cloud security posture management solution that centralized security alerts and enables continuous monitoring of cloud infrastructure. It provides a detailed view of security alerts and compliance status across the hybrid environment.

Security leaders can use Amazon AWS Security Hub to automate compliance checks, and manage their security posture through a centralized solution. It provides extensive API support and can integrate with a wide variety of additional tools.

Key Features: Automated best practice security checks. AWS can continuously check your security practices against a well-maintained set of standards developed by Amazon security experts. * Excellent data visualization capabilities. Administrators can customize the Security Hub dashboard according to specific compliance requirements and generate custom reports to demonstrate security performance. * Uniform formatting for security findings.* AWS uses its own format — the AWS Security Findings Format (ASFF) — to eliminate the need to normalize data across multiple tools and platforms.

What Do People Say About Amazon AWS Security Hub?Amazon’s Security Hub is an excellent choice for native cloud security posture management, providing granular control and easy compliance. However, the platform’s complexity and lack of visibility does not resonate well with all customers. Some organizations will need to spend considerable time and effort building comprehensive security reports.

4. Google Cloud Security Command CenterGoogle’s centralized platform helps administrators identify and remediate security risks in Google Cloud and hybrid environments. It is designed to identify misconfigurations and vulnerabilities while making it easier for security leaders to manage regulatory compliance.

Some of the key features it offers include real-time threat detection, security health analytics, and risk assessment tools. Google can also simulate the attack path that threat actors might use to compromise cloud networks.

Key Features: Multiple service tiers. The standard service tier provides security health analytics and alerts, while the premium tier offers attack path simulations and event threat detection capabilities. * AI-generated summaries. Premium subscribers can read dynamically generated summaries of security findings and attack paths in natural language, reducing this technology’s barrier to entry. * Cloud infrastructure entitlement management.* Google’s platform supports cloud infrastructure entitlement management, which exposes misconfigurations at the principal account level from an identity-based framework

What Do People Say About Google Cloud Security Command Center?Customers applaud the feature included in Google’s premium tier for this service, but complain that it can be hard to get. Not all organizations meet the requirements necessary to use this platform’s most advanced features. Once properly implemented and configured, however, it provides state-of-the-art cloud security that integrates well with Google-centric workflows.

5. IBM Cloud Pak for SecurityIBM’s cloud security service connects disparate data sources across hybrid and multi-cloud environments to uncover hidden threats. It allows hybrid organizations to advance Zero Trust strategies without compromising on operational security.

IBM provides its customers with AI-driven insights, seamless integrations with existing IT environments, and data protection capabilities. It’s especially well-suited for enterprise organizations that want to connect public cloud services with legacy technology deployments that are difficult or expensive to modify.

Key Features: Open security. This platform is designed to integrate easily with existing security applications, making it easy for customers to scale their security tech stack and improve policy standards across the enterprise. * Improved data stewardship. IBM doesn’t require customers to move their data from one place to another. This makes compliance much easier to manage, especially in complex enterprise environments. * Threat intelligence integrations.* Customers can integrate IBM Cloud Pak with IBM Threat Intelligence Insights to get detailed and actionable insights delivered to cloud security teams.

What Do People Say About IBM Cloud Pak?IBM Cloud Pak helps connect security teams and administrators to the content they need in real time. However, it’s a complicated environment with a significant amount of legacy code, well-established workarounds, and secondary components. This impacts usability and makes it less accessible than other entries on this list.

6. Palo Alto Networks Prisma CloudPalo Alto Networks offers comprehensive cloud-native security across multi-cloud and hybrid environments to customers. Prisma Cloud reduces risk and prevents security breaches at multiple points in the application lifecycle.

Some of the key features this solution includes are continuous monitoring, API security, and vulnerability management. It provides comprehensive visibility and control to security leaders managing extensive hybrid cloud deployments.

Key Features: Hardens CI/CD pipelines. This solution includes robust features for reducing the attack surface of application development environments and protecting CI/CD pipelines. * Secures infrastructure-as-code (IaC) deployments. Extensive coverage for detecting and resolving misconfigurations in IaC templates like Terraform, Kubernetes, ARM, and CloudFormation. * Provides context-aware prioritization.* Palo Alto Networks addresses open source vulnerabilities and license compliance problems contextually, bringing attention to the most important issues first.

What Do People Say About Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud?Palo Alto Networks is highly regarded as an enterprise security leader. Many customers praise its products, and Prisma Cloud is no different. However, it comes with a very high price tag that many organizations simply can’t afford. This is especially true when additional integration and implementation costs are factored in. Additionally, some customers have complained about the lack of embedded Identity and Access Management (IAM) controls in the solution.

Optimize Hybrid Cloud Security with AlgoSecSecurity leaders must continually adapt their security deployments to meet evolving cybersecurity threats in hybrid cloud environments. As the threat landscape changes, the organization’s policies and capabilities must adjust to meet new demands.

Achieving this level of flexibility is not easy with purely manual configuration and policy workflows. Human error is a major element in many data breaches, and organizations must develop security best practices that address that risk.

Implementing the right cloud security platform can make a significant difference when it comes to securing complex hybrid cloud deployments. The ability to simulate in-depth configuration changes and automate the deployment of those changes across the entire environment offers significant advantages to operational security.

Consider making AlgoSec your cybersecurity co-pilot for identifying vulnerabilities and addressing security gaps. Avoid costly misconfigurations and leverage intelligent automation to make your hybrid cloud environment more secure than ever before.

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Compared to on-premises data storage, cloud computing comes with a lot of benefits. On-demand access to company data, flexibility, and fast collaboration are just a few. But along with these advantages come increased security risks. To manage them, companies should invest in regular cloud security assessments.

What Is a Cloud Security Risk Assessment?A cloud security assessment evaluates the potential vulnerabilities of an organization’s cloud environment. These assessments are essential to mitigate risks and ensure the continued security of cloud-based systems.

By looking at cloud applications, services, and data, companies can better understand the biggest threats to their cloud environment. By managing these threats, businesses can avoid costly workflow interruptions.

A security assessment can be done by an organization’s internal security team or by an outside security expert. This can happen one time only, or it can be done regularly as part of an organization’s overall cybersecurity plan.

How Do Cloud Security Risk Assessments Protect Your Business?Cloud-based systems and services are an essential part of most businesses nowadays. Unfortunately, what makes them convenient is also what makes them vulnerable to security threats.

A cloud security risk assessment helps organizations find out what might go wrong and prevent it from happening. It also helps with prioritizing and managing the most serious issues before they become full-on data breaches.

One way assessments do this is by identifying misconfigurations. Cloud misconfigurations are behind many security breaches. They result from errors introduced by network engineers working on early cloud systems. A cloud security assessment earmarks these and other outmoded security features for repair.

What’s more, cloud security assessments identify third-party risks from APIs or plugins. When your company identifies risks and manages permissions, you keep your cloud environment safe. By mitigating third-party risks, you can still benefit from outside vendors.

Of course, none of this information is valuable without employee education. Employees need to know about risks and how to stop them; this is the best way to reduce the number of security incidents caused by human error or carelessness.

To put it simply, a cloud security assessment helps your business run smoothly. When you know the risks your company faces and can manage them, you reduce the impact of security-related incidents. That means you can recover faster and get back to work sooner.

7 Benefits of Cloud Security Risk AssessmentsCloud security risk assessments provide lots of benefits. They can help you:

• Improve cloud security posture. Understanding the ins and outs of a cloud-based system helps organizations plan better. For example, they can modify their security budget or improve their risk management strategy based on the results.
• Uncover security vulnerabilities. Cloud security assessments pinpoint weak spots. This includes misconfigurations, access control issues, and missing multi-factor authentications (MFAs). Once identified, organizations can fix the issues and avoid security breaches.
• Develop a more secure multi-cloud environment. Most organizations use multiple cloud platforms. Usually, this involves private or public clouds or a combination of both. This is ideal from a financial and agility perspective. But every extra layer in a cloud environment introduces potential risks. A cloud security assessment is essential in identifying these cross-cloud threats.
• Achieve compliance with industry standards and regulatory bodies. Ensuring compliance with GDPR, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA helps protect organizations from millions of dollars of potential fines.
• Manage your reputation. A sensitive data leak or other cloud security incident damages a company’s reputation. Think of companies like Target, Facebook, and LinkedIn. All have faced backlash after security breaches. Conducting cloud security assessments shows that organizations value customer and stakeholder privacy.
• Detect past threats. A cloud security assessment looks for things that might be wrong with the way your cloud system is set up. It can also help you find out if there have been any past security problems. By doing this, you can see if someone has tried to tamper with the security of your cloud system in the past, which could signal a bigger problem.
• Increase efficiency. Cloud security assessments show you which security measures are working and which aren’t. By getting rid of security tools that aren’t needed, employees have more time to work on other tasks.
• Cost savings. The most compelling reason to run a cloud security assessment is that it helps save money. Cost savings come from eliminating unnecessary security measures and from missed work time due to breaches.

What Risks Do Cloud Security Assessments Look For?Cloud security assessments focus on six areas to identify security vulnerabilities in your cloud infrastructure: overall security posture, access control and management, incident management, data protection, network security, and risk management and compliance.

Some specific risks cloud security assessments look for include:

Cloud MisconfigurationsMisconfigurations are one of the most common threats to overall security posture. In fact, McAfee’s enterprise security study found that enterprises experience 3,500 security incidents per month because of misconfigurations.

From improperly stored passwords to insecure automated backups, misconfiguration issues are everywhere. Because they’re so common, fixing this issue alone can reduce the risk of a security breach by up to 80%, according to Gartner.

Access Control and Management ProblemsThis assessment also highlights ineffective access control and management. One way it does this is by identifying excessive network permissions. Without the proper guardrails (like data segmentation) in place, an organization’s attack surface is greater. Plus, its data is at risk from internal and external threats.

If an employee has too much access to a company’s network, they might accidentally delete or change important information. This could cause unintended system problems. Additionally, if hackers get access to the company’s network, they could easily steal important data.

Cloud security assessments also look at credentials as part of user account management. A system that uses only static credentials for users or cloud workloads is a system at risk. Without multifactor authentication (MFA) in place, hackers can gain access to your system and expose your data.

Improper Incident Management and LoggingWhen it comes to incident management, a cloud security assessment can reveal insufficient or improper logging — problems that make detecting malicious activities more difficult. Left unchecked, the damage is more severe, making recovery more time-consuming and expensive.

Insufficient Data and Network SecurityData protection and network security go hand in hand. Without proper network controls in place (for example firewalls and intrusion detection), data in the cloud is vulnerable to attack. A cloud security assessment can identify gaps in both areas.

Based on the results of a cloud security assessment, a company can make a risk management plan to help them react as quickly and effectively as possible in the event of an attack.

The last aspect of cloud security the assessment looks at is compliance with industry standards.

7 Steps To Perform a Cloud Security AssessmentThe main components of cloud security assessments include: Identifying your cloud-based assets, discovering vulnerabilities through testing, generating recommendations, and retesting once the issues have been addressed.

The steps to performing a cloud security assessment are as follows:

Step One: Define the project

Get a picture of your cloud environment. Look at your cloud service providers (CSPs), third-party apps, and current security tools. First, decide which parts of your system will be evaluated. Next, look at the type of data you’re handling or storing. Then consider the regulations your business must follow.

Step Two: Identify potential threats

Look at both internal and external threats to your cloud-based system. This could include endpoint security, misconfigurations, access control issues, data breaches, and more. Then figure out how likely each type of attack is. Finally, determine what impact each attack would have on your business operations.

Step Three: Examine your current security system

Look for vulnerabilities in your existing cloud security. In particular, pay attention to access controls, encryption, and network security.

Step Four: Test

Penetration testing, port scanners, and vulnerability scanners are used to find weaknesses in your cloud environment that were missed during the original risk assessment.

Step Five: Analyze

Look at the results and determine which weaknesses need immediate attention. Deal with the issues that will have the biggest impact on your business first. Then, focus on the issues most likely to occur. Finish by handling lower-priority threats.

Step Six: Develop an action plan

Come up with a time-bound remediation plan. This plan should spell out how your organization will deal with each security vulnerability. Assign roles and responsibilities as part of your incident response program.

Depending on the results, this could include updating firewalls, monitoring traffic logs, and limiting access control.

Step Seven: Maintain

Cloud security assessments can be done as a one-off, but it’s much better to monitor your systems regularly. Frequent monitoring improves your organization’s threat intelligence. It also helps you identify and respond to new threats in real time.

Getting Help With Your Cloud Security AssessmentCloud security assessment tools are used to identify vulnerabilities in a cloud infrastructure which could lead to data loss or compromise by attackers.

As an agentless cloud security posture management (CSPM) tool, Prevasio helps identify and fix security threats across all your cloud assets in minutes.

Our deep cloud scan checks for security weaknesses, malware, and compliance. This helps ensure that your company’s cloud environment is protected against potential risks.

But any CSPM can do that.

Prevasio is the only solution that provides container security dynamic behavior analysis. Our technology spots hidden backdoors in your container environments. It also identifies supply chain attack risks.

Paired with our container security static analysis for vulnerabilities and malware, your containers will never be safer.

Our CSPM works across multi-cloud, multi-accounts, cloud-native services, and cloud assets. Whether you’re using Microsoft Azure, S3 buckets in AWS, or Cosmos DB in GCP, Prevasio is the security system your company has been looking for.

But we do more than identify security threats. We increase your team’s efficiency. How? By providing a prioritized list of cloud risks ranked according to CIS benchmarks

That means no more uncertainty about what needs to get done. Our easy-to-understand results help your team concentrate on the most important things. This saves time and money by reducing the need for extra administrative work.

A Final Word on Cloud Security AssessmentsPerforming regular cloud security assessments helps your business spot security issues before they become major problems. When you reinforce your security controls and define your incident response plan, you make your organization more efficient. Plus, you keep things going even when issues arise. Put together, these proactive measures can save you money. Sign up today and see how Prevasio can help your team!

FAQs About Cloud Security AssessmentsWhat are the four areas of cloud security?The four pillars of cloud security are data availability, data confidentiality, data integrity, and regulatory compliance.

What is included in a security assessment?Cloud security assessments include: Identifying your cloud-based assets, discovering vulnerabilities through testing, generating recommendations, and retesting once the issues have been addressed.

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CIS provides best practices to help companies like yours improve their cloud security posture.
You’ll protect your systems against various threats by complying with its benchmark standards.
This post will walk you through CIS benchmarks, their development, and the kinds of systems they apply to.

We will also discuss the significance of CIS compliance and how Prevasio may help you achieve it.

What are CIS benchmarks?CIS stands for Center for Internet Security. It’s a nonprofit organization that aims to improve companies’ cybersecurity readiness and response.

Founded in 2000, the CIS comprises cybersecurity experts from diverse backgrounds. They have the common goal of enhancing cybersecurity resilience and reducing security threats.

CIS compliance means adhering to the Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks.
CIS benchmarks are best practices and guidelines to help you build a robust cloud security strategy.

These CIS benchmarks give a detailed road map for protecting a business’s IT infrastructure. They also encompass various platforms, such as web servers or cloud bases.
The CIS benchmarks are frequently called industry standards. They are normally in line with other regulatory organizations, such as ISO, NIST, and HIPAA.

Many firms adhere to CIS benchmarks to ensure they follow industry standards. They also do this to show their dedication to cybersecurity to clients and stakeholders.
The CIS benchmarks and CIS controls are always tested through on-premises analysis by leading security firms. This ensures that CIS releases standards that are effective at mitigating cyber risks.

How are the CIS benchmarks developed?A community of cybersecurity professionals around the world cooperatively develops CIS benchmarks.
They exchange their knowledge, viewpoints, and experiences on a platform provided by CIS. The end result is consensus-based best practices that will protect various IT systems.

The CIS benchmark development process typically involves the following steps:
1. Identify the technology:The first step is to identify the system or technology that has to be protected. This encompasses a range of applications. It can be an operating system, database, web server, or cloud environment.

2. Define the scope:The following stage is to specify the benchmark’s parameters. It involves defining what must be implemented for the technology to be successfully protected. They may include precise setups, guidelines, and safeguards.

3. Develop recommendations:Next, a community of cybersecurity experts will identify ideas for safeguarding the technology. These ideas are usually based on current best practices, norms, and guidelines. They may include the minimum security requirements and measures to be taken.

4. Expert consensus review:Thereafter, a broader group of experts and stakeholders assess the ideas. They will offer comments and suggestions for improvement. This level aims to achieve consensus on the appropriate technical safeguards.

5. Pilot testing:The benchmark is then tested in a real-world setting. At this point, CIS aims to determine its efficacy and spot any problems that need fixing.

6. Publication and maintenance:The CIS will publish the benchmark once it has been improved and verified. The benchmark will constantly be evaluated and updated to keep it current and useful for safeguarding IT systems.

What are the CIS benchmark levels?CIS benchmarks are divided into three levels based on the complexity of an IT system.
It’s up to you to choose the level you need based on the complexity of your IT environment.

Each level of the benchmarks offers better security recommendations than the previous level.

The following are the distinct categories that benchmarks are divided into:
Level 1This is the most basic level of CIS standards. It requires organizations to set basic security measures to reduce cyber threats.
Some CIS guidelines at this level include password rules, system hardening, and risk management.

The level 1 CIS benchmarks are ideal for small businesses with basic IT systems.

Level 2This is the intermediate level of the CIS benchmarks. It is suitable for small to medium businesses that have complex IT systems.

The Level 2 CIS standards offer greater security recommendations to your cloud platform.

It has guidelines for network segmentation, authentication, user permissions, logging, and monitoring. At this level, you’ll know where to focus your remediation efforts if you spot a vulnerability in your system.

Level 2 also covers data protection topics like disaster recovery plans and encryption.

Level 3Level 3 is the most advanced level of the CIS benchmarks. It offers the highest security recommendations compared to the other two.
Level 3 also offers the Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) profiles for companies.

STIG are configuration guidelines developed by the Defense Information Systems Agency. These security standards help you meet US government requirements.

This level is ideal for large organizations with the most sensitive and vital data. These are companies that must protect their IT systems from complex security threats.

It offers guidelines for real-time security analytics, safe cloud environment setups, and enhanced threat detection.

What types of systems do CIS benchmarks apply to?The CIS benchmarks are applicable to many IT systems used in a cloud environment.

The following are examples of systems that CIS benchmarks can apply to:

• Operating systems:

CIS benchmarks offer standard secure configurations for common operating systems, including Amazon Linux, Windows Servers, macOS, and Unix.

They address network security, system hardening, and managing users and accounts.

• Cloud infrastructure:

CIS benchmarks can help protect various cloud infrastructures, including public, private, and multi-cloud.

They recommend guidelines that safeguard cloud systems by various cloud service providers. For example, network security, access restrictions, and data protection.
The benchmarks cover cloud systems such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM, Oracle, and Google Cloud Platform.

• Server software:

CIS benchmarks provide secure configuration baselines for various servers, including databases (SQL), DNS, Web, and authentication servers. The baselines cover system hardening, patch management, and access restrictions.

• Desktop software:

Desktop apps such as music players, productivity programs, and web browsers can be weak points in your IT system.

CIS benchmarks offer guidelines to help you protect your desktop software from vulnerabilities. They may include patch management, user and account management, and program setup.

• Mobile devices:

The CIS benchmarks recommend safeguarding endpoints such as tablets and mobile devices. The standards include measures for data protection, account administration, and device configuration.

• Network devices:

CIS benchmarks also involve network hardware, including switches, routers, and firewalls. Some standards for network devices include access restrictions, network segmentation, logging, and monitoring.

• Print devices:

CIS benchmarks also cover print devices like printers and scanners. The CIS benchmark baselines include access restrictions, data protection, and firmware upgrades.

Why is CIS compliance important?CIS compliance helps you maintain secure IT systems. It does this by helping you adhere to globally recognized cybersecurity standards.

CIS benchmarks cover various IT systems and product categories, such as cloud infrastructures. So by ensuring CIS benchmark compliance, you reduce the risk of cyber threats to your IT systems.
Achieving CIS compliance has several benefits:
1. Your business will meet internationally accepted cybersecurity standards.
The CIS standards are developed through a consensus review process. This means they are founded on the most recent threat intelligence and best practices.

So you can rely on the standards to build a solid foundation for securing your IT infrastructure.

1. It can help you meet regulatory compliance requirements for other important cybersecurity frameworks.

CIS standards can help you prove that you comply with other industry regulations. This is especially true for companies that handle sensitive data or work in regulated sectors.

CIS compliance is closely related to other regulatory compliances such as NIST, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. By implementing the CIS standards, you’ll conform to the applicable industry regulations.
3. Achieving CIS continuous compliance can help you lower your exposure to cybersecurity risks. In the process, safeguard your vital data and systems.
This aids in preventing data breaches, malware infections, and other cyberattacks.

Such incidents could seriously harm your company’s operations, image, and financial situation.
A great example is the Scottish Oil giant, SSE. It had to pay €10M in penalties for failing to comply with a CIS standard in 2013.

1. Abiding by the security measures set by CIS guidelines can help you achieve your goals faster as a business. The guidelines cover the most important and frequently attacked areas of IT infrastructure.
2. CIS compliance enhances your general security posture. It also decreases the time and resources needed to maintain security. It does this by providing uniform security procedures across various platforms.

How to achieve CIS compliance?Your organization can achieve CIS compliance by conforming to the guidelines of the CIS benchmarks and CIS controls.

Each CIS benchmark usually includes a description of a recommended configuration. It also usually contains a justification for the implementation of the configuration.

Finally, it offers step-by-step instructions on how to carry out the recommendation manually. While the standards may seem easy to implement manually, they may consume your time and increase the chances of human errors.

That is why most security teams prefer using tools to automate achieving and maintaining CIS compliance.

CIS hardened images are great examples of CIS compliance automation tools. They are pre-configured images that contain all the necessary recommendations from CIS benchmarks.

You can be assured of maintaining compliance by using these CIS hardened images in your cloud environment.

You can also use CSPM tools to automate achieving and maintaining CIS compliance.

Cloud Security Posture Management tools automatically scan for vulnerabilities in your cloud. They then offer detailed instructions on how to fix those issues effectively.

This way, your administrators don’t have to go through the pain of doing manual compliance checks. You save time and effort by working with a CSPM tool.

Use Prevasio to monitor CIS compliance.Prevasio is a cloud-native application platform (CNAPP) that can help you achieve and maintain CIS compliance in various setups, including Azure, AWS, and GCP.

A CNAPP is basically a CSPM tool on steroids. It combines the features of CSPM, CIEM, IAM, and CWPP tools into one solution. This means you’ll get clearer visibility of your cloud environment from one platform.

Prevasio constantly assesses your system against the latest version of CIS benchmarks. It then generates reports showing areas that need adjustments to keep your cloud security cyber threat-proof.

This saves you time as you won’t have to do the compliance checks manually.

Prevasio also has a robust set of features to help you comply with standards from other regulatory bodies. So using this CSPM tool, you’ll automatically comply with HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR.

Prevasio offers strong vulnerability evaluation and management capabilities besides CIS compliance monitoring.
It uses cutting-edge scanning algorithms to find known flaws, incorrect setups, and other security problems in IT settings.

This can help you identify and fix vulnerabilities before fraudsters can exploit them.

The bottom line on CIS complianceAchieving and maintaining CIS compliance is essential in today’s continually changing threat landscape.
However, doing the compliance checks manually takes time. You may not also spot weaknesses in your cloud security in time.

This means that you need to automate your CIS compliance. And what better solution than a cloud security posture management tool like Prevasio?

Prevasio is the ideal option for observing compliance and preventing malware that attack surfaces in cloud assets.

Prevasio offers a robust security platform to help you achieve CIS compliance and maintain a secure IT environment.
This platform is agentless, meaning it doesn’t run on the cloud like most of its competitors. So you save a lot in costs every time Prevasio runs a scan.

Prevaiso also conducts layer analysis. It helps you spot the exact line of code where the problem is rather than give a general area. In the process, saving you time spent identifying and solving critical threats.

Try Prevasio today!

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Properly configured firewalls are vital in any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. However, even the most robust configurations can be vulnerable to exploitation by attackers.

No single security measure can offer absolute protection against all cyber threats and data security risks. To mitigate these risks, it’s crucial to understand how cybercriminals exploit firewall vulnerabilities.

The more you know about their tactics, techniques, and procedures, the better-equipped you are to implement security policies that successfully block unauthorized access to network assets.

In this guide, you’ll understand the common cyber threats that target enterprise firewall systems with the goal of helping you understand how attackers exploit misconfigurations and human vulnerabilities. Use this information to protect your network from a firewall breach.

Understanding 6 Tactics Cybercriminals Use to Breach Firewalls1. DNS LeaksYour firewall’s primary use is making sure unauthorized users do not gain access to your private network and the sensitive information it contains. But firewall rules can go both ways – preventing sensitive data from leaving the network is just as important.

If enterprise security teams neglect to configure their firewalls to inspect outgoing traffic, cybercriminals can intercept this traffic and use it to find gaps in your security systems. DNS traffic is particularly susceptible to this approach because it shows a list of websites users on your network regularly visit.

A hacker could use this information to create a spoofed version of a frequently visited website. For example, they might notice your organization’s employees visit a third-party website to attend training webinars. Registering a fake version of the training website and collecting employee login credentials would be simple. If your firewall doesn’t inspect DNS data and confirm connections to new IP addresses, you may never know.

DNS leaks may also reveal the IP addresses and endpoint metadata of the device used to make an outgoing connection. This would give cybercriminals the ability to see what kind of hardware your organization’s employees use to connect to external websites. With that information in hand, impersonating managed service providers or other third-party partners is easy. Some DNS leaks even contain timestamp data, telling attackers exactly when users requested access to external web assets.

How to protect yourself against DNS leaksProper firewall configuration is key to preventing DNS-related security incidents. Your organization’s firewalls should provide observability and access control to both incoming and outgoing traffic. Connections to servers known for hosting malware and cybercrime assets should be blocked entirely. Connections to servers without a known reputation should be monitored closely. In a Zero Trust environment, even connections to known servers should benefit from scrutiny using an identity-based security framework.

Don’t forget that apps can connect to external resources, too. Consider deploying web application firewalls configured to prevent DNS leaks when connecting to third-party assets and servers.

You may also wish to update your security policy to require employees to use VPNs when connecting to external resources. An encrypted VPN connection can prevent DNS information from leaking, making it much harder for cybercriminals to conduct reconnaissance on potential targets using DNS data.

2. Encrypted Injection AttacksOlder, simpler firewalls analyze traffic by looking at different kinds of data packet metadata. This provides clear evidence of certain denial-of-service attacks, clear violations of network security policy, and some forms of malware and ransomware. They do not conduct deep packet inspection to identify the kind of content passing through the firewall.

This provides cybercriminals with an easy way to bypass firewall rules and intrusion prevention systems – encryption. If malicious content is encrypted before it hits the firewall, it may go unnoticed by simple firewall rules. Only next-generation firewalls capable of handling encrypted data packets can determine whether this kind of traffic is secure or not.

Cybercriminals often deliver encrypted injection attacks through email. Phishing emails may trick users into clicking on a malicious link that injects encrypted code into the endpoint device. The script won’t decode and run until after it passes the data security threshold posed by the firewall. After that, it is free to search for personal data, credit card information, and more.

Many of these attacks will also bypass antivirus controls that don’t know how to handle encrypted data. Task automation solutions like Windows PowerShell are also susceptible to these kinds of attacks. Even sophisticated detection-based security solutions may fail to recognize encrypted injection attacks if they don’t have the keys necessary to decrypt incoming data.

How to protect yourself against encrypted injection attacksDeep packet inspection is one of the most valuable features next-generation firewalls provide to security teams. Industry-leading firewall vendors equip their products with the ability to decrypt and inspect traffic. This allows the firewall to prevent malicious content from entering the network through encrypted traffic, and it can also prevent sensitive encrypted data – like login credentials – from leaving the network.

These capabilities are unique to next-generation firewalls and can’t be easily replaced with other solutions. Manufacturers and developers have to equip their firewalls with public-key cryptography capabilities and obtain data from certificate authorities in order to inspect encrypted traffic and do this.

3. Compromised Public Wi-FiPublic Wi-Fi networks are a well-known security threat for individuals and organizations alike. Anyone who logs into a password-protected account on public Wi-Fi at an airport or coffee shop runs the risk of sending their authentication information directly to hackers. Compromised public Wi-Fi also presents a lesser-known threat to security teams at enterprise organizations – it may help hackers breach firewalls.

If a remote employee logs into a business account or other asset from a compromised public Wi-Fi connection, hackers can see all the data transmitted through that connection. This may give them the ability to steal account login details or spoof endpoint devices and defeat multi-factor authentication.

Even password-protected private Wi-Fi connections can be abused in this way. Some Wi-Fi networks still use outdated WEP and WPA security protocols that have well-known vulnerabilities. Exploiting these weaknesses to take control of a WEP or WPA-protected network is trivial for hackers. The newer WPA2 and WPA3 standards are much more resilient against these kinds of attacks.

While public Wi-Fi dangers usually bring remote workers and third-party service vendors to mind, on-premises networks are just as susceptible. Nothing prevents a hacker from gaining access to public Wi-Fi networks in retail stores, receptions, or other areas frequented by customers and employees.

How to protect yourself against compromised public Wi-Fi attacksFirst, you must enforce security policies that only allow Wi-Fi traffic secured by WPA2 and WPA3 protocols. Hardware Wi-Fi routers that do not support these protocols must be replaced. This grants a minimum level of security to protected Wi-Fi networks.

Next, all remote connections made over public Wi-Fi networks must be made using a secure VPN. This will encrypt the data that the public Wi-Fi router handles, making it impossible for a hacker to intercept without gaining access to the VPN’s secret decryption key. This doesn’t guarantee your network will be safe from attacks, but it improves your security posture considerably.

4. IoT Infrastructure AttacksSmartwatches, voice-operated speakers, and many automated office products make up the Internet of Things (IoT) segment of your network. Your organization may be using cloud-enriched access control systems, cost-efficient smart heating systems, and much more. Any Wi-Fi-enabled hardware capable of automation can safely be included in this category.

However, these devices often fly under the radar of security team’s detection tools, which often focus on user traffic. If hackers compromise one of these devices, they may be able to move laterally through the network until they arrive at a segment that handles sensitive information.

This process can take time, which is why many incident response teams do not consider suspicious IoT traffic to be a high-severity issue. IoT endpoints themselves rarely process sensitive data on their own, so it’s easy to overlook potential vulnerabilities and even ignore active attacks as long as the organization’s mission-critical assets aren’t impacted.

However, hackers can expand their control over IoT devices and transform them into botnets capable of running denial-of-service attacks. These distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are much larger and more dangerous, and they are growing in popularity among cybercriminals. Botnet traffic associated with DDoS attacks on IoT networks has increased five-fold over the past year, showing just how promising it is for hackers.

How to protect yourself against IoT infrastructure attacksProper network segmentation is vital for preventing IoT infrastructure attacks. Your organization’s IoT devices should be secured on a network segment that is isolated from the rest of the network. If attackers do compromise the entire network, you should be protected from the risk of losing sensitive data from critical business assets.

Ideally, this protection will be enforced with a strong set of firewalls managing the connection between your IoT subnetwork and the rest of your network. You may need to create custom rules that take your unique security risk profile and fleet of internet-connected devices into account. There are very few situations in which one-size-fits-all rulemaking works, and this is not one of them.

All IoT devices – no matter how small or insignificant – should be protected by your firewall and other cybersecurity solutions. Never let these devices connect directly to the Internet through an unsecured channel. If they do, they provide attackers with a clear path to circumvent your firewalls and gain access to the rest of your network with ease.

5. Social Engineering and PhishingSocial engineering attacks refer to a broad range of deceptive practices used by hackers to gain access to victims’ assets. What makes this approach special is that it does not necessarily depend on technical expertise. Instead of trying to hack your systems, cybercriminals are trying to hack your employees and company policies to carry out their attacks.

Email phishing is one of the most common examples. In a typical phishing attack, hackers may spoof an email server to make it look like they are sending emails from a high-level executive in the company you work for. They can then impersonate this executive and demand junior accountants pay fictitious invoices or send sensitive customer data to email accounts controlled by threat actors.

Other forms of social engineering can use your organization’s tech support line against itself. Attackers may pretend to represent large customer accounts and will leverage this ruse to gain information about how your company works. They may impersonate a third-party vendor and request confidential information that the vendor would normally have access to.

These attacks span the range from simple trickery to elaborate confidence scams. Protecting against them can be incredibly challenging, and your firewall capabilities can make a significant difference in your overall state of readiness.

How to protect yourself against social engineering attacksEmployee training is the top priority for protecting against social engineering attacks. When employees understand the company’s operating procedures and security policies, it’s much harder for social engineers to trick them. Ideally, training should also include in-depth examples of how phishing attacks work, what they look like, and what steps employees should take when contacted by people they don’t trust.

6. Sandbox ExploitsMany organizations use sandbox solutions to prevent file-based malware attacks. Sandboxes work by taking suspicious files and email attachments and opening them in a secure virtual environment before releasing them to users. The sandbox solution will observe how the file behaves and quarantine any file that shows malicious activity.

In theory, this provides a powerful layer of defense against file-based attacks. But in practice, cybercriminals are well aware of how to bypass these solutions.

For example, many sandbox solutions can’t open files over a certain size. Hackers who attach malicious code to large files can easily get through. Additionally, many forms of malware do not start executing malicious tasks the second they are activated. This delay can provide just enough of a buffer to get through a sandbox system. Some sophisticated forms of malware can even detect when they are being run in a sandbox environment – and will play the part of an innocent program until they are let loose inside the network.

How to protect yourself against sandbox exploitsMany next-generation firewalls include cloud-enabled sandboxing capable of running programs of arbitrary size for a potentially unlimited amount of time. More sophisticated sandbox solutions go to great lengths to mimic the system specifications of an actual endpoint so malware won’t know it is being run in a virtual environment.

Organizations may also be able to overcome the limitations of the sandbox approach using Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) techniques. This approach keeps potentially malicious files off the network entirely and only allows a reconstructed version of the file to enter the network. Since the new file is constructed from scratch, it will not contain any malware that may have been attached to the original file.

Prevent firewall breaches with AlgoSecManaging firewalls manually can be overwhelming and time-consuming – especially when dealing with multiple firewall solutions. With the help of a firewall management solution, you easily configure firewall rules and manage configurations from a single dashboard.

AlgoSec’s powerful firewall management solution integrates with your firewalls to deliver unified firewall policy management from a single location, thus streamlining the entire process. With AlgoSec, you can maintain clear visibility of your firewall ruleset, automate the management process, assess risk & optimize rulesets, streamline audit preparation & ensure compliance, and use APIs to access many features through web services.

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Cloud threats increased by 95 percent in 2022 alone! At a time when many organizations are moving their resources to the cloud and security threats are at an all-time high, focusing on your cloud security architecture has never been more critical.

While cloud adoption has revolutionized businesses, it has also brought complex challenges. For example, cloud environments can be susceptible to numerous security threats.

Besides, there are compliance regulations that you must address.

This is why it’s essential to implement the right methods, frameworks, and best practices in cloud environments. Doing so can protect your organization’s sensitive cloud resources, help you meet compliance regulations, and maintain customer trust.

Understanding Cloud Security ArchitectureCloud security architecture is the umbrella term that covers all the hardware, software, and technologies used to protect your cloud environment.

It encompasses the configurations and secure activities that protect your data, workloads, applications, and infrastructure within the cloud. This includes identity and access management (IAM), application and data protection, compliance monitoring, secure DevOps, governance, and physical infrastructure security.

A well-defined security architecture also enables manageable decompositions of cloud deployments, including mixed SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS deployments. This helps you highlight specific security needs in each cloud area.

Additionally, it facilitates integration between clouds, zones, and interfaces, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all deployment aspects.

Cloud security architects generally use a layered approach when designing cloud security. Not only does this improve security, but it also allows companies to align business needs with technical security practices.

As such, a different set of cloud stakeholders, including business teams and technical staff, can derive more value.

The Fundamentals of Cloud Security ArchitectureEvery cloud computing architecture has three core fundamental capabilities; confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

This is known as the CIA triad.

Understanding each capability will guide your efforts to build, design, and implement safer cloud environments.

1. Confidentiality

This is the ability to keep information hidden and inaccessible to unauthorized entities, such as attackers, malware, and people in your organization, without the appropriate access level.

Privacy and trust are also part of confidentiality. When your organization promises customers to handle their data with utmost secrecy, you’re assuring them of confidentiality.

2. Integrity

Integrity means that the services, systems, and applications work and behave exactly how you expect. That is, their output is consistent, accurate, and trustworthy.

If these systems and applications are compromised and produce unexpected or misleading results, your organization may suffer irreparable damage.

3. Availability

As the name implies, availability assures your cloud resources are consistently accessible and operational when needed.

So, suppose an authorized user (whether customers or employees) needs data and applications in the cloud, such as your products or services. In that case, they can access it without interruption or significant downtime.

Cybercriminals sometimes use denial-of-service (DoS) attacks to prevent the availability of cloud resources. When this happens, your systems become unavailable to you or your customers, which isn’t ideal.

So, how do you stop that from happening and ensure your cloud security architecture provides these core capabilities?

Approaches to Cloud Security Architecture There are multiple security architecture approaches, including frameworks and methodologies, to support design and implementation steps.

Cloud Security Frameworks and MethodologiesA cloud security framework outlines a set of guidelines and controls your organizations can use when securing data, applications, and infrastructures within the cloud computing environment.

Frameworks provide a structured approach to detecting risks and implementing appropriate security protocols to prevent them.

Without a consistent cloud security framework, your organization exposes itself to more vulnerabilities. You may lack the comprehensive visibility to ensure your data and applications are adequately secure from unauthorized access, data exposure, malware, and other security threats.

Plus, you may have limited incident response capabilities, inconsistent security practices, and increased operational risks.

A cloud security framework also helps you stay compliant with regulatory requirements. Lastly, failing to have appropriate security frameworks can erode customer trust and confidence in your ability to protect their privacy.

This is why you must implement a recognized framework to significantly reduce potential risks associated with cloud security and ensure the CIA of data and systems.

There are numerous security frameworks. Some are for governance (e.g., COBIT and COSO), architecture (e.g., SABSA), and the NIST cybersecurity framework. While these generally apply broadly to technology, they may also apply to cloud environments.

Other cloud-specific frameworks include the ISO/IEC 27017:2015, Cloud Control Matrix (CCM), Cloud Security Alliance, and the FedRAMP.

1. NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF)The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF) outlines a set of guidelines for securing security systems.

It has five core capabilities: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

Identify – What processes, assets, and systems need protection?

Protect – Develop and implement the right safeguards to ensure critical infrastructure services delivery.

Detect – Implement the appropriate mechanisms to enable the timely discovery of cybersecurity incidents.

Respond – Develop techniques to contain the impact of potential cybersecurity incidents.

Recover – Implement appropriate measures to restore business capabilities and services affected by cybersecurity events.

While the NIST CSF is a general framework for the security of your organization’s systems, these five pillars can help you assess and manage cloud-related security risks.

2. ISO/IEC 27017:2015ISO 27017 is a cloud security framework that defines guidelines on information security issues specific to the cloud. The framework’s security controls add to the ISO/IEC 27002 and ISO/IEC 27001 standards’ recommendations.

The framework also offers specific security measures and implementation advice for cloud service providers and applications.

3. Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture (SABSA)First developed by John Sherwood, SABSA is an Enterprise Security Architecture Framework that provides guidelines for developing business-driven, risk, and opportunity-focused security architectures to support business objectives.

The SABSA framework aims to prioritize your business needs, meaning security services are designed and developed to be an integral part of your business and IT infrastructure.

Here are some core principles of the Gartner-recommended SABSA framework for enterprises:

• It is business-driven. SABSA ensures security is integrated into your entire business strategy. This means there’s a strong emphasis on understanding your organization’s business objectives. So, any security measure is aligned with those objectives.
• SABSA is a risk-based approach. It considers security vulnerabilities, threats, and their potential impacts to prioritize security operations and investments. This helps your organization allocate resources effectively to address the most critical risks first.
• It promotes a layered security architecture. Earlier, we mentioned how a layered approach can help you align business and technical needs. So, it’s expected that this is a core principle of SABSA. This allows you to deploy multiple security controls across different layers, such as physical security, network security, application security, and data security. Each layer focuses on a specific security aspect and provides special controls and measures.
• Transparency: SABSA provides two-way traceability; that is, a clear two-way relationship exists between aligning security requirements and business goals. This provides a clear overview of where expenditure is made ad the value that is returned.
• Modular approach: SABSA offers agility for ease of implementation and management. This can make your business flexible when meeting changing market or economic conditions.

4. MITRE ATT&CKThe MITRE ATT&CK framework is a repository of techniques and tactics that threat hunters, defenders, red teams, and security architects can use to classify, identify, and assess attacks.

Instead of focusing on security controls and mechanisms to mitigate threats, this framework targets the techniques that hackers and other threat actors use in the cloud.

So, using this framework can be excellent if you want to understand how potential attack vectors operate. It can help you become proactive and strengthen your cloud security posture through improved detection and incident response.

5. Cloud Security Alliance Cloud Controls Matrix (CSA CCM)The CSA CCM is a cybersecurity control framework specifically for cloud computing. It contains 197 control objectives structured in 17 domains that cover every critical aspect of cloud technology.

Cloud customers and cloud service providers (CSPs) can use this tool to assess cloud implementation systematically. It also guides customers on the appropriate security controls for implementation by which actor in the cloud supply chain.

6. Cloud Security Alliance Security Trust Assurance and Risk (CSA STAR)The CSA STAR framework is for CSPs. It combines the principles of transparency, thorough auditing, and harmonization of standards.

What CSA STAR does is to help you, as a cloud customer, assess a cloud service provider’s reliability and security posture.

There are two ways this can happen:

CSA STAR Certification: This is a rigorous third-party assessment of the CSP’s security controls, posture, and practices. The CSP undergoes a thorough audit based on the CSA’s Cloud Control Matrix (CCM), which is a set of cloud security controls aligned with industry standards.

CSA STAR Self-Assessment: The CSA also has a Consensus Assessment Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ). CSPs can use this to test and report on their security controls and practices. Since it’s a self-assessment procedure, it allows CSPs to be transparent, enabling customers like you to understand a CSP’s security capabilities before adopting their services.

Challenges and Considerations in Cloud Security ArchitectureBefore any cloud deployment, it’s important to understand the threats you may face, such as privilege-based attacks and malware, and be prepared for them.

Since there are many common threats, we’ll quickly run through the most high-profile ones with the most devastating impacts. It’s important to remember some threats may also be specific to the type of cloud service model.

1. Insider risks

This includes the employees in your organization who have access to data, applications, and systems, as well as CSP administrators. Whenever you subscribe to a CSP’s services, you entrust your workloads to the staff who maintain the CSP architecture.

2. DoS attacks

Direct denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are critical issues in cloud environments. Although security perimeters can deflect temporary DDoS attacks to filter out repeated requests, permanent DoS attacks are more damaging to your firmware and render the server unbootable.

If this happens, you may need to physically reload the firmware and rebuild the system from the ground up, resulting in business downtime for weeks or longer.

3. Data availability

You also want to consider how much of your data is accessible to the government. Security professionals are focusing on laws and examples that demonstrate when and how government authorities can access data in the cloud, whether through legal processes or court rulings.

4. Cloud-connected Edge Systems

The concept of “cloud edge” encompasses both edge systems directly connected to the cloud and server architecture that is not directly controlled by the cloud service provider (CSP).

To extend their services to smaller or remote locations, global CSPs often rely on partners as they cannot have facilities worldwide.

Consequently, CSPs may face limitations in fully regulating hardware monitoring, ensuring physical box integrity, and implementing attack defenses like blocking USB port access.

5. Hardware Limitations

Having the most comprehensive cloud security architecture still won’t help you create stronger passwords. While your cloud security architects focus on the firmware, hardware, and software, it’s down to the everyday users to follow best practices for staying safe.

Best Practices in Cloud Security ArchitectureThe best practices in Cloud Security Architecture are highlighted below:

1. Understand the shared responsibility model

Cloud security is implemented with a shared responsibility model. Although, as the cloud customer, you may have most of the obligation, the cloud provider also shares some of the responsibility.

Most vendors, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, have documentation that clearly outlines your specific responsibilities depending on the deployment type.

It’s important to clearly understand your shared responsibility model and review cloud vendor policies. This will prevent miscommunications and security incidents due to oversight.

2. Secure network design and segmentation

This is one of the principles of cloud security architecture – and by extension, a best practice. Secure network design and segmentation involve dividing the network into isolated segments to avoid lateral movements during a breach.

Implementing network segmentation allows your organization to contain potential risks and attacks within a specific segment. This can minimize the effects of an incident on your entire network and protect critical assets within the cloud infrastructure.

3. Deploy an Identity and access management (IAM) solution

Unauthorized access is one of the biggest problems facing cloud security. Although hackers now use sophisticated tools to gain access to sensitive data, implementing a robust identity and access management (IAM) system can help prevent many threats.

Consider access policies like role-based access control (RBAC) permissions, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and continuous threat monitoring.

4. Consider a CASB or Cloud Security Solution (e.g., Cloud-Native Application Protection (CNAPP) and Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) provide specialized tools to enforce cloud security policies. Implementing a CASB solution is particularly recommended if you have a multi-cloud environment involving different vendors.

Since a CASB acts as an intermediary between your organization’s on-premise infrastructure and CSPs, it allows your business to extend security policies and controls to the cloud.

CASBs can enhance your data protection through features like data loss prevention, tokenization, and encryption. Plus, they help you discover and manage shadow IT through visibility into unauthorized cloud services and applications.

Besides CASB solutions, you should also consider other solutions for securing your cloud environments. This includes cloud-native application protection (CNAPP) and cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP).

For example, a CNAPP like Prevasio can improve your cloud security architecture with tailored solutions and automated security management.

5. Conduct Audits, Penetration Testing, and Vulnerability Testing

Whether or not you outsource security, performing regular penetration tests and vulnerability is necessary. This helps you assess the effectiveness of your cloud security measures and identify potential weaknesses before hackers exploit them.

You should also perform security audits that evaluate cloud security vendors’ capabilities and ensure appropriate access controls are in place. This can be achieved by using the guidelines of some frameworks we mentioned earlier, such as the CSA STAR.

6. Train Your Staff

Rather than hiring new hires, training your current staff may be beneficial. Your employees have been at your company for a while and are already familiar with the organization’s culture, values, and processes. This could give them an advantage over new hires.

As most existing IT skills can be reused, upskilling employees is more efficient and may help you meet the immediate need for a cloud IT workforce.

Train your staff on recognizing simple and complex cybersecurity threats, such as creating strong passwords, identifying social engineering attacks, and advanced topics like risk management.

7. Mitigate Cloud Misconfigurations

A misconfigured bucket could give access to anyone on the internet. To minimize cloud misconfigurations and reduce security risks, managing permissions in cloud services carefully is crucial.

Misconfigurations, such as granting excessive access permissions to external users, can enable unauthorized access and potential data breaches. Attackers who compromise credentials can escalate their privileges, leading to further data theft and broader attacks within the cloud infrastructure.

Therefore, it is recommended that IT, storage, or security teams, with assistance from development teams, personally configure each cloud bucket, ensuring proper access controls and avoiding default permissions.

8. Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements

Most organizations today need to comply with strict regulatory requirements. This is especially important if you collect personally identifiable information (PII) or if your business is located in certain regions.

Before you adopt a new cloud computing service, assess their compliance requirements and ensure they can fulfill data security needs. Failure to meet compliance requirements can lead to huge penalties.

Other best practices for your cloud security include continuous monitoring and threat intelligence, data encryption at rest and in transit, and implementing intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems.

ConclusionWhen establishing a robust cloud security architecture, aligning business objectives and technical needs is important. Your organization must understand the shared responsibility model, risks, the appropriate implementation framework, and best practices.

However, designing and developing cloud computing architectures can be complicated. Prevasio can secure your multi-cloud environment in minutes.

Want to improve your cloud security configuration management? Prevasio’s agentless CNAPP can provide complete visibility over cloud resources, ensure compliance, and provide advanced risk monitoring and threat intelligence. Speak to us now.

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A recent news article from Bleeping Computer called out an incident involving Japanese game developer Ateam, in which a misconfiguration in Google Drive led to the potential exposure of sensitive information for nearly one million individuals over a period of six years and eight months. Such incidents highlight the critical importance of securing cloud services to prevent data breaches. This blog post explores how organizations can avoid cloud security risks and ensuring the safety of sensitive information.

What caused the Ateam Google Drive misconfiguration?Ateam, a renowned mobile game and content creator, discovered on November 21, 2023, that it had mistakenly set a Google Drive cloud storage instance to “Anyone on the internet with the link can view” since March 2017. This configuration error exposed 1,369 files containing personal information, including full names, email addresses, phone numbers, customer management numbers, and device identification numbers, for approximately 935,779 individuals.

Avoiding cloud security risks by using automationTo prevent such incidents and enhance cloud security, organizations can leverage tools such as AlgoSec, a comprehensive solution that addresses potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. It is important to look for cloud security partners who offer the following key features:

1. Automated configuration checks: AlgoSec conducts automated checks on cloud configurations to identify and rectify any insecure settings. This ensures that sensitive data remains protected and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals.
2. Policy compliance management: AlgoSec assists organizations in adhering to industry regulations and internal security policies by continuously monitoring cloud configurations. This proactive approach reduces the likelihood of accidental exposure of sensitive information.
3. Risk assessment and mitigation: AlgoSec provides real-time risk assessments, allowing organizations to promptly identify and mitigate potential security risks. This proactive stance helps in preventing data breaches and maintaining the integrity of cloud services.
4. Incident response capabilities: In the event of a misconfiguration or security incident, AlgoSec offers robust incident response capabilities. This includes rapid identification, containment, and resolution of security issues to minimize the impact on the organization.

The Ateam incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of securing cloud services to safeguard sensitive data. AlgoSec emerges as a valuable ally in this endeavor, offering automated configuration checks, policy compliance management, risk assessment, and incident response capabilities. By incorporating AlgoSec into their security strategy, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of cloud security incidents and ensure the confidentiality of their data. Request a brief demo to learn more about advanced cloud protection.

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Technology is advancing rapidly – which is good – but it also exposes your organization to new security threats that can jeopardize sensitive information.

For instance, there’s a good chance your organization has moved to multi-cloud computing environments and you’re also considering (or have adopted) the Internet of Things (IoT). In addition, remote work and bring your own device (BYOD) policies have become quite popular.

All these changes mean one thing – attackers are constantly finding new ways of exploiting your defenses.

To adapt, your organization must respond with equally innovative ways to strengthen your security posture. This is where Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture (CSMA) comes in.

Implementing CSMA allows organizations to fortify their security infrastructure and create resilient defense mechanisms against modern threats.

That’s why we’ll discuss everything about Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture. We’ll also cover actionable tips to implement CSMA.

What is Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture?Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture (CSMA) is a security concept proposed by Gartner. It is described by Garner as “a composable and scalable approach to extending security controls, even to widely distributed assets.”

What this means is that CSMA solves the problem of security silos. For example, many organizations use a security system of multiple integrated security solutions. This increases overhead costs, makes the entire security architecture complex to manage, and then it becomes difficult to monitor cybersecurity risks.

This is why CSMA is a “composable” approach that provides a flexible and collaborative security ecosystem to secure a modern, distributed enterprise.

So, instead of having security tools and controls running independently, a cybersecurity mesh allows them to interoperate through multiple supportive layers like consolidated policy management, centralized security intelligence & governance, analytics & enforcement, and a common identity fabric.

As such, a centralized, decentralized security approach is a suitable name for cybersecurity mesh.

How Does CSMA Work?The traditional approach to security deployments is complex. For example, every large organization has an average of 47 different cybersecurity tools within its environments.

That means more resources and more effort from security teams managing integrations. On the other hand, CSMA makes security more cohesive and collaborative. This means your organization no longer needs as many resources to fortify its security.

But to achieve this, CSMA has four foundational layers:

Security Analytics & IntelligenceThis layer collects and analyzes data from security tools to provide threat analysis and trigger incident responses in your organization.

Since CSMA offers centralized administration, vast data sets can be collected, aggregated, and analyzed from a central place.

This is particularly possible with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) software that offers real-time threat analytics and automated event alerts.

Distributed Identity FabricThis layer includes identity capabilities like identity proofing, user entitlement management, and adaptive access. It provides the security framework with decentralized directory services crucial to implementing a zero-trust model.

Consolidated Policy & Posture ManagementThis layer translates a central policy into configurations and rules for each environment or tool. Alternatively, it can provide dynamic runtime authorization services. Hence, IT teams can quickly identify compliance risks and any misconfiguration concerns.

Consolidated DashboardsWhen disconnected security tools are integrated, your security teams would often need to switch between multiple dashboards, which can slow down operations.

However, with this layer, they can have a single-pane dashboard that provides a comprehensive ecosystem view. This makes it easier to respond quicker and more effectively to security events.

Benefits of Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture (CSMA) – Why Should You Implement it?Cybersecurity mesh architecture promises many beneficial outcomes for your security architecture. This includes improved threat detection, more efficient incident response, a consistent security policy, and adaptive access control systems.

Let’s discuss the benefits of cybersecurity mesh. These benefits also highlight why you should consider implementing it.

More Flexibility and ScalabilityCybersecurity mesh architecture solutions are designed to offer a more flexible and scalable security response to increased digitization. This enables your organization’s security team to keep pace with the evolving distributed IT infrastructure.

Improved CollaborationPart of CSMA’s goals is to improve collaboration and interoperability between your organization’s security solutions. This improves your organization’s threat detection, incident response, and prevention.

Consistent Security ArchitectureWith CSMA, your organization has more consistent security through tool connections. This is because the approach allows for security to be extended as needed. So, you’ll have consistent and uniform protection of constantly evolving and growing infrastructure.

Increased Effectiveness and EfficiencyCybersecurity mesh seamlessly integrates your organization’s security architecture, removing the need for security personnel to always switch between multiple tools. As you’d expect, this improves the configuration, utilization, and deployment.

Your security teams will become more efficient and can redirect time and resources to other essential security tasks.

Supports Identity and Access Management (IAM)CSMA supports the deployment and efficacy of identity and access management controls.

This is particularly important if your organization has distributed assets that must be properly protected and seek a more robust and reliable method of securing your access points beyond the conventional security perimeters.

CSMA empowers your organization to address these challenges, providing advanced capabilities to ensure the integrity and reliability of your security infrastructure.

Simplified ImplementationCybersecurity mesh presents a well-suited approach to simplifying security measures’ design, deployment, and maintenance. CSMA establishes a foundational framework for the efficient deployment and configuration of new security solutions.

Plus, this architecture’s inherent flexibility and adaptability allow it to evolve and align with evolving business and security requirements dynamically.

How to Implement Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture: Best Practices and Considerations Gartner’s cybersecurity mesh architecture concept is an emerging approach to organization security. This means specifications, requirements, and standards for implementation are still evolving.

Nonetheless, there are a few considerations and best practices that your organizations can take on board. Organizations that start now are bound to reap the benefits as technology evolves and more threats continue to emerge.

Here are some best practices for implementing cybersecurity mesh:

1. Evaluate vendor tools and their compatibility with CSMA

Thinking of CSMA implementation? Then it’s essential first to thoroughly evaluate the available vendor tools.

You must assess their features, capabilities, and, most importantly, their compatibility with the unique requirements of your CSMA deployment.

Carefully selecting tools that work as part of a larger security framework rather than an independent silo will help.

This is why it’s recommended to select vendors with an excellent track record of updating their systems to the latest security standards.

2. Security team readiness and training for CSMA adoption

Like it or not, the success of your CSMA implementation depends heavily on how prepared your security team is. Are they ready for the change?

It’s important to provide the necessary training that allows each member and the entire team to understand the intricacies of CSMA, including how it will work in your organization.

3. Conduct an Asset Protection Inventory

Part of the considerations for your CSMA implementation should include conducting a comprehensive inventory of your organization’s assets. Here, you’ll identify and categorize the critical systems, data, and resources that require protection.

Doing this will help you understand the areas where CSMA must be prioritized. It further allows you to allocate resources effectively and maximize security coverage across the organization.

4. Consider Costs

Every digital transformation has its costs, especially when you must redesign your organization’s entire architecture or infrastructure. So, it’s important to consider the immediate costs and temporary downtime you may encounter.

However, if you like looking at the long term, then implementing cybersecurity mesh outweighs the initial costs.

5. Evaluate Organization Appetite for the Transformation

Before embarking on the journey of implementing CSMA, it is imperative to evaluate your organization’s appetite for transformation.

What does this mean?

Assess the level of commitment, resources, and support available to drive the implementation process effectively.

Understanding the organizational readiness and obtaining buy-in from key stakeholders will significantly contribute to the success of your CSMA deployment.

6. Leverage Access Control Measures

Use access control measures, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and Zero Trust Network Access, with appropriate audit procedures for each access request.

This allows you to control access to data, ensuring only authorized users have access to your organization’s assets. It also helps you monitor each access request independently to dig out malicious activity.

7. Set KPIs and Track Them

Just like any endeavor, it’s important to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from the onset. It is the only way to know the CSMA you’ve implemented actually works and delivers the intended results.

Your organization must identify and track the metrics essential to your overall business objectives. However, keep in mind that KPIs might have different levels.

The KPIs your security teams will track typically differ from what the CISO reports at the board level.

While security teams evaluate your overall cybersecurity resiliency, the CISO examines how the CSMA strategy impacts business outcomes.

ConclusionAccording to Gartner, organizations that have successfully implemented a cybersecurity mesh architecture by 2024 will reduce the financial impact of individual security incidents by 90 percent!

So, what are you waiting for?

As technology continues to evolve, so will new threats. And malicious actors are constantly finding loopholes around the traditional approach to security.

Ready to make the change?

Prevasio is your trusted partner for consolidated security across your cloud environments. Speak to us now to learn how we can help you.

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As the most widely adapted open-source container software, Kubernetes provides businesses with efficient processes to schedule, deploy, and scale containers across different machines. The bad news is that cybercriminals have figured out how to exploit the platform’s vulnerabilities, resulting in catastrophic network intrusions across many company infrastructures. A recent report revealed that 94% of respondents reported security incidents in Kubernetes environments. The question is, what is behind this surge of Kubernetes attacks, and how can they be prevented?

How Kubernetes is VulnerableAs a container-based platform, a new set of vulnerabilities, permission issues, and specific images set the stage for the increase in attacks. The threats have included fileless malware in containers, leveraging misconfigured Docker API ports, and using container images for attacks.

Misconfigured Docker API Ports ExploitationScanning for misconfigured Docker API ports and using them for deploying images containing malware is a relatively new type of attack. The malware, designed to evade static scanning, has become a popular method to hijack compute cycles for fraudulent cryptomining. This cryptojacking activity steals CPU power to mine currencies such as Ethereum and Monero.

By first identifying vulnerable front-end websites and other systems, attackers send a command through the application layer simply by manipulating a domain’s text field or through an exposed API in the website’s URL. The code then enters the container, where it is executed with commands sent to a Docker container’s shell. A wget command is executed to download the malware.

To protect against this attack, enterprises must ensure their container files are not writable, establish CPU consumption limits, and enable alerts to detect interactive shell launches.

Talk to one of our cloud security experts Request a Demo DDoS Attacks With Open Docker DaemonsCybercriminals use misconfigured open Docker daemons to launch DDoS attacks using a botnet of containers. UDP flood and Slowloris were recently identified as two such types of container-based botnet attacks. A recent blog describes an anatomy of these Kubernetes attacks.

The attackers first identified open Docker daemons using a scanning tool such as Shodan to scan the internet for IP addresses and find a list of hosts, open ports, and services. By uploading their own dedicated images to the Docker hub, they succeeded in deploying and remotely running the images on the host.

Analyzing how the UDP flood attack was orchestrated required an inspection of the binary with IDA. This revealed the start_flood and start_tick threads. The source code for the attack was found on Github. This code revealed a try_gb parameter, with the range of 0 to 1,024, used to configure how much data to input to flood the target. However, it was discovered that attackers are able to modify this open-source code to create a self-compiled binary that floods the host with even greater amounts of UDP packets.

In the case of the Slowloris attack, cybercriminals launched DDoS with the slowhttptest utility. The attackers were able to create a self-compiling binary that is unidentifiable in malware scans.

Protection from these Kubernetes attacks requires vigilant assurance policies and prevention of images other than compliant ones to run in the system. Non-compliant images will then be blocked when intrusion attempts are made.

Man in the Middle Attacks With LoadBalancer or ExternalIPsAn attack affecting all versions of Kubernetes involves multi-tenant clusters. The most vulnerable clusters have tenants that are able to create and update services and pods. In this breach, the attacker can intercept traffic from other pods or nodes in the cluster by creating a ClusterIP service and setting the spec.externalIP’s field. Additionally, a user who is able to patch the status of a LoadBalancer service can grab traffic. The only way to mitigate this threat is to restrict access to vulnerable features. This can be done with the admission webhook container, externalip-webhook, which prevents services from using random external IPs. An alternative method is to lock external IPs with OPA Gatekeeper with this sample Constraint Templatecan.

Siloscape MalwareSecurity researcher, Daniel Prizmant, describes a newer malware attack that he calls Siloscape. Its primary goal is to escape the container that is mainly implemented in Windows server silo. The malware targets Kubernetes through Windows containers to open a backdoor into poorly configured clusters to run the malicious containers. While other malware attacks focus on cryptojacking, the Siloscape user’s motive is to go undetected and open a backdoor to the cluster for a variety of malicious activities. This is possible since Siloscape is virtually undetectable due to a lack of readable strings in the binary.

This type of attack can prove catastrophic. It compromises an entire cluster running multiple cloud applications. Cybercriminals can access critical information including sign-ins, confidential files, and complete databases hosted inside the cluster. Additionally, organizations using Kubernetes clusters for testing and development can face catastrophic damage should these environments be breached.

To prevent a Siloscape attack, it is crucial that administrators ensure their Kubernetes clusters are securely configured. This will prevent the malware from creating new deployments and force Siloscape to exit. Microsoft also recommends using only Hyper-V containers as a security boundary for anything relying on containerization.

The Threat MatrixThe MITRE ATT&CK database details additional tactics and techniques attackers are using to infiltrate Kubernetes environments to access sensitive information, mine cryptocurrency, perform DDoS attacks, and other unscrupulous activities. The more commonly used methods are as follows:

1. Kubernetes file compromiseBecause this file holds sensitive data such as cluster credentials, an attacker could easily gain initial access to the entire cluster. Only accept kubeconfig files from trusted sources. Others should be thoroughly inspected before they are deployed.

2. Using similar pod names
Attackers create similar pod names and use random suffixes to hide them in the cluster. The pods then run malicious code and obtain access to many other resources.

3. Kubernetes Secrets intrusion
Attackers exploit any misconfigurations in the cluster with the goal of accessing the API server and retrieving information from the Secrets objects.

4. Internal network access
Attackers able to access a single pod that communicates with other pods or applications can move freely within the cluster to achieve their goals.

5. Using the writeable hostPath mountAttackers with permissions to create new containers can create one with a writeable hostPath volume.

Kubernetes Attacks: Key TakeawaysKubernetes brings many advantages to organizations but also presents a variety of security risks, as documented above. However, by ensuring their environments are adequately protected through proper configuration and appropriately assigned permissions, the threat of Kubernetes attacks is greatly minimized. Should a container be compromised, properly assigned privileges can severely limit a cluster-wide compromise.

Prevasio assists companies in the management of their cloud security through built-in vulnerability and anti-malware scans for containers. Contact us for more information on our powerful CSPM solutions. Learn about how we can protect your company from Kubernetes attacks and other cyberattacks.

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With expertise in data management, search algorithms, and AI, Google has created a cloud platform that excels in both performance and efficiency. The advanced machine […]

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Enterprises are embracing cloud platforms to drive innovation, enhance operational efficiency, and gain a competitive edge. Cloud services provided by industry giants like Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Azure, AWS, IBM, and Oracle offer scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness that make them an attractive choice for businesses. One of the significant trends in cloud-native application development is the adoption of containerized applications, serverless architectures, and microservices. While these innovations bring numerous benefits, they also introduce unique security risks and vulnerabilities that organizations must address to ensure the safety of their cloud-native environments.

The Evolution of Cloud-Native ApplicationsTraditionally, organizations relied on on-premises data centers and a set of established security measures to protect their critical applications and data. However, the shift to cloud-native applications necessitates a reevaluation of security practices and a deeper understanding of the challenges involved.

Containers: A New ParadigmContainers have emerged as a game-changer in the world of cloud-native development. They offer a way to package applications and their dependencies, ensuring consistency and portability across different environments. Developers appreciate containers for their ease of use and rapid deployment capabilities, but this transition comes with security implications that must not be overlooked.

One of the primary concerns with containers is the need for continuous scanning and vulnerability assessment. Developers may inadvertently include libraries with known vulnerabilities, putting the entire application at risk. To address this, organizations should leverage container scanning tools that assess images for vulnerabilities before they enter production. Tools like Prevasio’s patented network sandbox provide real-time scanning for malware and known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), ensuring that container images are free from threats.

Continuous Container MonitoringThe dynamic nature of containerized applications requires continuous monitoring to ensure their health and security. In multi-cloud environments, it’s crucial to have a unified monitoring solution that covers all services consistently. Blind spots must be eliminated to gain full control over the cloud deployment.

Tools like Prevasio offer comprehensive scanning of asset classes in popular cloud providers such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google GCP. This includes Lambda functions, S3 buckets, Azure VMs, and more. Continuous monitoring helps organizations detect anomalies and potential security breaches early, allowing for swift remediation.

Intelligent and Automated Policy ManagementAs organizations scale their cloud-native environments and embrace the agility that developers demand, policy management becomes a critical aspect of security. It’s not enough to have static policies; they must be intelligent and adaptable to evolving threats and requirements.

Intelligent policy management solutions enable organizations to enforce corporate security policies both in the cloud and on-premises. These solutions have the capability to identify and guard against risks introduced through development processes or traditional change management procedures. When a developer’s request deviates from corporate security practices, an intelligent policy management system can automatically trigger actions, such as notifying network analysts or initiating policy work orders.

Moreover, these solutions facilitate a “shift-left” approach, where security considerations are integrated into the earliest stages of development. This proactive approach ensures that security is not an afterthought but an integral part of the development lifecycle.

Mitigating Risks in Cloud-Native EnvironmentsSecuring containerized applications, serverless architectures, and microservices in cloud-native environments requires a holistic strategy. Here are some key steps that organizations can take to mitigate risks effectively:

1. Start with a Comprehensive Security AssessmentBefore diving into cloud-native development, conduct a thorough assessment of your organization’s security posture. Identify potential vulnerabilities and compliance requirements specific to your industry. Understanding your security needs will help you tailor your cloud-native security strategy effectively.

2. Implement Continuous Security ScanningIntegrate container scanning tools into your development pipeline to identify vulnerabilities early in the process. Automate scanning to ensure that every container image is thoroughly examined before deployment. Regularly update scanning tools and libraries to stay protected against emerging threats.

3. Embrace Continuous MonitoringUtilize continuous monitoring solutions that cover all aspects of your multi-cloud deployment. This includes not only containers but also serverless functions, storage services, and virtual machines. A unified monitoring approach reduces blind spots and provides real-time visibility into potential security breaches.

4. Invest in Intelligent Policy ManagementChoose an intelligent policy management solution that aligns with your organization’s security and compliance requirements. Ensure that it offers automation capabilities to enforce policies seamlessly across cloud providers. Regularly review and update policies to adapt to changing security landscapes.

5. Foster a Culture of SecuritySecurity is not solely the responsibility of the IT department. Promote a culture of security awareness across your organization. Train developers, operations teams, and other stakeholders on best practices for cloud-native security. Encourage collaboration between security and development teams to address security concerns early in the development lifecycle.

ConclusionThe adoption of containerized applications, serverless architectures, and microservices in cloud-native environments offers unprecedented flexibility and scalability to enterprises. However, these advancements also introduce new security challenges that organizations must address diligently. By implementing a comprehensive security strategy that includes continuous scanning, monitoring, and intelligent policy management, businesses can harness the power of the cloud while safeguarding their applications and data. As the cloud-native landscape continues to evolve, staying proactive and adaptive in security practices will be crucial to maintaining a secure and resilient cloud environment.

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The transition to cloud-based environments has ushered in unparalleled efficiency, scalability, and innovation. However, it has also magnified the importance of fortifying our digital fortresses […]

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In the fast-paced world of technology, where innovation drives success, organizations find themselves in a perpetual race to enhance their applications, captivate customers, and stay […]

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Problems with firewalls can be quite disastrous to your operations. When firewall rules are not set properly, you might deny all requests, even valid ones, […]

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Safeguarding the network architecture is the need of the hour. According to a study, the average cost of a data breach is at an all-time […]

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Security policy automation is the process of automating certain cybersecurity tasks like threat detection (ransomware, malware, security rules, network changes), investigation, and remediation. Automating […]

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If your firewall shows a notification that it has detected a new network, it means it is doing one of its fundamental jobs properly. But […]

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As per Cloudwards, a new organization gets hit by ransomware every 14 seconds. This is despite the fact that global cybersecurity spending is up and […]

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I spend my days talking with customers and prospects around their security solutions, primarily regarding securing application connectivity.  Every conversation takes its own direction. Nevertheless, […]

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Behind every important business process is a solid network infrastructure that lets us access all of these services. But for an efficient and available network, […]

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The past few years have witnessed a rapid surge in the use of SaaS applications across various industries. But with this growth comes a significant […]

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In today’s evolving threat landscape, Zero Trust Architecture has emerged as a significant security framework for organizations. One influential model in this space is the Zero Trust Model, attributed to John Kinderbag. Inspired by Kinderbag’s model, we explore how our advanced solution can effectively align with the principles of Zero Trust.

Let’s dive into the key points of mapping the Zero Trust Model with AlgoSec’s solution, enabling organizations to strengthen their security posture and embrace the Zero Trust paradigm.

My approach of mapping Zero Trust Model with AlgoSec solution is based on John Kinderbag’s Zero Trust model (details) which being widely followed, and I hope it will help organizations in building their Zero trust strategy.

Firstly, let’s understand what Zero trust is all about in a simple language. Zero Trust is a Cybersecurity approach that articulates that the fundamental problem we have is a broken trust model where the untrusted side of the network is the evil internet, and the trusted side is the stuff we control. Therefore, it is an approach to designing and implementing a security program based on the notion that no user or device or agent should have implicit trust. Instead, anyone or anything, a device or system that seeks access to corporate assets must prove it should be trusted.

The primary goal of Zero Trust is to prevent breaches. Prevention is possible. In fact, it’s more cost effective from a business perspective to prevent a breach than it is to attempt to recover from a breach, pay a ransom, and the deal with the costs of downtime or lost customers.

As per John Kinderbag, there are Four Zero Trust Design Principles and Five-Step Zero Trust Design Methodology.

The Four Zero Trust Design Principles:

The first and the most important principle of your Zero Trust strategy is know “What is the Business trying to achieve?”. Second, start with DAAS (Data, Application, Asset and Services) elements and protect surfaces that need protection and design outward from there. Third, determine who needs to have access to a resource in order to get their job done, commonly known as least privilege. Fourth, all the traffic going to and from a protect surface must be inspected and logged for malicious content.

1. Define Business Outcomes
2. Design from the inside out
3. Determine who or what needs access
4. Inspect and log all traffic

The Five-Step Zero Trust Design Methodology

To make your Zero trust journey achievable, you need a repeatable process to follow. The first step in the Zero trust is to break down your environment into smaller pieces that you need to protect (protect surfaces). The second step for deploying Zero Trust in each protect surfaces is to map the transactions flows so that we can allow only the ports and the address needed and nothing else. Everyone wants to know what products to buy to do Zero trust or to eliminate trust between digital systems, the truth is that you won’t know the answer to that until you’ve gone through the process. Which brings us to the third step in the methodology: architecting the Zero trust environment. Ultimately, we need to instantiate Zero Trust as a Layer 7 policy statement. Use the Kipling Method of Zero Trust policy writing to determine who or what can access your protect surface. The fifth design principle of Zero Trust is to inspect and log all traffic, for monitor and maintain, one needs to take all of the telemetry – whether it’s from a network detection and response tool, or from firewall or server application logs and then learn from them. As you learn over time, you can make security stronger and stronger.

1. Define the protect surface
2. Map the transaction flows
3. Architect a Zero trust environment
4. Create Zero trust policies
5. Monitor and maintain. How AlgoSec aligns with “Map the transaction Flows” the 2nd step of Design Methodology?

AlgoSec Auto-Discovery analyses your traffic flows, turning them into a clear map. AutoDiscovery receives network traffic metadata as NetFlow, SFLOW, or full packets and then digest multiple streams of traffic metadata to let you clearly visualize your transaction flows. Once the transaction flows are discovered and optimized, the system keeps tracking changes in these flows. Once new flows are discovered in the network, the application description is updated with the new flows.

Outcome:

• Clear visualization of transaction flows.
• Updated application description.
• Optimized transaction flows. How AlgoSec aligns with “Architect Zero Trust Policies” – the 4th step of Design Methodology?

With AlgoSec, you can automate the security policy change process without introducing any element of risk, vulnerability, or compliance violation. AlgoSec allows you to ingest the discovered transaction flows as a Traffic Change request and analyze those traffic changes before they are implemented all the to your Firewalls, Public Cloud and SDN Solutions and validate successful changes as intended, all within your existing IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions.

Outcome:

• Analyzed traffic changes for implementation.
• Implemented security policy changes without risk, vulnerability, or compliance violations. How Algosec aligns with “Monitor and maintain” – the 5th step of Design Methodology?

AlgoSec analyzes security by analyzing firewall policies, firewall rules, firewall traffic logs and firewall change configurations. Detailed analysis of the security logs offers critical network vital intelligence about security breaches and attempted attacks like virus, trojans, and denial of service among others. With AlgoSec traffic flow analysis, you can monitor traffic within a specific firewall rule. You do not need to allow all traffic to traverse in all directions but instead, you can monitor it through the pragmatic behaviors on the network and enable network firewall administrators to recognize which firewall rules they can create and implement to allow only the necessary access.

Outcome:

• Critical network intelligence, identification of security breaches and attempted attacks.
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As organizations respond to an ever-evolving set of security threats, network teams are scrambling to find new ways to keep up with numerous standards and regulations to dodge their next compliance audit violation. Can this nightmare be avoided? Yes, and it’s not as complex as one might think if you take a “compliance first” approach.

It may not come as a surprise to many, but the number of cyber attacks is increasing every year and with it the risk to companies’ financial, organizational, and reputational standing.

What’s at stake?

The stakes are high when it comes to cyber security compliance. A single data breach can result in massive financial losses, damage to a company’s reputation, and even jail time for executives.

• Data breaches: Data breaches are expensive and becoming even more so by the day. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report , the average cost of a data breach is $4.35 million.
• Fraud: Identity fraud is one of the most pressing cybersecurity threats today. In large organizations, the scale of fraud is also usually large, resulting in huge losses causing depletion of profitability. In a recent survey done by PwC, nearly one in five organizations said that their most disruptive incident cost over $50 million*.
• Theft: Identity theft is on the rise and can be the first step towards compromising a business. According a study from Javelin Strategy & Research found that identity fraud costs US businesses an estimated total of $56 billion* in 2021.

What’s the potential impact?

The potential impact of non-compliance can be devastating to an organization. Financial penalties, loss of customers, and damage to reputation are just a few of the possible consequences. To avoid these risks, organizations must make compliance a priority and take steps to ensure that they are meeting all relevant requirements.

• Legal impact:Regulatory or legal action brought against the organization or its employees that could result in fines, penalties, imprisonment, product seizures, or debarment.
• Financial impact: Negative impacts with regard to the organization’s bottom line, share price, potential future earnings, or loss of investor confidence.
• Business impact:Adverse events, such as embargos or plant shutdowns, could significantly disrupt the organization’s ability to operate.
• Reputational impact: Damage to the organization’s reputation or brand—for example, bad press or social-media discussion, loss of customer trust, or decreased employee morale.

How can this be avoided?

In order to stay ahead of the ever-expanding regulatory requirements, organizations must adopt a “compliance first” approach to cyber security. This means enforcing strict compliance criteria and taking immediate action to address any violations to ensure data is protected. Some of these measures include the following:

• Risk assessment: Conduct ongoing monitoring of compliance posture (risk assessment) and conduct regular internal audits (ensuring adherence with regulatory and legislative requirements (HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX, etc.)
• Documentation: Enforce continuous tracking of changes and intent
• Annual audits: Commission 3rd party annual audits to ensure adherence with regulatory and legislative requirements (HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX, etc.)

Conclusion and next steps

Compliance violations are no laughing matter. They can result in fines, business loss, and even jail time in extreme cases. They can be difficult to avoid unless you take the right steps to avoid them. You have a complex set of rules and regulations to follow as well as numerous procedures, processes, and policies. And if you don’t stay on top of things, you can end up with a compliance violation mess that is difficult to untangle. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the risk of being blindsided by a compliance violation mess with your organization.

Now that you know the risks and what needs to be done, here are six best practices for achieving it.

External links:

• $50 million
• $56 billion

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As 2022 comes to a close, Professor Avishai Wool, AlgoSec Co-Founder and CTO, provides his top 5 issues organizations will need to be aware in 2023 that will also dominate the cyber community conversation. 1) Application centric approach to network security will supersede basic NSPM

I think the market has matured to the point where the NSPM approach has reached a tipping point and I see the shift to an application perspective becoming the de facto approach in network security policy management as there are better and more robust technologies in the market that can help organizations get there faster. I see this shift becoming even more viable in 2023 based on recent market trends in which organizations are opting for downsizing and trying to do more with the smaller staff at the expense of losing tribal knowledge. As a result, I see organizations shifting more towards adopting a holistic approach to network security that are more application centric in which they can retain critical knowledge, such as application traffic intent and application policy rules, so that the new generations can step in and pick up where the previous predecessors left off.

2) Containerization will enhance layered security

I expect container security to be increasingly popular in the future, as companies understand that their existing network security mechanisms are not enough for the communication networks of today. Containers are seen as a cost-effective light-weight solution for deployment – and deploying them introduces another inner layer where security policies can be applied: behind the perimeter filters, the internal zoning, and the micro-segmentation, organizations can now also consider nano-segmentation at the container level. Vulnerability testing is another dimension of the container platform especially within cloud applications and SaaS products. The common Kubernetes platform offers both opportunities and challenges for vulnerability scanners. Beyond 2023, businesses will need to enhance both their visibility and management capabilities of security within their containerized applications

3) Security driven IaaS ecosystems to improve network security

I expect the popularity of Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to continue to soar, making it difficult for security teams to keep up with the associated risks and vulnerabilities. Pre-set security settings may not meet the needs of the organization and customizing these settings can prove to be difficult. The customizability of IaaS offers great potential for productivity, but it also makes it complicated to secure. The bottom line is that companies can no longer depend on their network perimeter to guard sensitive data. In response, I anticipate organizations that begin utilizing an “Always-on Security” approach such as Infrastructure as Code (IaC) which would permit them to construct personalized policies to control the development environments during each phase of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and recognize potential risks, security flaws, and compliance issues on a what-if basis, before deploying flawed settings into production.

4) Cloud-native security tools will reign supreme

I expect that cloud-based security systems will become more commonplace: these security solutions offer a wide range of abilities, such as secure access, identity and access management, data loss prevention, application security, automation of security, detection and prevention of intrusions, security information and event management, and encryption. With companies transitioning more workloads to the cloud, they will want to make use of many of these features. These tools make it possible for remote teams to manage a greater public cloud presence: comfortably configuring services and automating processes, to identify and preemptively tackle any kind of threats.

To bridge the gap in cloud data security, I anticipate the emergence of data safeguarding systems that are designed specifically for cloud usage and are able to link up with public cloud systems in an advanced, agentless manner. This has been classified in the market as Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP). These platforms must be able to detect where the data is stored and what sorts of data are stored in the cloud, so that corporations can prioritize on what is most important – defending their most sensitive data and cloud-based applications without interfering with their normal operations.

5) Expect ransomware not to go away and get even more sophisticated

Organizations in 2022 saw no let-up from ransomware threats, some of whom were attacked multiple times and I do not see any reason why this trend will change in 2023. Cyber criminals are getting more resourceful and savvier in their attempts to stay ahead of law enforcement, and I anticipate these attacks will only become more frequent as their perpetrators are proving more capable of infiltrating many organizations’ cyber defenses.

In response, organizations will have to seek more technology solutions to protect data at the source. But that would not suffice. I think organizations will need to look beyond technological solutions and apply better preparedness strategies. Whether it be Zero Trust or something less overarching but more practical for an organization’s business needs, such as Micro-segmentation, it would ensure that threat-actors would not be able to access the data residing inside the security perimeter.

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Anat Kleinmann, AlgoSec Sr. Product Manager and IaC expert, discusses how incorporating Infrastructure-as-Code into DevSecOps can allow teams to take a preventive approach to secure […]

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Hybrid cloud computing enables organizations to deploy sensitive workloads on-premise or in a private cloud, while hosting less business-critical resources on public clouds. But despite […]

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As cloud adoption and digital transformation increases, more sensitive data from applications is being stored in data containers. This is why effective container security controls […]

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Eric Jeffery, AlgoSec’s regional solutions engineer, gives his view on the pivotal role of AppSec network engineers and how they can positively impact the business […]

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Prof. Avishai Wool, AlgoSec co-founder and CTO, breaks down the truths and myths about micro-segmentation and how organizations can better secure their network before their […]

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Prof. Avishai Wool, AlgoSec co-founder and CTO, stresses the importance of getting the often-overlooked function of managing network objects right, particularly in hybrid or multi-vendor […]

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There is a fine line between security and stability. So, how do you keep your IT assets running while maintaining a stringent security posture?   […]

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While we optimistically hoped for normality in 2021, organizations continue to deal with the repercussions of the pandemic nearly two years on. Once considered temporary […]

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We can’t always stop the bad guys from getting in, but we can stop them from wreaking havoc. Professor Avishai Wool, AlgoSec CTO, summarizes notable […]

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Tsippi Dach explores some notable breaches caused by misconfigurations and how organizations can avoid becoming the next big headline    In the past year, we […]

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Avi Hein at AlgoSec shares some simple steps online retailers can follow to mitigate cybersecurity risks this holiday season All organizations will experience added pressure […]

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In this guest blog, Jeff Yager from IT Central Station (soon to be PeerSpot), discusses how actual AlgoSec users have been able to securely accelerate […]

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Jade Kahn, AlgoSec CMO, explains how AlgoSec helps automate application connectivity and security policy across hybrid estates There is a strong and compelling argument for […]

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Avivi Siman-Tov, Director of Product Management at AlgoSec, discusses the benefits of network automation and takes us through a step-by-step process to standardize change management In […]

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Avishai Wool, CTO at AlgoSec, analyses the recent Facebook outage and the risks all organizations face in network configuration  Social media giant Facebook was involved […]

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Tsippi Dach, Director of Communications at AlgoSec, explores what happened during this past summer’s Fastly outage, and explores how your business can protect itself in […]

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Latest research reveals misconfigurations are one of the leading causes of breaches and outages, as public cloud adoption doubles over past two years  Businesses have […]

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In this guest blog, Jeff Yager from IT Central Station describes how AlgoSec is perceived by real users and shares how the solution meets their expectations for […]

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Kyle Wickert explains how organizations can balance the need to modernize their networks without compromising security  For businesses of all shapes and sizes, the inherent […]

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Omer Ganot, Cloud Security Product Manager at AlgoSec, outlines six key things that businesses should be doing to ensure their security in a hybrid cloud […]

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Prof. Avishai Wool discusses the complexities of mergers and acquisitions for application management and how organizations can securely navigate the transition  It comes as no […]

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Jade Kahn, AlgoSec CMO, discusses why it pays to partner with a profitable privately funded company like AlgoSec Global concerns over the spread of coronavirus […]

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Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Leader for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, explores the security capability native to VMware’s approach for virtual networking with NSX-T.     Intrinsic […]

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In this blog we introduce you to Sam, a hard-working Security Operations Director who faces challenges and ultimate successes when he is introduced to AlgoSec […]

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Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Leader for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, explains how AlgoSec’s discovery and automation makes the transition possible from traditional switched networks to […]

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Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Lead for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, discusses how Cisco Multi-Site Orchestrator (MSO) users can achieve policy-driven application-centric security management with AlgoSec.   Leading […]

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Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Lead for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, discusses challenges with managing Cisco Meraki in a complex enterprise environment.  One of the things […]

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Tal Dayan, security expert for AlgoSec, discusses the secret to passing audits seamlessly and how to introduce automated compliance  Compliance standards come in many different shapes and sizes. Some […]

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Tsippi Dach, Director of Communications at AlgoSec, explores the relationship between NetOps and SecOps and explains why they are the perfect partnership The IT landscape […]

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Attacks on water treatment plants show just how vulnerable critical infrastructure is to hacking – here’s how these vital services should be protected  Criminals plotting to poison a […]

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Professor Avishai Wool, AlgoSec CTO, forecasts the critical network security issues enterprises will face this year.

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Jade Kahn, CMO at AlgoSec, discusses what organizations should look for when choosing a Network Security Policy Management solution  In January 2020, no-one could have predicted […]

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Avivi Siman-Tov, Director of Product Management at AlgoSec, explores the challenges associated with migration projects and the systematic process that organizations should embrace    In order […]

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Yitzy Tannenbaum sits down with AlgoSec CTO, Avishai Wool and Guardicore CTO, Ariel Zeitlin, to discuss the role of micro-segmentation in the fight against cybercriminals  I recently had the […]

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Yitzy Tannenbaum, Product Marketing Manager at AlgoSec, discusses how AWS customers can leverage AlgoSec for AWS to easily migrate applications Public cloud platforms bring a […]

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Prof. Avishai Wool, AlgoSec CTO, share insights from his recent interview for EM360’s Tech Podcast    I recent sat down (virtually) with leading IT publication EM360 […]

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Gili Kimel, Director of International Field Marketing at AlgoSec, reflects on her experience transforming the hotly anticipated AlgoSummits into virtual events  No one could have anticipated the events […]

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Professor Avishai Wool, Co-founder and CTO at AlgoSec discusses the five practical steps that organizations can take to implement a Zero-Trust Network Policy  While the […]

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Tsippi Dach explains why micro-segmentation is vital to minimize damage left by lateral movement across the network On the 15th August 2020, cruise company Carnival […]

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Omer Ganot, Cloud Security Product Manager at AlgoSec, explains why misconfigurations continue to plague public cloud network services and how organizations can address these shortfalls with AlgoSec Cloud   […]

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In a recent webinar, Jothi Prakash, Senior Product Manager at Cisco, and Yoni Geva, Product Manager at AlgoSec, discussed how organizations can tighten their security […]

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Tim Bloomer, a Sales Engineer at AlgoSec, discusses the basic security principles organizations should use to minimize risk of cyber attacks  Recently I’ve been reading […]

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Avishai Wool, CTO and co-founder of AlgoSec, looks at how organizations can implement and manage SDN-enabled micro-segmentation strategies   Micro-segmentation is regarded as one of […]

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Tim Bloomer, Sales Engineer at AlgoSec, shares key challenges security engineers are facing and available solutions I recently read an article on Cybersecurity Skills shortages […]

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Exploring real customer experiences as they move to home working and how AlgoSec’s solutions have helped them make the transition   In previous blogs, we’ve […]

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The list celebrates exceptional women acclaimed for their contributions to channel advocacy, growth, thought leadership and dedication to the IT channel   May 2020 – […]

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Ask me anything – how chatbots accelerate network sec management Whether you need immediate technical support or advice on a recent purchase, chatbots have become […]

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Recommendations from Rajpreet Kaur, Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner, in her recent blog on remote working, and a perspective on how Network Security Policy Management […]

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AlgoSec wins against its competitors after achieving highest score based on customer reviews We are proud to say that IDG Connect has named AlgoSec the […]

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Kyle Wickert, worldwide strategic architect at AlgoSec, discusses how SDN changes organizations’ approaches to security policy management Software-defined networking (SDN) has moved up the enterprise […]

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Faced with an unprecedented migration to remote working, securing organizations’ critical applications is more important than ever.  Here’s how to do it. For many organizations, […]

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Nitin Rajput, AlgoSec’s SE lead in APAC and the Middle East, discusses the challenges associated with securing Cloud environments and how organizations can overcome them […]

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Toni Marie Piccolo, AlgoSec Field and Event Marketing Manager, Americas, was delighted to return to the RSA conference, which took place once again in the […]

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How organizations are shifting their focus to continuous compliance and zero-touch security This is the third and final installment in a series of blogs detailing […]

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What does a typical day look like for networking and security professionals in large organizations, and how does AlgoSec help? I recently posted a blog […]

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Yonatan Klein, Director of Product Management at AlgoSec, shares his highlights from this year’s Cisco Live hosted in Barcelona I have been traveling to Barcelona […]

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AlgoSec’s Integration with ServiceNow allows AlgoSec users to automate security change management and accelerate application deployments within their existing ServiceNow platform It isn’t easy for […]

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The certification demonstrates AlgoSec’s commitment to protecting its customers’ and partners’ data Data protection is a top priority for AlgoSec, proven by the enhanced security […]

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Yitzy Tannenbaum, AlgoSec Product Marketing Manager, is heading to Cisco Live in Barcelona more excited than ever. Read why. In just a few days Cisco […]

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A look back at the most-read AlgoSec blogs from the last twelve months In a week we’ll be leaving 2019 behind and welcoming a new […]

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Professor Avishai Wool, AlgoSec CTO, forecasts the critical security issues enterprises will face over the next year   It’s that time of year again – […]

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Cisco partners and customers get even easier access to integrated, application-centric security management both within and outside their ACI data centers AlgoSec and Cisco share […]

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How do organizations go about managing their cloud and on-premise environments holistically? I recently sat down for a Couch Talk session with our Product Marketing […]

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Why AlgoSec’s Security Management Solution is the right NSPM solution for your organization Enterprise IT must deliver more, faster. As cyberattacks increase in volume and […]

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How organizations can benefit from automated, error-free processing of business application changes

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AlgoSummit Americas has concluded. It was great to meet our customers and channel partners at AlgoSec’s largest event in North America The backdrop for this […]

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Want immediate answers about whether your business applications are secure? Here’s how AlgoBot can tell you what you need to know Since the early 20th […]

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Latest updates to AlgoSec solution give even closer, real-time control and security management across organizations’ Cisco deployments and their wider network estates Both AlgoSec and […]

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Review names AlgoSec “Pick of the Litter” and states “no weaknesses were found” We’re very excited here at AlgoSec to see that AlgoSec, AGAIN, for […]

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As first exploit for BlueKeep is published online, it’s critical to ensure your networks are protected against both new and old vulnerabilities that malware can […]

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Extended Cisco ACI automation and new AppViz and AppChange add-ons give users unrivalled application visibility, network auto-discovery and management capabilities Last week, we introduced an […]

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Professor Avishai Wool takes a deeper dive into defining, implementing and maintaining an effective micro-segmentation strategy

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Professor Avishai Wool shows you how to plan, implement and maintain an effective micro-segmentation strategy Network segmentation and micro-segmentation is a topic we cover frequently […]

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How automation helps to ensure robust security is enforced across enterprise cloud deployments, by bridging the gap between developers and security teams   At our […]

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Discovering and mapping the network flows that support business applications is critical to securing and managing them.  Here’s how to automate this traditionally complex, time-consuming […]

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Why this latest cloud security incident highlights the need to eliminate misconfigurations and understand the ‘shared responsibility’ cloud security model. Cloud security incident This week’s […]

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We recently attended Cisco Live! 2019 in San Diego. It was great to see Cisco’s latest innovations in networking, security, and the cloud With more […]

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Earlier this month we were in London for InfoSecurity ’19. Here are some thoughts and highlights from this large industry event. It was a great […]

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Protect your networks against the most significant vulnerability seen in 2019 … so far An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, […]

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New AlgoSec and Cloud Security Alliance survey shows over 75% of enterprises lack cloud visibility, which leads directly to security problems As cloud adoption and […]

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Enterprises are turning to a relatively new category of security technology: security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) solutions to help manage the overwhelming volume of […]

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InfoSecurity Europe 2019 is one of Europe’s leading cybersecurity events. If you’re in London for the event, we would love to meet you there. Here’s […]

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It’s coming up to a year since the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25 May, 2018, with the aim of […]

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New research highlights the need for holistic visibility and control over increasingly complex cloud environments, to ensure security and compliance We recently worked with the […]

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One in three IT professionals believe that cloud security is the sole responsibility of their chosen cloud provider. Is that really the case? Like many […]

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The public cloud provides great flexibility for organizations, but what about security? At the recent RSA 2019 show in San Francisco, I was talking to […]

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We all know passwords are a pain.  We find it hard to keep track of them. We forget them and get locked out of accounts. […]

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Security is a balancing act.  On one hand, it needs to protect the organization and prevent disruptive cyberattacks and breaches.  On the other hand, security […]

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If your organization is a financial institution and you operate in New York – or do you plan to in the future, then you come […]

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Clouds never stay still:  they constantly move, expand and disperse, influenced by both local and wider weather conditions. And it’s the same with enterprise cloud […]

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I have been talking to many of you, our dear customers, in the last year. The topic of cloud comes up in every conversation. It […]

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Which cyber battles lie ahead of us in an era of AI and machine learning, and how can we best prepare for them? I tackled […]

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Thinking small with micro-segmentation delivers both a stronger security posture and greater business agility For several years now, network segmentation has been a recommended strategy […]

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Protecting our sensitive networks and data is a critical aspect of our day to day lives as security professionals. We deploy tools, create processes, and […]

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We all know that cyber-attacks harm organizations, but only when encountering a data breach, does the organization find out just how expensive it is The […]

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How should enterprises go about managing and maintaining a strong security and compliance posture as they move business applications to public clouds? This was the […]

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If you’re attending CiscoLive! next week in Barcelona, we’d welcome the chance to show you how we can further extend Cisco ACI’s rich capabilities to […]

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Network Security Predictions for 2019 – Part 2 In Part 1 of this series, we shared our five network security technology predictions for 2019. Well, […]

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Network Security Predictions for 2019 “It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future,” mused movie mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. With the rapid changes in digital […]

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Top 2018 AlgoSec Network Security Blog Posts As the year draws to a close, we look back on the hurdles we’ve overcome, the successes we’ve […]

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Zero Trust Framework for Network Security Conquering the fear of attacks and breaches, championing privacy, and securing organizations’ futures were key themes at the recent […]

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Ensuring Holistic Visibility Today’s enterprises are rapidly migrating data and applications to the cloud to take advantage of the scalability, performance and cost benefits that […]

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DevOps and Network Security DevOps enable great agility in application development and delivery. That is, until it comes to network security and connectivity, which tend […]

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I’m a tech guy. I’m perfectly comfortable with sitting by my computer, playing with new technologies, coding, designing. I am also very happy traveling, meeting […]

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When you’re on the New Jersey riverside gazing at the Manhattan skyline, you get great views and different perspectives on your urban and technological environment. […]

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Network security is defined by a wealth of rules that are constantly changing. As applications are deployed, modified or migrated, network and security teams need […]

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SC Magazine’s product reviews are widely considered to be the most thorough in the information-security sector. In addition, there are very few independent, objective, and […]

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Network Security Cyber Attacks This is the final week of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month, focusing on Safeguarding the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure. Our day-to-day […]

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In May this year, the EU began enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with the aim of protecting the personally identifiable information of EU […]

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All enterprises are subject to a growing range of legal and regulatory frameworks. Achieving – and, crucially, maintaining – compliance with these frameworks is a […]

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For cyber-security professionals, it’s an accepted fact that cyber-attack vectors never really get eliminated permanently – they merely slide up and down the threat scale, […]

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Organizations typically have mixed environments: a varied assortment of firewalls and network devices from multiple vendors. Managing this mix is a challenge: each generation of […]

The post Cutting through the cybersecurity jibber-jabber for faster application delivery appeared first on algosec.

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We are very excited to promote our new partnership with Microsoft Azure! This week, Microsoft is officially launching its new Azure Firewall – a cloud-native, […]

The post Cloudin’ with the Best – Microsoft and AlgoSec Join Hands on Cloud Security appeared first on algosec.

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In our earlier blog, we looked at how Cisco ACI customers can accelerate security management within their ACI environments, to further enhance visibility and agility. […]

The post Holistic management of your Cisco ACI deployments alongside other networks appeared first on algosec.

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Demand for software defined networking (SDN) solutions is booming, so much so that the market is expected to be worth $88 billion by 2024. SDN […]

The post Accelerating security management in your Cisco ACI fabric appeared first on algosec.

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I recently attended VMworld 2018 in Las Vegas, an impressive conference attended by 25,000 IT professionals. The four-day event showcased VMware’s latest innovations and updates […]

The post Accelerating and automating data center security – findings from VMworld 2018 appeared first on algosec.

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Agility is critical to today’s businesses: they need to move fast to maximize profitability and service and stay ahead of the competition. Agility also applies […]

The post AlgoSec 2018.1 Delivers Complete End-to-End Security Management across On-Premise, Hybrid and Cloud Networks appeared first on algosec.

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It’s well known that a data breach can have a huge impact on an organization. From the initial discovery and through forensic investigation and remediation, […]

The post In the Spotlight: The High Cost of a Data Breach appeared first on algosec.

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Real Enterprise Users Weigh In At IT Central Station, we spend our time reaching out to our community to learn what they really think about […]

The post AlgoSec Becomes #1 in its Category in IT Central Station appeared first on algosec.

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DevOps is a very exciting practice/approach/movement/cult that advocates automation, agility, and basically empowering the application developers to have full control (and responsibility) for their applications. […]

The post DevOps and AlgoBot – Power to the (App) people appeared first on algosec.

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We recently blogged about some of the steps security teams can take to tidy up their firewall rules: removing duplicates, tightening overly permissive rules and […]

The post 4 Network-Policy Configuration Errors that Must Not Happen appeared first on algosec.

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DevOps enables great agility in application development and delivery. Network security and connectivity, however, is usually (and unfortunately) out of scope, and is handled manually, […]

The post A Recipe for Success – Network Connectivity at the Speed of DevOps with AlgoSec and Chef appeared first on algosec.

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A quarter of organizations are struggling to maintain strong, consistent security policies across corporate data centers and multiple cloud environments. This is the finding of […]

The post Central Policy Management: The Future of Network Security appeared first on algosec.

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The FIFA World Cup 2018 is well under way in Russia, with the 32 top national teams all vying for the chance to be crowned […]

The post Network Security Lessons from the World Cup appeared first on algosec.

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In my previous blog posts, I described how the DevOps process is broken as soon as it comes to some network security changes, and how […]

The post DevOpsifying network connectivity with the AlgoSec SDK for Python appeared first on algosec.

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At AlgoSec we’ve been promoting and evangelizing the value and benefits of automation since our inception. And now a recent report from Capgemini shows that […]

The post Capgemini’s ‘fast mover’ advantage: why automation matters appeared first on algosec.

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In my previous blog post, I described the dream of agile application delivery with DevOps, and how it’s painfully shattered as soon as the tiniest […]

The post DevOpsifying network connectivity: the Ansible-based option appeared first on algosec.

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DevOps is everywhere. Seems like it’s all people talk about. The best thing since sliced bread. So why is this concept/practice/philosophy/religion/cult becoming so popular in […]

The post DevOpsifying Network Security appeared first on algosec.

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How many security alerts does a security operation center (SOC) have to deal with during an average day?  New research from Imperva claims that 27% […]

The post Finding that one in a million: Addressing security alert overload by applying business context appeared first on algosec.

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Working in IT, you've no doubt heard – and said – the phrase “we don't know what we don't know” more than a few times. Yet many technical and business professionals have convinced themselves that they truly have complete visibility into their network environment, but they're just fooling themselves. Mature IT, security, and business professionals know that no matter how much money you’ve invested in security, the reality is you cannot fully know where and how your business is at risk. So it’s up to you to find the gaps so that these risks can be properly mitigated or, ideally, eliminated.

The post Knowing you don’t know what you don’t know appeared first on algosec.

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With organizations having a seemingly insatiable appetite for the agility, scalability and flexibility offered by the cloud, it’s little surprise that one of the market’s […]

The post Getting it right in the cloud: The AWS bucket list for security appeared first on algosec.

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I recently blogged about VMware’s integration with Amazon, which allows its NSX controls to be utilized on Amazon’s AWS public cloud platform.  The strategy enables […]

The post Is VMware’s hybrid cloud extension right for you? appeared first on algosec.

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May 12 is a significant date in the cybersecurity world. It marks the anniversary of WannaCry, the biggest ransomware attack to date.  It spread at unprecedented […]

The post WannaCry, one year on – are you sure you’re secure? appeared first on algosec.

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For more than a decade the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which covers the types and frequencies of security incidents globally over the previous year, has been a bellwether on how enterprise network security is performing, providing valuable insights on how to enhance an organization’s security postures. Now in its 11th year, here are some of the 2018 report’s key takeaways.

The post A year of breaches: lessons from Verizon’s latest Data Breach Investigations Report appeared first on algosec.

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Wouldn’t it be great if IT teams and network managers could simply outline at a high level what they want their business networks to do, and then technology would automatically implement the changes across their infrastructure to make it happen?  That’s the promise of intent-based networking (IBN):  using machine learning and automation to control networks and enforce policies automatically, without the network administrators having to perform the mundane, operational tasks of actually making it all work.

The post Intent based networking: turning intentions into reality with network security policy management appeared first on algosec.

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As always, RSA was a good opportunity not just to see the cool new offerings from the big players but also to see the many innovations that new start-ups are bringing to the security table. And it’s, of course, a great opportunity to catch-up with familiar faces and connect with new ones to get a real feel for the current state of play and new trends of thought within our industry. Here’s a round-up of our key takeaways from the conference.

The post Unity, diversity, and GDPR – my takeaways from RSA 2018 appeared first on algosec.

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New research from Advanced Threat Analytics reveals that managed security services providers (MSSPs) are wasting significant resources processing and responding to useless security alerts. The report found […]

The post Managing incident alert overload – 3 critical ingredients appeared first on algosec.

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If you’re going to RSA in San Francisco next week I would love to meet you there! Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening at our booth #1127.

The post We want to meet you at RSA …so what’s in it for you? – Part 2 appeared first on algosec.

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Getting honest, unbiased, real-life customer feedback is extremely valuable, but not always easy to come by. As we’ve previously blogged one resource for such information is IT Central Station, a user-driven review site for enterprise technology.  Here you can hear from real enterprise users who have shared their opinions on various solutions, and how they have benefited from them - including AlgoSec’s Security Management solution.  

The post “Invaluable to our information security department” – what real users think about AlgoSec appeared first on algosec.

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In his recent blog, my colleague, Avishai Wool, explained why private clouds aren’t going anywhere. Here, I make the case that hybrid cloud is also not going anywhere either. Indeed according to the latest Cisco Cloud Index, by 2021 73% of cloud workloads will make use of the public cloud, up from 58% in 2016. So it’s pretty clear that organizations will be utilizing hybrid environments for some time to come, meaning that IT teams will need to continue maintaining and managing a mix of public, private cloud and on-premise environments. But this not without its challenges – particularly when it comes to security.

The post Cloudwatching: why the future is hybrid appeared first on algosec.

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Security policy management is a serious business, performed by a group of experienced professionals. These people live and breathe the network, know which firewall protects […]

The post Dreaming of your own security policy management personal assistant? appeared first on algosec.

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Interacting with computers and robots using normal, everyday language has been a mainstay of sci-fi moves since the 1950s – but it’s only in the last five years or so that it has become an everyday reality, thanks to innovations such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and the widespread rollout of web-based instant messaging ‘chat’ platforms. I believe that there’s also tremendous potential using chatbots in enterprise applications to accelerate and automate information-sharing across areas of the business in which data has traditionally been siloed and hard to get access to.

The post A chatbot for network security appeared first on algosec.

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As an IT professional, have you thought about what your scarcest resource is? Some people believe it's money, others might believe it's buy-in on the part of management and users. While these things can be formidable barriers to accomplishing your goals, whether it seems like it or not, your scarcest resource is time. As your network environment increases in complexity, or as you move up the corporate ladder and take on additional responsibilities, you must find creative ways to keep from getting sidetracked if you are going to be able to properly address bigger picture items in your IT work

The post Time to focus on what’s important in IT appeared first on algosec.

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We’re delighted to receive another outstanding review of AlgoSec, this time in the leading UK IT title, Network Computing.  In the review, the tester asserted that “AlgoSec's Security Management Solution takes the pain out of network security and risk management” and that its “The only product that aligns network security with critical business applications and processes.”

The post Network Computing on AlgoSec: “takes the pain out of network security and risk management” appeared first on algosec.

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Maintaining and managing IT security is critical for any organization, but how much of this time is well spent, and how much time is lost as a result of inefficient processes? According to a new survey, cybersecurity professionals waste as much as 10 hours per week due to missing features and capabilities in their software. Unsurprisingly, the survey concluded that these inefficiencies are hampering organizations’ ability to detect and respond quickly to cyber threats.

The post Are you wasting time in network security? appeared first on algosec.

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Leading US Analyst Firm, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) recently conducted a survey to understand the benefits gained from network security policy management tools. The survey revealed that Network Security Policy management tools help deliver more consistent security policies, which led to fewer attack surfaces, shorter change approval and implementation processes, fewer change-related outages and more successful business continuity and disaster recovery testing.

The post EMA Survey: network security policy management enhances business continuity, cloud migrations appeared first on algosec.

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I recently attended Cisco Live 2018 in Barcelona. It was a great opportunity to see Cisco’s latest innovations in networking and data center solutions. A major focus of the show was on Cisco’s industry leading intent-based networking (IBN) portfolio, which is driving a fundamental shift away from the traditional manual, time-consuming methods for managing networks.  IBN enables companies to capture and translate their business intent into network policies, and automatically activate those policies across their infrastructure.

The post Automation and security beyond the data center – my impressions from CiscoLive! Barcelona appeared first on algosec.

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Intelligent network segmentation is a key strategy for reducing the attack surface of data center networks. However, deciding exactly where to place the boundaries that will separate those network segments isn’t always easy, especially in complex, multi-network, multi-vendor environments.  Here’s how security teams can simplify the task of deciding where to place the borders between segments.

The post Tips to help you segment your network inside your data center appeared first on algosec.

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For anyone currently romantically involved, you’ll be acutely aware that it is just over a week until Valentine’s Day.  And while this day of romance may seem to border on the trivial, it’s a big money maker. But it isn’t just the retailers that will be looking to cash-in in the run up to February 14th – cybercriminals too will be looking to exploit this busy, and highly lucrative, trading period.

The post Roses are red, violets are blue, beware of the cyber-criminal out to get you appeared first on algosec.

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For several years now, the public cloud has been the main focus of conversations about how enterprise IT infrastructures will be deployed and managed. And with good reason: it continues to take the lion’s share of cloud spending. But this doesn’t mean that private clouds should be written off: far from it. As we previously blogged, some organizations are actually moving applications back from public clouds to private cloud infrastructures.

The post Private clouds aren’t going anywhere appeared first on algosec.

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Passwords represent the essence of network security. Most systems you interact with on a daily basis have some form of password-related access control. From network infrastructure devices to mobile endpoints and out to the cloud – there's an untold number of systems that rely, sometimes solely, on passwords to keep things secure. But you have to be careful. I often find password-related security oversights in the most secure of environments. Here are some tips for things you need to be on the lookout for.

The post 5 ways your passwords can compromise your entire network appeared first on algosec.

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Exactly what to expect in 2018 is virtually impossible to predict, but here are some key themes that I expect to drive important advances in infosec in 2018.

The post Cloud, SDN and micro segmentation: my predictions for the year ahead appeared first on algosec.

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As we kick off the new year, I’ve taken a moment to take stock of our blog posts from the past year. There was certainly no shortage of talking points in cybersecurity last year, and we touched on a wide array of subjects that caught the industry’s attention – from cyber-attacks and incident response to firewall management and security in the cloud. So, as we move into 2018, here’s a round-up of our 10 most popular blogs from 2017.

The post The Top 10 AlgoSec Blog Posts From 2017 appeared first on algosec.

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In the world of enterprise network security there is perhaps no greater fear than that of the unknown – unknowns have the potential to severely disrupt business, causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage. It is perhaps for this reason that, at the end of every year, I like to review the past year, as well as try and predict what the coming year will bring.

The post 2018: A Sea of Secure Possibilities? appeared first on algosec.

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George Santayana, famously observed that: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  In a year where data breaches escalated, and cyber-criminals found yet more ways to infiltrate the enterprise network, this quote, once again came, to mind. So, as 2017 draws to a close let’s look back over the year and reflect and evaluate past events in cyber security, and understand how they happened, so that we can hopefully prevent them from happening again in 2018.

The post Reflections on the State of Infosecurity in 2017 appeared first on algosec.

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It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time for our annual tradition of analyzing a classic movie in terms of the cyber security lessons it can teach us. This year we've selected Jumanji, the 1995 adventure classic with the legendary Robin Williams, which is getting the reboot treatment this holiday season, with an updated plot and an all-new cast. Despite dating from the dawn of the Internet era, the movie contains several plot points that offer valuable cybersecurity lessons for today’s organizations. So while we wait to see the reboot, here are three security lessons from the original Jumanji movie. 

The post It’s a Jungle in Here: Cyber-Security Lessons Learned from Jumanji appeared first on algosec.

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How much are critical IT incidents really costing your business? New research from real-time operational intelligence vendor, Splunk, and analyst firm Quocirca, revealed that these […]

The post You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See: New Splunk Research Highlights the Impact of Critical IT Incidents appeared first on algosec.

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Complexity can pile up in SDN environments just as quickly as it does in on-premise networks – and where complexity goes, human error often follows. This complexity is compounded by the fact that within SDN there are a range of security options available – from virtual firewalls or host-based firewalls to using native security controls offered by the vendor, with each having its own strengths and weaknesses. Regardless of which security controls you use it’s critical to remember that each come with their own pros and cons. The upshot of all this is that ‘islands’ of SDN automation are likely to develop, which are automated in themselves, but do not cover the entire organization.

The post 4 Tips for Managing Security Across Microsegmented, Software-Defined Networks appeared first on algosec.

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Managing IT through an M&A process is one of the most complex challenges. This is because companies will typically need to move at least some of their applications to a different data center or to the cloud following the merger or acquisition. They may also need to merge duplicate applications, or replicate applications to new entities, and decommission the unnecessary ones to streamline operations and costs. In turn, this means that security policies will need to be changed or migrated to support the new connectivity, applications, servers and security controls – and all without creating security risks, outages or compliance violations. This creates a mass of complexity which, if not planned and implemented properly, can have a very serious impact on business operations.

The post Tips on how to manage application network connectivity through M&A appeared first on algosec.

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The move to the cloud is unstoppable. Enterprise spending on cloud computing is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16% until 2026, fueling growth in both public (18%) and on-premise (10%) cloud markets. This increased spend is being driven by the very clear and tangible benefits that the cloud delivers – greater scalability, flexibility, agility and lower total costs of ownership. But one aspect of cloud adoption that is rarely discussed is the cost of the migration process itself: in other words, how much time and resource it will take to move an application from the on-premise network to the cloud.

The post The Unseen Costs of Cloud Migrations appeared first on algosec.

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AWS topology and routing can be complex, and cloud environments are dynamic by nature, making it hard to understand which workloads are actually secure, or identify what traffic traverses into and out of any workflow as well as within the private cloud and out to a customer premises network. Making things more complicated is the fact that the cloud utilizes a shared security responsibility mode, meaning fundamental security measures to protect the cloud infrastructure are handled by AWS but protection of assets and data within a customer’s AWS environment is the responsibility of the customer. Fortunately AWS partners with leading cyber security vendors such as Check Point to help customers fulfill their side of the shared responsibility model and bring advanced security services to protect their cloud networks.

The post Visibility in Cloudy Weather: Securing AWS with AlgoSec and Check Point appeared first on algosec.

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Looking at the average network penetration test, it's easy to see why so many organizations are still getting hit with incidents and breaches. There’s no way you can possibly secure things that you don't find (or miss) during vulnerability and penetration testing, and some of the vulnerability and penetration testing results that I have seen over the years are often not worth the paper its printed on much less the high price associated with undertaking this testing. So, what's missing? Well, it's nothing super technical or all that sexy. It's just a lot of little oversights that you just can't afford to overlook.

The post 6 Common Vulnerability and Penetration Testing Oversights appeared first on algosec.

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The holiday season is fast approaching. So while it’s the most lucrative time of the year for retailers, it’s also the most stressful.  The high volumes of transactional traffic – both on ecommerce sites and in-store – put the networks and IT infrastructures that enable this busy trading time under immense pressure to perform. And even the slightest glitch could have very costly implications for retailers. So, with network uptime and application availability critical to retailers success this holiday season, here are a few tips for retailers to ensure their security infrastructure is ready for the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas trading periods.

The post Tips to Prepare Your Network Security for the Holidays appeared first on algosec.

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For many in the industry ‘VMWare’ is synonymous with ‘private cloud’. The company was at the forefront of the development of virtual machines and remains enormously strong in the private cloud space. And with businesses increasingly adding public cloud platforms to their enterprise infrastructure, the company recognized an opportunity to diversify and expand its offering. In August, VMware announced an integration with Amazon, that enables its NSX controls to be utilized by Amazon’s AWS public cloud offering. Let’s take a look at VMWare’s journey to extending its private cloud security controls into the public cloud. 

The post VMware takes NSX to the Public Cloud appeared first on algosec.

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For a majority of organizations, the hybrid cloud isn’t the future of their network: it’s the here and now. But the promise of greater agility, efficiency and cost savings comes at a price: migrating to hybrid cloud environments is creating major security headaches for enterprises. That’s according to our new ‘Hybrid Cloud Environments: The State of Security’ survey released last week. Moreover, while nearly half of respondents said their organizations run up to 20% of their workloads in public clouds, and another quarter used public cloud for up to 40% of their workloads, enterprises still harbor significant concerns about security, which are holding them back from wider adoption.

The post Cloud obscures security visibility, hampers migration, new survey shows appeared first on algosec.

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We’ve just released the results of our ‘Hybrid Cloud Environments: The State of Security’ survey, which shows that hybrid cloud is the reality in most enterprise IT environments, and a significant percentage plan to increase their public cloud usage by the end of 2018. However, our survey also reveals that a majority of enterprises have significant concerns and challenges with their visibility and security management processes. 

The post New AlgoSec survey reveals enterprise insecurities as hybrid cloud adoption grows appeared first on algosec.

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There’s an army of the undead, wreaking havoc on the Internet and constantly adding new recruits as it spreads from network to network, organization to organization, stealthily infecting machines to conduct malicious work in the shadows. This isn’t just a scary Halloween story.  Bots – mini software applications that run automated tasks – are the zombies of the Internet, and they’re all too real. So how do you go about neutralizing the bots on your network?  The good news is that unlike the zombies in movies and TV shows, relatively simple techniques can go a long way toward disabling bots.

The post Stopping the army of the undead marching on your network appeared first on algosec.

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All too often, when business applications are decommissioned, they are not removed cleanly from the network and sent to the application graveyard; they’re simply left to fester. The rules and policies which those old applications relied on to work then quietly rot away on firewalls and other network devices. This isn’t just bad network hygiene: these old rules can introduce security vulnerabilities that lead to compliance violations or damaging breaches – which are truly frightening prospects - as well as compromise the performance of your firewalls. In honor of Halloween, lets take a closer look at why the horrors of rules left behind by dead applications continue to cause problems on enterprise networks, and how they can be exorcised, never to return.

The post Exorcising the rotten rules from your network at Halloween appeared first on algosec.

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It’s the final week of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month and the theme is ‘Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats,’ which focuses on the essential systems that support our daily lives – such as electricity, transportation and banking – and their vulnerability to attack and exploitation by criminals. These are not just potential vulnerabilities:  they’re all too real.  Over the past two years, power, transportation and banking services have all been targeted by criminals, resulting in major disruption and financial losses. 

The post Protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats appeared first on algosec.

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The cybersecurity skills drought is not a new issue. But it is a major cause for concern given that, despite the industry’s best efforts to attract IT talent to the infosecurity sector, demand far exceeds supply. In other words, it’s an employees’ market, with strong career potential. But no matter how you slice it, creating a security professional with 10 years of experience takes … well, 10 years. So what can you do in the meantime?

The post The Internet wants you! Solving the cybersecurity skills shortage appeared first on algosec.

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This month is the 14th National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the annual campaign organized by the Department for Homeland Security to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity for both businesses and consumers. This week's theme is ‘Cybersecurity in the Workplace Is Everyone's Business’, and it aims to highlight the fact that creating a culture of security is critical for all organizations, and must be a shared responsibility among all employees. It’s a timely reminder that cybersecurity isn’t just about products and processes – it’s also about people. Employees’ actions can have a huge negative, or positive, impact on an organization’s security.

The post Why cybersecurity is everyone’s business appeared first on algosec.

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AlgoSec's VP of Technology, Anner Kushnir, talks about why AlgoSec has joined forces with Cisco to deliver a joint solution that extends Cisco ACI’s rich capabilities to build a secure, compliant and agile data center

The post End-to-end security management for the next-generation data center appeared first on algosec.

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Software defined networks (SDNs) help drive scalability and business agility, while enabling a more secure, segmented data center. Yet despite its rising popularity, SDN can strike fear into the hearts of the security and network operations teams who have little to no physical visibility into the SDN yet must secure and manage it. Next Tuesday, October 3, Edy Almer, AlgoSec’s VP of Products will present a new technical webinar on best practices to help manage security across an SDN environment. Details and registration here.

The post Managing Security Across a Software Defined Network – Best Practices appeared first on algosec.

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Many professionals believe that they need latest and greatest new tools to address these challenges. But what if you already have what you need, up and running in your organization? Today’s security policy management solutions do far more than automate traditional change management tasks. Join us next Tuesday for a new webinar where we will highlight 5 key security challenges facing enterprise organizations today and how you can address them with your security policy management solution.

The post 5 things you didn’t know you could do with a security policy management solution [part 2] appeared first on algosec.

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Enterprises are learning a hard lesson – one that’s not formally taught and one that many IT and Security managers are often not even aware of. It's the reality of being responsible for information systems that, behind the scenes, are managed or overseen by someone else. This is fine and good until you realize that they may not be providing the level of due care and diligence that you would if it were your own system. 

The post You may not be in control but you’re still responsible appeared first on algosec.

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Many organizations believe that Security stands in the way of the business – particularly when it comes to changing or provisioning connectivity for applications. It can take weeks, or even months to ensure that all the servers, devices and network segments that support the application can communicate with each other, while blocking access to hackers and unauthorized users.  It’s a complex and intricate process. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The solution is to manage application connectivity and network security policies through a structured lifecycle approach, which ensures that the right security policy management activities are performed in the right order, through an automated, repeatable process. 

The post The five stages of security policy management appeared first on algosec.

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PCI-DSS 3.2 requirement 6.1 mandates that organizations establish a process for identifying security vulnerabilities on the servers that are within the scope of PCI. Yet as new vulnerabilities are discovered every day, this ‘laundry list’ of problems is very dynamic, and constantly being updated. It’s also extremely granular and detailed. So how can you assess and prioritize the remediation of these vulnerabilities that directly impact your compliance status?

The post Why and how to align vulnerabilities with business risk for PCI-DSS compliance appeared first on algosec.

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VMware recently introduced a new capability in NSX that complements its distributed firewall micro-segmentation capabilities to address this exact need for application connectivity visibility in NSX data centers – the Application Rule Manager, introduced in VMware NSX 6.3. This new capability is very much aligned with AlgoSec’s business-driven security approach, so we sat down with our colleagues in VMware and designed an integrated solution to leverage both solutions’ capabilities.

The post Tightening security in the data center with VMware NSX micro-segmentation appeared first on algosec.

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VMware NSX is one of the industry’s leading SDN solutions, offering a unique blend of networking and security capabilities through a unified policy model. NSX’s capabilities are, however, limited to the NSX deployment within the data center, and do not extend to controlling equipment outside the data center. 

The post Tips to manage VMware NSX holistically as part of your entire enterprise appeared first on algosec.

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Trustwave recently published its annual Global Security Report, which analyzed hundreds of incidents and breaches at organizations across 21 countries globally.  The comprehensive report examined […]

The post New report shows drop in security incidents from misconfigurations but there’s work to be done appeared first on algosec.

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Here I will explore how security policy management can support an organization’s APM efforts, to accelerate triaging of application performance issues and minimize business disruption.

The post Performance matters: integrating application performance management with security policy management appeared first on algosec.

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Modern business is all about agility: organizations operating under competitive conditions must act and move fast to remain profitable. And that also applies to the […]

The post Business Driven Security Management: Putting Theory into Practice appeared first on algosec.

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Last month, Gartner released its Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls[1] for 2017. As the enterprise firewall market is the largest in the IT security sector, we feel the report is an essential read for IT security professionals. Here are some of our insights and takeaways from the report.

The post The State of the Firewall: Our take on the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls appeared first on algosec.

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If you haven't yet noticed that network security is all about people, it will become a clear reality sooner than later. In fact, human communications and relationships are what drive everything that gets done – or does not get done – in business. One thing I often hear from my colleagues and clients is that security would improve if only management would “get” it. In an ideal world security would be just like any other core business function such as finance and legal. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet. But with some strategic and tactical tweaks you can make progress in getting the right people on your side. 

The post Tips on how to position security to business managers appeared first on algosec.

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My colleagues and I  have previously blogged quite a bit about best practices for setting up and managing security in the AWS estate. Now its time to talk about auditing this environment. So, what’s the best way to ensure that the policies enforced by AWS security groups are in line with the compliance regimes that your organization is subject to?

The post Tips for auditing your AWS security policies, the right way appeared first on algosec.

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New technical webinar will provide an overview of how automated security policy management goes beyond providing ROI and cost savings, to directly impacting business productivity and agility.

The post New webinar: Security a Revenue Center – How Security Can Drive Your Business appeared first on algosec.

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In my previous post, we looked at three trends which demonstrate that the hybrid cloud environment is here to stay. This means that organizations will need to continue to maintain and manage robust security consistently across both their on-premise and cloud infrastructures.  So how should organizations approach this task? 

The post On-premise or in the cloud? Where’s the best place for your applications appeared first on algosec.

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Since the beginning of cloud, the prevailing expectation was that organizations would follow a standardized, linear ‘cloud adoption’ roadmap. It may appear that this prediction is on the way to realization – that organizations’ cloud adoption has reached the point where the entire IT infrastructure can be migrated to the cloud and a hybrid environment is no longer necessary. However, reality is proving otherwise.

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Previously we’ve discussed how building security into DevOps processes at an early stage helps organizations maximize the speed and agility of application development, while minimizing the risks of problems and outages when the applications go live.  Here, we will look at how security automation helps to speed up the practice of Continuous Integration (CI), which is a core element of DevOps.

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We, at AlgoSec, are very excited that Cisco has joined the efforts to solve these problems for enterprise customers, and that we share the same business-driven security policy management philosophy.

Being a Cisco technology partner for many years, we immediately sat together with our colleagues in Cisco, mapped capabilities and interesting use-cases, and designed a joint solution to provide even more value to our customers.

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In this new whiteboard video Prof Wool explains why its risky to use vendor-provided tools to automatically convert firewall rules from an old firewall. Professor Wool then presents a more realistic way to manage the firewall rule migration process that involves stages and checks and balances to ensure a smooth, secure transition to the new firewall that maintains secure connectivity.

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The current reality is that organizations typically have very mixed environments: a mixture of firewall generations, technologies, and vendors. Managing such a mix is a challenge because each generation of firewalls, and each vendor’s products, use different syntax and semantics for creating security policies.

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Recently I blogged about the need to link security with DevOps. In practice, how does this typically work? The development team adds new functionality to an existing business application, and rolls out the updated application. But while the new functionality worked as planned in both the test and pre-production environments, the application fails when its moved to the live production environment. So, what went wrong, and how can we fix it?

The post 4 tips to help put the ‘Sec’ into DevOps appeared first on algosec.

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In this new technical webinar, Anner Kushnir, VP of Technology at AlgoSec will explain how to address these contradicting requirements, and eliminate the tension between the two, through a unique zero-touch approach to security policy management.

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Typically while the IT and security teams will know which applications are business-critical, the direct impact of a firewall rule or security policy change on these business applications may not always be immediately apparent to the team. So how can IT and security teams ensure that they focus and prioritize their security management efforts on the applications that really drive the business?

The post Keeping tabs on your critical business applications appeared first on algosec.

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Presented by Prof. Avishai Wool, this new technical webinar will provide some best practices and tips to help organizations prevent, contain and respond to a ransomware attack.

The post New webinar: Best practices to proactively prevent, contain and respond to a ransomware attack appeared first on algosec.

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I recently blogged about how – and why – organizations need to bring business context to their incident response through an integration between their SIEM and security policy management solution. We looked the value that this approach brings, in helping to prioritize the most appropriate responses to security incidents. But what about assessing your network’s security vulnerabilities from the same business perspective, before an incident happens? With Verizon reporting last year that 85% of data breaches originate from known vulnerabilities, not to mention the recent WannaCry ransomware attack, this security strategy is arguably more important than ever before.

The post Why you need to align vulnerability management with business processes appeared first on algosec.

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Geared towards the specific challenges of financial institutions this new webinar on June 6 at 11am EDT, will provide technical best practices for managing network security policy changes while reducing risk and enforcing compliance.

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One of the biggest issues that create a false sense of security is vulnerabilities, which may well be getting past your firewall controls without detection. From my experience as a network security consultant, here are just some of the vulnerabilities that you cannot afford to overlook – and there are plenty more.

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One of the benefits of AlgoSec’s security policy management solution is that it assists organizations with their firewall rule clean-up processes, checking which rules are serving a valid purpose and which ones are redundant. If a rule hasn’t been used within a certain time period, say 8 months, the assumption is that it’s probably not needed and therefore no application will break or become insecure if it’s deleted. However, there is still a risk of unexpected consequences. Even though a given rule wasn’t used during the monitoring period, is it really redundant? To make a a truly informed decision, the firewall administrators need to know which business applications rely on each firewall rule.

The post Changing the rules without risk: mapping firewall rules to business applications appeared first on algosec.

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Without doubt one of the biggest news stories of the past week is the WannaCry ransomware attack, that has infected hundreds of thousands of Windows-based […]

The post Don’t WannaCry anymore? Tips to prevent, contain and clean up the tears appeared first on algosec.

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Following on from last month’s webinar, Product Manager Jonathan Gold-Shalev will present 5 more ways you can use a security policy management solution to manage security, reduce risk and respond to incidents, while maximizing business agility and ensuring compliance across your disparate, ever-changing, hybrid networks.

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We are delighted to receive yet another outstanding review, this time from Network World. In a comparative assessment, Network World asserted that they were “most impressed with AlgoSec" and that that “of all the products we tested, AlgoSec was the most innovative”.

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Advanced Cyber Threat and Incident Management with Professor Wool is a new whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the some of the challenges of and […]

The post New Professor Wool whiteboard video course on advanced cyber threat and incident management appeared first on algosec.

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We’re kicking off our next industry survey. This one aims to uncover the latest trends and best practices for managing security across hybrid on-premise and public cloud environments. It’s short (ish) – only 17 questions – and should only take you 5 minutes to complete, so please complete the survey now at http://bit.ly/2otLV2T

The post What’s your take on the current state of security in the cloud? appeared first on algosec.

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In theory adding capacity should be fairly straightforward, with minimal need for any intervention by the organization’s security team. But in practice it’s a little more complex. Here are some tips and best practices to help you add capacity without having to change your security policies, complete a security review or worse still, cause an outage or gap in the security perimeter.

The post Ops and security: tips for adding capacity without changing your security policies appeared first on algosec.

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You may believe that you need the latest and greatest new tools to address your security challenges. But what if you already have what you need, up and running in your organization? Here are five ways a security policy management solution can help you to better manage your overall security posture, reduce risk, and respond faster to incidents, while maximizing agility and ensuring compliance across your ever-changing, heterogeneous networks.

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Join us for a technical webinar that will walk you through a variety of scenarios that can cause device misconfigurations, including a basic device change, business application connectivity changes, and data center migrations. It will provide both best practices and demonstrate specific techniques to help you understand and avoid misconfigurations and ultimately prevent damage to your business

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For most enterprises, the SOC is the nerve centre of their cyber defences, but it is still developing its capabilities. To better protect the enterprise, the SOC needs to mature and align itself more closely with the overall business strategy and operations. This will make incident responses faster and more accurate, enabling the organization to adapt and survive in the face of attacks.

The post Adapt to survive: improving SOC maturity with adaptive security appeared first on algosec.

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It’s common for people to imagine that business applications can be beamed up, Star Trek style, into the cloud – the IT team just needs to press a few buttons and whoosh, the migration is done. If only it were that easy: In this post, I’m going to cover some of the obstacles that need to be overcome when migrating applications to the cloud.

The post Cloud atlas: how to accelerate application migrations to the cloud appeared first on algosec.

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As much as we rely on firewalls to protect enterprise assets, information security is not just about creating that impenetrable outer shell. its also about looking at all of your IT risks across the board. From internal systems, out to the cloud, and everything in between, there’s a myriad of security risks that you have to consider beyond what your traditional firewall is doing at the perimeter and in between network segments.

The post Beyond firewalls – top 9 security risks you need to know appeared first on algosec.

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Join Prof. Avishai Wool, this new technical webinar on Tuesday, April 4 at 10am EDT where he will cover best practices for incorporating security into the DevOps lifecycle. This insight will help ensure better collaboration between security and the development teams right from the start and reduce the time, cost and risk of deploying applications into production.

The post New webinar: Putting the Sec into DevOps appeared first on algosec.

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Last week, I had my head in the clouds, but no, I wasn’t daydreaming: I was at the Cloud Security Expo in London where I presented two sessions. With around 20,000 attendees across the two-day event, it was a great opportunity to take a deep dive into the trends that are currently shaping the industry, and to get insights into how these are expected to evolve over the next year.

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So what does an average working day look like for the CISO of a mid-size or large enterprise? I recently spoke at length with the former CISO of an organization with 15,000 staff, and around $1bn annual revenues, to get his insights into the security, compliance and operational challenges he faces on a day-to-day basis.

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Today’s enterprises are continuously evolving to support new applications, business transformation initiatives such as cloud and SDN, as well as fend off new and more […]

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Public cloud providers offer an appealing infrastructure solution for businesses that are seeking scalability, flexibility and cost-efficiency. But, as this recent outage showed, utilizing the public cloud can also affect the day-to-day operations – and, ultimately, the bottom lines – of organizations which are dependent on the resilience and security of systems that are outside of their own environments, and therefore outside of their control.

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Does this sound familiar? “The amount of change we are dealing with across our networks is increasing fast, while the turnaround time for delivering seems to be always shrinking.” I recently sat down with an enterprise network manager at a large insurance services company. During our chat, he gave me some excellent insights into the demands and challenges facing network and IT teams in global enterprises, and how his team plans to address those challenges by automating its security management processes.

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I was recently contacted by an analyst who asked for my thoughts on the usage of, and business value offered by virtualized next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) in enterprises’ public cloud environments, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure – particularly as these environments offer their own native security controls. These were very interesting questions, which I felt were worth exploring.

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Presented by Edy Almer, AlgoSec’s VP of Product, this new webinar next Tuesday, March 7 at 10am EST will explain how to simplify and accelerate large-scale complex application migration projects, while ensuring security and avoiding business application outages.

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I just got back from RSA, and with over 700 sessions during the conference, there were certainly no shortage of thought-provoking material on current and future cybersecurity challenges. For me, a significant takeaway was that ransomware is now a big problem – and it’s getting worse. It’s popular with criminals because it’s proven to work, giving them a lucrative business model that doesn’t require much effort. So far ransomware has attacked ‘softer targets’ such as home users, small businesses, hospitals, transit authorities and local government. And while larger enterprises don’t seem to have been hit hard, it could be that they have been able to contain incidents - or that they are simply not reporting them.

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Many (probably most) network administrators and managers in charge of enterprise firewalls are also responsible for numerous other things around the shop such as routers, VPN concentrators, load balancers, and other network infrastructure systems Sometimes these duties go beyond the core network and into servers, software, and even endpoints. This is a lot to take on and, thanks to the complexity factor we struggle to minimize, it serves to facilitate network security breaches.

The post Why it Pays to Maintain Your Firewall appeared first on algosec.

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In this dynamic landscape, it’s more important than ever before to ensure that your organization can respond as fast as possible when a serious incident strikes. Part of this is about sophisticated forensics and analytics – being able to identify exactly what has happened and repair the damage. It is also about being able to get your systems back online as quickly as possible. In short, effective disaster recovery is a key part of your overall cybersecurity posture.

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As we have previously blogged there are a range of measures that organizations can take to protect themselves against ransomware. However, these are only effective if organizations are getting their security basics right. They can be undone if, for example, a firewall is misconfigured – as a hospital in the UK recently discovered!

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If you’re going to RSA next week we would love to meet you! Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening at our booth #1133:

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All too often, the security team comes in at the end of the development process, when the new application is ready, and is expected to simply sign off on, or approve, changes that they weren’t previously aware of. In other words, these teams are working as if they’re on separate, unconnected islands, and as the speed of application deployments increase, so do the tensions and potential conflicts between the teams.

The post No team is an island: linking Security with DevOps appeared first on algosec.

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Join Ranga Rao, Director of Solutions Engineering at Cisco, and Anner Kushnir, our VP of Technology at AlgoSec on Wednesday, February 1, at 12pm ET/9am PT for a technical webinar where they will discuss how to leverage the integrated Cisco ACI-AlgoSec solution to process and apply security policy changes quickly, assess and reduce risk, ensure continuous compliance, and maintain a strong security posture across your entire network estate.

The post Learn how to accelerate data center application deployments with Cisco ACI and AlgoSec appeared first on algosec.

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Looking at the bigger picture of IT, there are a lot of amazing technicians, architects, and analysts. There are also great leaders in higher levels of management such as CTOs and CIOs. These are all people that “keep the joint running” and ensure that IT remains the critical business function that we often forget it is. But there's one thing that I've noticed that is sorely missing across the board and that is the ability to properly analyze risks. I'm not talking about simple black-and-white comparisons of whether or not a penetration test or audit finding is a worthy of addressing. Rather, I’m talking about true, in-depth analysis that determines actual risk for each specific issue in the unique situation of that particular business.

The post Risk analysis – how to overcome an enterprise weakness appeared first on algosec.

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A couple of weeks ago one of Israel’s leading operators, Pelephone announced a new consumer service. The service, which offers anti-spam, anti-phishing and parental controls, […]

The post Bringing cyber security to the masses, by mobile phone appeared first on algosec.

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Communications service providers (CSPs) are embracing virtualization using software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) to replace their traditional hardware-based networks, as they look to offer innovative new services to customers and satisfy demands for greater capacity. This means that CSPs will need new security capabilities to protect these environments.

The post Partnering with Huawei: why security automation matters for complex, multivendor networks appeared first on algosec.

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“Prophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks,” as Mark Twain wrote.  Looking back at the predictions we made at […]

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2016 was a significant year from an info security perspective. Not just in terms of high-profile cyber-attacks and breaches, but also in underlying trends that show how the security landscape will evolve over the coming year.

The post What security challenges will this new year bring? appeared first on algosec.

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Time is not on your side when managing security for a global enterprise and facing down a relentless barrage of cyber attacks. So when confronted with multiple suspect alerts flagged by your SIEM solution, you need a way to easily sift through and identify the attacks that will most likely impact key business processes – and quickly take action. Presented by Prof. Avishai Wool, this new webinar will cover security best practices for introducing business context into your organization’s incident response processes, and prioritizing and automating remediation efforts accordingly.

The post New webinar: Tying cyber attacks to business processes, for faster mitigation appeared first on algosec.

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It’s that time of year where festive movies dominate our TV screens, and we all have our own favorites - from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ to ‘Scrooged’ or ‘Die Hard’. A perennial favorite is of course ‘Home Alone’ which has been running on a loop in my home. Despite pre-dating the internet, several of the movie’s plot lines offer some important lessons about cyber-security. So, in honor of the festive season, here are three cyber-security lessons from Home Alone.

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Here, we will look at another element of cyber response that further improves a team’s incident response capability: connectivity analysis. This gives the SOC team a deeper understanding of the potential impact of an incident, by highlighting the connectivity to and from the assets that have been compromised by the incident. In other words, it shows staff the size of the security risk by indicating how far the attack could potentially spread.

The post Why and how to bring connectivity analysis into incident response appeared first on algosec.

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Over the years, organizations have introduced a whole range of tools, technologies and processes to help make incident response as intelligent and effective as possible. Nevertheless, we think there is still a major gap in many organizations’ incident response processes. That gap is called ‘business context.’ Here, I’m going to explain what business context means in terms of security incident response, and demonstrate why it matters.

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Think you don’t need to worry about bots? Think again: recent research suggests that up to 75% of organizations globally were infected by these stealthy malicious agents last year. And just last week nearly 1 million routers used to access Deutsche Telekom internet services in Germany were infected by the Mirai malware, with the aim of enlisting the routers into a massive, remote-controlled botnet army.

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How many critical IT events does your organization have in a year? Recent research by analyst firm Quocirca states that on average, these events happen three times per month, with each costing over €100,000 to remediate – adding up to tens of millions annually while causing serious reputational damage to the business.

The post Tips for managing critical IT events appeared first on algosec.

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Join Joe DiPietro, SE Director at AlgoSec on December 8 at 11:00 am for a technical webinar, where he will discuss a business-driven approach to security policy management – from automatically discovering application connectivity requirements, through ongoing change management and proactive risk analysis, to secure decommissioning – that will help make your organizations more agile, more secure and more compliant. Register now.

The post How to align security with your business processes – a technical perspective appeared first on algosec.

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Nearly three quarters of businesses have end-of-support devices on their networks, according to new research. These statistics don’t surprise us. It’s a common phenomenon among our customers. But what does ‘end-of-support’ actually mean? When does it start becoming a serious security problem that needs address, and what can you do about it?

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What does it really to take to rise to the top of our field? Many people haven’t even thought about it. For others, it's not a priority or they've yet to take specific actions to move ahead. Many people have simply been too busy with work and home life to ponder this question. Regardless of whether or not it’s a priority for you to rise to the top of the field, the effects of such efforts can certainly benefit you throughout the journey.

The post How to stand out in information security appeared first on algosec.

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DevOps delivers a flexible framework that enables companies to deliver new innovations faster to market. However, there are lingering questions about its impact on security. With multiple functional teams collaborating on development, and so many moving parts in the process, security is often not incorporated into the process, rather it’s tacked on at the end – which ultimately negates many of the benefits of DevOps.

The post Baking security into the DevOps lifecycle – why and when appeared first on algosec.

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Being able to make changes to security policies quickly, easily and efficiently is essential for an agile organisation. Automation plays an important part in this. But it is important to understand how to strike the right balance between speed and security -- to avoid getting bogged down with cumbersome manual processes, while ensuring that human intervention takes place when needed.

The post Zero-touch change management: striking the right balance between speed and security appeared first on algosec.

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SC Magazine just gave AlgoSec’s solution a 5-star ratings across the board in its annual Risk and Policy Management Group Product Review. Reviewer Peter Stephenson described AlgoSec as a “very strong security management tool”, and “an excellent tool, especially for mid-to large-sized organizations. It has everything you need and is comfortably manageable”. Mr. Stephenson did not find any weaknesses in our solution.

The post SC Magazine on AlgoSec: “one of the most complete security management systems we’ve seen” appeared first on algosec.

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Many enterprises are now struggling to migrate application connectivity to the cloud, and then manage cloud security controls alongside their traditional firewalls in a way that ensures security and compliance across their entire hybrid architecture. Please join us next Thursday, November 10, at 11am EST for a new webinar where our CTO, Prof. Avishai Wool, will provide technical insights and security best practices for migrating and managing security across a hybrid on-premise - Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment.

The post Migrating application connectivity and network security to AWS – What you need to know appeared first on algosec.

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This is the last week of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and it focuses on ‘Building Resilience in Critical Infrastructure’. Its therefore appropriate to discuss exactly why critical infrastructure resilience is so important, and how it relates to cyber security.

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With Halloween next week, it’s a good time to ask yourself: is my network haunted? No, we’re not talking about whether or not you believe in the supernatural. Rather, let’s focus on an aspect of network security management that is often neglected – old, obsolete and duplicate firewall rules and policies which generate clutter and bloat. Clearly security policy bloat is a complex burden for network security managers and it potentially introduces significant security risks as well as performance problems. But safely removing rules is not always easy and there’s always the risk that you may cause an application outage by doing so. So what steps can you take to safely exorcise these ghost rules lurking in your firewalls? Here’s a five step process for reducing security policy bloat.

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Getting honest, unbiased, real-life customer feedback is extremely valuable to both prospective customers and the product vendors themselves, but it’s not always easy to come by. IT Central Station, provides a great outlet for real users to share and their experiences with enterprise products. Here's some of the latest feedback from real customers on how they're using AlgoSec to manage their network security across their own organizations.

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Many organizations are facing a cyber threat which is quietly and stealthily eroding their defenses. What’s worse, this threat cannot be detected by any enterprise security products, yet it presents a very real long-term risk to their organizations: the cybersecurity brain drain.

The post Cybersecurity brain drain: the silent killer appeared first on algosec.

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When it comes to securing Web sites and applications, many people rely on network-based controls to, presumably, keep everything in check. Be it next-generation firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, or dedicated WAFs, the assumption is that everything is safe and sound at the Web layer as long as one of these controls is in place. Based on the Web security vulnerabilities that I see in my work, I’m not convinced that it’s all that simple.

The post Protecting Web applications with network controls – Is it effective? appeared first on algosec.

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October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Organized by the Department for Homeland Security it is an annual campaign to raise awareness about cybersecurity. Staying safe online is, of course, at the core of AlgoSec’s business so in support of Cyber Security Awareness Month, we’ve taken a look back through our blogs post over the past year to provide our own ‘Every Day Steps Towards Online Safety’.

The post Cyber Security Awareness Month – AlgoSec’s recommendations for ‘Every Day Steps Towards Online Safety’ appeared first on algosec.

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AWS security is very flexible and granular, however it has some limitations in terms of the number of rules you can have in a NACL and security group. In this blog post, Professor Wool explains how to combine security groups and NACLs filtering capabilities in order to bypass these capacity limitations and achieve the granular filtering needed to secure enterprise organizations.

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With AWS NACLs you can manage security tasks in a way that you cannot do with security groups alone. However, an AWS instance inherits security rules from both the security groups, and from the NACLs – so how do these interact? In this post Professor Wool provides some tips and tricks on how to use these two features together for the most effective and flexible traffic filtering for your enterprise.

The post Using AWS Security Groups and NACLs for advanced traffic filtering in the cloud appeared first on algosec.

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During a merger and acquisition, you have two enterprises each running complex IT infrastructures with hundreds if not thousands of applications. Usually, these applications don’t just simply integrate together – rather, some perform overlapping functions and need to be altered or extended; some need to be used in parallel; while others need to be decommissioned and removed. This means amending, altering and updating firewall policies to accommodate new connectivity, new applications and new servers and often new firewalls – crucially, without creating IT security risks or outages.

The post Tips for managing application connectivity securely through a merger or acquisition appeared first on algosec.

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IT security often believe that business managers may not be interested in an application-centric approach, as the effort to get there appears to be too much, when there is so much else to do. The key here is how to frame the issue to the business. If the business isn’t interested, the value proposition hasn’t been framed properly. It should be structured, above all, around business enablement, and the IT security team needs to see itself and be perceived as a trusted advisor to the rest of the business by ‘translating’ its own jargon into concrete business benefits.

The post Adopting an application-centric approach to security management: getting business leaders interested appeared first on algosec.

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The key to an application centric approach is being able to identify and map critical applications and their respective traffic flows, and then associate them to vulnerabilities. This is critical in order to prioritize risk mitigation efforts based on business needs.

The post Adopting an application-centric approach to security management: managing resources appeared first on algosec.

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Rather than viewing security from the traditional posture of infrastructure and firewall rules, Security needs to be assessed from an application-centric perspective – specifically the business applications that actually generate revenue. Through this approach businesses identify and map their critical applications and their respective traffic flows, in order to understand how both the firewall rules and vulnerabilities affect them. In turn this enables IT teams to implement security policies and operational risk management which is entirely focused on serving the needs of the business.

The post Adopting an application-centric approach to security management: we mature enough? appeared first on algosec.

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As we get older we’ve all experienced that feeling of time passing faster and faster. What used to seem like a long year ahead to get various IT and security projects accomplished has turned into, Wow - where did the year go; we haven’t gotten hardly anything done! Experts say this is related to how aging brains view time and past experiences. There’s also the reality of more and more responsibilities as we move up through the ranks. The trouble with all of this, however, is the reality that the security of our network systems often takes a backseat and isn’t getting the attention it dese

The post Common causes of security oversight of today’s networks appeared first on algosec.

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In preparation for VMworld next week Professor Wool has created a new whiteboard-style course on Network Security for VMware NSX. Each lesson focuses on a specific challenge of and provides technical tips for managing security policies across the VMware NSX software-defined data center and traditional data center.

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Last week I blogged about understanding the security implications when migrating Greenfield and Brownfield applications to VMware NSX. Today, we’re examining the next steps after you’ve successfully deployed your virtualized datacenter – how you should approach managing, reporting on and auditing its security.

The post Blurred lines: who’s responsible for security in NSX? appeared first on algosec.

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With VMworld 2016 fast approaching, let’s discuss a challenge facing many businesses when migrating to a virtualized platform: security. First of all, we need to separate between two scenarios. In a ‘Greenfield’ scenario, you’re building and deploying brand new applications into a virtualized data center. Clearly, this is an ideal situation, because you can essentially bake in security from the ground up. It is more likely, however, that you’ll have a ‘Brownfield’ scenario, where you are migrating existing business applications to a virtualized data center. In this case you need to migrate and adjust existing security policies for the new virtual environment.

The post Migrating to NSX? understand the security implications for Greenfield and Brownfield applications appeared first on algosec.

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Network segmentation is an effective strategy for protecting access to key data assets, and impeding the lateral movement of threats and cyber criminals inside your data center. With network virtualization, such as VMware NSX, now a reality it's now far easier and quicker to set up granular security policies for east-west traffic within the data center. Yet the added granularity of securities policies creates significant complexity.

The post New webinar: How to migrate and manage security policies in a segmented data center appeared first on algosec.

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2,300 flights grounded across the US costing airlines an estimated $10 million in lost bookings alone. A bank’s customers’ losing access to their accounts. Businesses in New England losing telephone services. A flash flood warning mistakenly issued for Washington DC ……..the list goes on and on. What links all of these incidents? They are all the result of network outages during the month of July – costing millions of dollars in lost revenue and remediation costs, inconveniencing large numbers of customers, and damaging business reputations.

The post The summer of network misconfigurations appeared first on algosec.

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Despite its rising popularity, SDN can also drive fear, thanks to loss of visibility and control. In a networking model in which IT teams and managers have little to no physical visibility into their networks, how does security work? If you can’t see into the network, how do you control and manage it?

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A few weeks ago Gartner released its annual Hype Cycle for Infrastructure Protection, 2016. It’s an impressive and exhaustive guide to the wide range of threat-facing technologies that help defend IT. Included among these technologies is Network Security Policy Management (NSPM) tools, which Gartner gives a benefit rating of ‘High’ – which in Gartner terms means that the technology “Enables new ways of performing horizontal or vertical processes that will result in significantly increased revenue or cost savings for an enterprise”.

The post Network Security Policy Management tools given a benefit rating of ‘High’ in new Gartner report appeared first on algosec.

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Ask any marriage counselor what characterizes a relationship in stormy waters, and two of the most common problems they’ll report are a lack of communication and/or miscommunication. These same issues were recently highlighted in two research reports published by Osterman Research which examined how organizations reported IT security incidents and issues internally, collecting opinions from both sides of the table.

The post The Board and Security: Automation can bridge communication gaps appeared first on algosec.

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As businesses implement BYOD strategies, and allow staff to use their personal devices for work, there is a particular set of security challenges to contend with. For example, how should the enterprise apps and data on a smartphone, which need enterprise-level security, be insulated from the ‘Wild West’ world of both intentional and unintentional jailbreaks, exploits, bugs and vulnerabilities that a typical consumer smartphone operates in?

The post Secure containers and BYOD: Fort KNOX on your phone? appeared first on algosec.

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From the CIO’s perspective, IT and Network Security ultimately exist for one reason: to ensure the organization’s business applications securely drive the business. For IT this is fairly simple. Business applications is its business. IT is driven by the businesses’ needs and is responsible for enabling agility through IT. IT is involved, and has visibility into every aspect of the application’s lifecycle - from development through to delivery, performance monitoring and auditing. But when it comes to Security the story is a little different. Security exists to protect business applications, their connectivity flows and data. But, unlike the IT team, they are, in fact, working blind.

The post Is Security blindly driving your business? appeared first on algosec.

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Globalization is the new normal for most organization today, but it can present some significant challenges - not least when it comes to managing the firewall estate across these large-scale, distributed networks.

The post Going global: food for thought when managing firewalls across international networks appeared first on algosec.

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Hear how an application-centric approach to security policy management – from automatically discovering application connectivity requirements, through ongoing change management and proactive risk analysis, to secure decommissioning – will help improve your security maturity and business agility.

The post Learn how an application-centric approach will improve your security and operational efficiency appeared first on algosec.

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SWIFT, the international cooperative that facilitates wire transfers, has hit the headlines recently, after falling victim to a series of attacks by cybercriminals. The first to come to light was the massive Bangladesh Bank $81 million heist . While details of this attack are still emerging, three factors are clear.

The post SWIFT response: what we can learn from this year’s banking cyberattacks appeared first on algosec.

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Globally, millions of systems connected to the internet are exposing insecure services to anybody who cares to look for them according to Project Sonar, a massive port-scanning operation by Rapid7. Let’s be clear: these are cybersecurity 101 mistakes. But it’s important to point out that the majority of these open doors are probably not on enterprise machines within large corporations, but rather they are probably home computers in small ‘mom-and-pop’ businesses, running basic Windows applications. Yet individual, poorly protected computers can actually have a significant impact on larger organizations’ cybersecurity posture.

The post Open ports mean open season for attackers: Lessons learned from Rapid7’s Project Sonar appeared first on algosec.

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All things considered, all we really have is our time. As IT and information security professionals, time is our most precious and scarcest resource. So, why is it that so much time is squandered in our profession?

The post Tips on how to prioritize your network security initiatives appeared first on algosec.

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Earlier this week, millions of customers of Swedish firm Telia, reported connectivity issues, with mobile apps such as WhatsApp and websites. The problem was so severe that the initial diagnosis was that a transatlantic cable had been severed or damaged. However, after much frantic investigation, it transpired that the outage was actually caused by a Telia engineer misconfiguring a router, resulting in all web traffic bound for Europe being sent to Hong Kong and causing a massive internet outage.

The post Misconfiguration Routes Internet Traffic Destined for Europe to……..Hong Kong appeared first on algosec.

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The average end user – and the average organization – probably uses far more devices and applications that deploy web technology than they realize. For an end user, this might mean that they’re not following the good online security practices that they think they are. For a business, this might mean that they’re not complying with PCI DSS– even if they think they are.

The post PCI DSS 3.2: Why removing SSL or updating the TLS just isn’t enough appeared first on algosec.

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Hospitals are increasingly becoming a favored target of cyber criminals. Yet if you think about medical equipment that is vulnerable to being hacked at a […]

The post Checking the cybersecurity pulse of medical devices appeared first on algosec.

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Threat path intelligence is analyzing and assessing threat information in relation to your business, and preparing a suitable response or taking proactive protective measures. Given that these days it’s no longer a matter of if, it’s the matter of when you will be attacked, monitoring and tracking threat intelligence can be vital to saving your business.

The post Connecting the dots: how to tie threat path intelligence to actionable choices appeared first on algosec.

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What can organizations do to fight the disconnect between supply and demand and ensure that they have the right cybersecurity skills in place - one that can adequately protect them in an increasingly challenging world? The cybersecurity sector has generally-speaking been too introspective in recent years, expecting talent to simply land in their laps. But with the growing number of threats facing organizations every single day, and talented young IT enthusiasts choosing alternative career paths, it’s a problem that can’t be ignored any longer especially, as my colleague, Nimmy Reichenberg, likes to say “creating a security professional with 10 years of experience takes … well, 10 years”.

The post Plugging the cybersecurity skills gap with automation appeared first on algosec.

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Burger King may have updated its slogan from ‘Have It Your Way’ to a more lifestyle-friendly ‘Be Your Way’, but the underlying message still stands. Order a burger, and they will deliver it exactly as you want it – while still following a standard, automated, quality and highly efficient process.

The post ‘Have IT Your Way’: making network security change processes similar to ordering a burger appeared first on algosec.

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Following on from last week’s blog post on the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), here are some thoughts on the latest report from Trustwave. […]

The post Trustwave report shows why security basics matter appeared first on algosec.

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If there has ever been a universal law that impacts network security it’s the saying: communication is not what’s said but rather what’s heard. IT and security professionals are often so busy putting out fires that so many things are said in passing often goes in one ear and out the other. Exacerbating the challenge, IT and security are known to have some strong personalities (I was once part of that club!).

The post Miscommunication between IT and security teams leads to network security gaps appeared first on algosec.

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In the infosecurity sector, spring is the season of reports, with several leading vendors (AlgoSec included) releasing detailed reports on industry trends and incidents. One of the most established is the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which analyzes the types and frequencies of security incidents globally over the previous year and provides security and networking teams with useful information on how to improve their organization’s security posture.

The post Once more unto the breach:  lessons from Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report appeared first on algosec.

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Evaluating new security products in today’s world can be tough. Many CISOs and security professionals are seduced by the hype and promises of the shiny […]

The post Finding the Right Security Management Solution for Your Organization: Hear from Real Users appeared first on algosec.

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Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray was one of the best-selling nonfiction books of the 1990s. It asserts that men […]

The post Security is from Mars, Application Delivery is from Venus appeared first on algosec.

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Passwords. They’ve been an integral part of information security since the dawn of computers – and they have been the bane of users’ lives for […]

The post Happy World Password Day! appeared first on algosec.

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We’re proud to announce the launch of our new website! Our aim is to provide you with new and insightful content to help you make […]

The post Announcing Our New Website: Take a Tour and Enjoy the New Experience! appeared first on algosec.

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Geo-IP blocking, or denying internet traffic from or to a certain geographical location based off of an IP address can be a very useful tool […]

The post Using Geo-IP Data to Tighten Firewall Rulesets appeared first on algosec.

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“The firewall is dead”, “Data is the new perimeter”, “Cloud will make the firewall obsolete” – these are just some of the quotes you hear […]

The post Are Firewalls Still Relevant to Security? appeared first on algosec.

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A few weeks ago we released the findings of our latest survey, examining the State of Automation in Security.  It showed that many companies are […]

The post Is Your CIO Your Next Big Security Risk? appeared first on algosec.

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This year we have already seen multiple security breaches making headline news, such as the Panama Papers breach we wrote about earlier this week and […]

The post A Typo in Security: The Bangladesh Heist Revealed appeared first on algosec.

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There has, unsurprisingly, been a vast amount of speculation as to the origins of the Panama Papers data leak. Initially it was thought to […]

The post The Panama Papers: Security Basics 101 appeared first on algosec.

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PCI-DSS audits are typically a point-in-time “fire drill”, yet the PCI-DSS standards body expects a continuous state of compliance. Unfortunately poor change management processes are […]

The post Reaching PCI Nirvana: How to Ensure a Successful Audit and Maintain Continuous Compliance appeared first on algosec.

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Primum non nocere, or ‘first do no harm,’ is the guiding principle for physicians.  It means that whatever the type of treatment or procedure, the […]

The post Creating Next-Generation Security Policies for Your Next-Generation Firewalls appeared first on algosec.

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Next generation firewalls (NGFWs) allow security to be managed with much greater granularity than traditional firewalls – based on specific applications and user groups – […]

The post Something Old, Something New: Managing Security Policies in Mixed Firewall Environments appeared first on algosec.

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Now that tax season is upon us, I thought it’d be appropriate to talk about the “tax” of security solutions. The cost of security is […]

The post The Network Security “Tax”: From Cost Center to Business Advantage appeared first on algosec.

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When I last blogged about the Internet of Things (IoT) just over a year ago, I pointed out that it’s not just wearable tech and […]

The post Securing the IoT: The Lights are On But the Attackers are Home appeared first on algosec.

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In the previous blog, we explored the anatomy of a typical APT attack, and explained how at each stage of its journey, unusual network traffic […]

The post APTs: Get Back to Basics to Reduce Your Attack Surface (PT2) appeared first on algosec.

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Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) can be among the most insidious cyberattacks faced by businesses. The Stuxnet worm is the most frequently-cited example, but others include […]

The post APTs: What You Know Will Help You! (PT1) appeared first on algosec.

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Today we released the findings of our latest survey which examines The State of Automation in Security. Currently, only 15% of our survey respondents said […]

The post 83% of Enterprises Want More Security Automation – New Survey Reveals appeared first on algosec.

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Last week brought me and 40,000 of my best friends together for the annual RSA Conference. As always, RSAC is a good barometer of what’s […]

The post RSAC 2016 Recap – Short on Security Skills, and Funding… appeared first on algosec.

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Do security changes take days or even weeks to process? Are you being bombarded with requests for connectivity changes for new business applications? Are misconfigurations […]

The post How to Help Security Keep Up with the Pace of Business Changes appeared first on algosec.

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“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.”  This quote from Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel, Goldfinger describes how a series of […]

The post Firewall Vulnerabilities: Coincidence, or Enemy Action? appeared first on algosec.

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In last week’s blog, we looked at how misconfigured network devices can be a major threat to your organization. We explored how some of the […]

The post Business, IT and Security Together in Harmony to Avoid Misconfigurations – Part II appeared first on algosec.

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According Gartner, through 2020, 99% of firewall breaches will be caused by firewall misconfigurations, not firewall flaws. And IBM Security Services’ 2014 Cyber Security Intelligence Index, reported […]

The post How a Little ‘n’ can Threaten Your Entire Business appeared first on algosec.

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If you’re going to RSA next week we would love to meet you! Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening at our booth #1833: The […]

The post We Want to Meet You at RSA. So What’s in it for You? appeared first on algosec.

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A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about a recent CSI:Cyber episode in which a hospital is attacked by a hacker via a vulnerable Smart […]

The post Life Imitating Art? A Hospital Held to Ransom appeared first on algosec.

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Famous rock drummer, Neil Peart, from the band Rush once wrote “Time after time we lose sight of the way our causes can’t see their […]

The post Core Reasons Why Information Security Programs Fail appeared first on algosec.

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What goes up must come down, as the old saying goes, and the cloud is no exception. Like traditional on-premise networks, even the biggest, best-resourced […]

The post Mr Blue Sky: What Happens When the Cloud Goes Down? appeared first on algosec.

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We’ve all done it before, removed a system from our network without thinking twice about what changes need to be made to the firewall. As […]

The post Don’t Sidestep Security When Decommissioning Your Applications appeared first on algosec.

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The festive period is supposed to be a season of goodwill, but cyber-attackers were evidently not sharing that feeling this year. After a persistent DDoS […]

The post Denying the Deniers: Tackling DDoS Attacks appeared first on algosec.

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In these two new whiteboard lessons, Professor Wool provides technical tips for managing security policies on next generation firewalls alongside traditional firewalls. Whether your organization […]

The post Managing Security and Preventing Cyber Threats with NGFWs – New Prof Wool Whiteboard Video Lessons appeared first on algosec.

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CSI: Cyber Thanks to winter storm ‘Jonas’ I had some free time on my hands this weekend and I got to catch up on a […]

The post Security Lessons from CSI: Cyber appeared first on algosec.

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Happy New Year! You wake up to find that your files have been encrypted by someone else. And now the only thing that is readable […]

The post Would You Like Your Data Back? It Will Only Cost $1,000 – Love, Ransomware appeared first on algosec.

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Moving security operations away from your security team? This may sound counterintuitive, but it’s something that we see happening more and more. Escalating security requirements, […]

The post Why You Should Move Security Away from Security appeared first on algosec.

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If a catastrophe hits, will your organization be able to properly function? How can you ensure that your security policy on your primary site and […]

The post Managing Your Security Policy for Disaster Recovery appeared first on algosec.

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Since the beginning of the year is the time for summaries, resolutions and lists, we’ve put together a list of our most popular security blogs […]

The post 2015 in Review: Top 10 Blogs to Help Improve Your Security Posture appeared first on algosec.

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Over the past couple of months both Cisco and Juniper have had major vulnerabilities in their operating systems that allowed for remote execution of code, […]

The post Stay on Top of Your Security Game: Why Network Vulnerabilities Matter appeared first on algosec.

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2015 has been a very eventful year in the world of security. As Matt Pascucci wrote in last week’s post, we’re now living in the […]

The post Security Predictions for 2016: Software-Defined to Become Everything appeared first on algosec.

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On Thursday, December 17, Juniper Networks announced that during an internal code review, they detected malicious code embedded in Netscreen ScreenOS firewalls, versions 6.2 and […]

The post The Juniper Vulnerability… the Plot for a Next “Mission Impossible” Movie? appeared first on algosec.

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It’s that time of year again – when we reflect on the events of the past year to assist us improve in the year to […]

The post The State of Security: Reflections on 2015 appeared first on algosec.

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By now, you have probably heard about the malicious code that was discovered in Juniper’s Netscreen ScreenOS. This serious vulnerability which could enable attackers to […]

The post The Juniper Networks Vulnerability Does Not Change Network Security Fundamentals appeared first on algosec.

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If you look at the root of most network security-related problems, they typically come with hair on top. Not a year goes by where study […]

The post 5 Ways People are the Biggest Threat to Your Network Security appeared first on algosec.

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In honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we’ve taken a look back through the films (purely for research purposes of course) and uncovered some […]

The post Don’t Succumb to the Dark Side: Security Management Lessons from Star Wars appeared first on algosec.

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Managing network security for the cloud requires a very different mindset, tools and skills to managing network security for physical networks. Although some of the […]

The post Managing Security Across Hybrid Networks – A Pragmatic Approach appeared first on algosec.

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Most firewall breaches are caused by firewall misconfigurations and a lack of segmentation across their networks. In fact only a handful of attacks truly use […]

The post Do You Really Need More Shiny Security Toys? Reduce Your Attack Surface by Getting Back to Basics appeared first on algosec.

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Firewall and router security policies can be a challenge to maintain. It is not uncommon to have 300 rules within a small company’s security policy, […]

The post 6 Tips to Clean Up Your Security Policy appeared first on algosec.

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I was talking recently with one of our sales engineers, and he mentioned that customers often tell him about the security management pain points they […]

The post Curing Security Policy Ailments appeared first on algosec.

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Last month TalkTalk, one of the UK’s biggest telecom providers, became the latest large company to fall victim to a major cyber-attack. Around 157,000 of […]

The post We Need to TalkTalk About Security Policy Management appeared first on algosec.

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A couple of years ago I attended a Cybersecurity symposium in Charlotte, NC at local college campus. The highlight of this symposium was the panel […]

The post Bridging the Intelligence Gap: Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 appeared first on algosec.

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Change is the one constant in network operations and security.  Business applications are always in a near constant state of flux – regularly being updated […]

The post How to Avoid a ‘Hotel California’ Security Policy Syndrome appeared first on algosec.

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In terms of attention, it seems that external firewalls see the most action. After all, they’re out there defending the enterprise from all things the Internet can throw […]

The post Don’t Neglect Your Internal Firewalls and Network Segments appeared first on algosec.

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Firewalls are the cornerstone of security controls – and public or private cloud deployments present organizations with two main options for deploying firewalls: host-based firewalls or network-based protection. So which is better? Here, we will examine both options, and the capabilities of each.

The post Host-based or Network-based Firewalls: Which Is the Right Option for Cloud Security? appeared first on algosec.

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How we think about and architect network security has stayed fairly constant for quite some time.....until we moved to the cloud. Please join our next webinar next Tuesday, November 17 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT, where Rich Mogull, Analyst and CEO at Securosis and Nimmy Reichenberg, VP of Strategy at AlgoSec will explain how cloud network security is different, and how to pragmatically manage it for both pure cloud and hybrid cloud networks.

The post How to Take a Pragmatic Approach to Security Across Your Hybrid Cloud Network appeared first on algosec.

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In honor of Halloween, I’d like to highlight some of the threats hiding within our security policy. If not fixed right away, these nasty little gremlins may come out to play when you least expect them to. Here are a few places to search for these ghouls and some ways to protect yourself from them.

The post 4 Nasty Gremlins Hiding in Your Network appeared first on algosec.

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With Halloween approaching, it’s a good time to talk about hunting zombies - not the walking undead kind, but rather those outdated, obsolete or unknown business applications that are wandering around your IT estate, consuming resources, bandwidth and money like their counterparts consume flesh.

The post Are You Scared of the Zombies on Your Network? appeared first on algosec.

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Boundaries that were once present with technology have dissolved leaving an open field of limitless possibilities. The internet is the single largest shared resource on the planet. At the same time someone can reach you in ways and from places that you would never think of, good and bad. Your data and its privacy is quickly becoming no longer private. How do we share personal data safely, and when should we not share anything. I call this my Top 10 list of things you should do or not do to protect your data privacy.

The post Privacy In-Depth Top 10 appeared first on algosec.

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Compliance – it’s that dirty word that any free-thinking IT professional hates to hear. But like it or not, compliance is a reality of doing business today. One of the biggest problems that I see related to compliance is how it’s treated like a checkbox. Firewall? Check! Access controls? Check! Encryption? Check! And so on. In many cases, the people checking these checkboxes are completely disconnected from the actual firewall administration function and security altogether. The mode of operations is: So and so says that the firewall is secure, so we’re good to go. Not so fast – reality’s not that simple!

The post 5 Top Firewall-Related Compliance Gaffes appeared first on algosec.

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We’re kicking off our next industry survey. This one aims to uncover trends and best practices when using automation in your security processes. It’s short – only 11 questions – and should only take you 5 minutes to complete, so please complete the survey now!

The post What’s Your Take on Using Automation in Security? appeared first on algosec.

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With the explosion of the Internet of Things many organizations are now in the planning stage for adding support for the IPv6 network protocol. However, even with its benefits, organizations still need to approach the switch to IPv6 carefully in order to maintain a strong security posture, and avoid introducing vulnerabilities to their networks. Here are three key steps to help prepare for a successful transition.

The post Tips to Help You Prepare for IPv6 appeared first on algosec.

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With all the recent cyber-attacks making front page news, you’re probably wondering how you’d deal with a similar breach at your company. While there are many articles and blog posts about the latest and greatest technologies that can help you detect and prevent cyber-attacks, there are also many practical steps you need to put in place. In honor of Cyber Security Awareness month, here are 10 best practices to help you prepare for or quickly address a cyber- attack.

The post 10 Best Practices to Help You Prepare for a Cyber-Attack appeared first on algosec.

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The Department of Homeland security has designated October as the National Cyber Security Awareness month. In its honor, here are our top 10 most popular blog posts from the past year which cover a mix of tips and best practices for how to make your organization more secure and provide better protection against cyber-attacks, as well how to keep your own digital persona private in today’s very public connected world.

The post National Cyber Security Awareness Month: Our Best Practices & Tips to Keep Your Organization and Yourself Secure appeared first on algosec.

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This new Professor Wool whiteboard video lesson presents a step-by-step process for building up firewall policies for East-West traffic by discovering and identifying the legitimate traffic, and then writing explicit ‘allow’ rules for all valid business traffic that goes through the segment. Watch this video to find out more.

The post How to Build Firewall Policies for East West Traffic appeared first on algosec.

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So, you’ve decided to enhance your security by segmenting your data center into internal zones, and now you need to actually set them up. In this new whiteboard lesson, Professor Wool discusses some of the challenges and pitfalls to avoid when setting up security policies for East-West traffic.

The post The Challenges of Creating Firewall Policies for East-West Network Traffic appeared first on algosec.

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Most companies I see are more concerned about what's going to hit them from outside their network, and don't realize that what's leaving your network is just as important. Being able to restrict outbound traffic, or in many cases funnel the outbound network traffic through egress points, is just as important and will make it more difficult for malicious attackers to exfiltrate data.Here are a few tips for managing egress filtering on your firewalls.

The post Don’t Let the Data Out! Tips for Effective Egress Filtering appeared first on algosec.

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Despite the media hype, the biggest threats to your enterprise data assets are actually from the same old threats that we were worried about last year, five years ago, and in many cases even a decade ago. Only a handful of attacks truly use sophisticated “Mission Impossible” techniques, so the shiny new tools may do more harm than good at protecting your organization. So before investing in new tools, here are 10 security best practices to help protect your organization with the techniques and technologies you likely already have in place. These best practices should be common knowledge, but unfortunately they are hardly common practice.

The post Back To Basics: 10 Security Best Practices appeared first on algosec.

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Two US airlines recently suffered major network outages recently that left flights grounded and caused delays for tens of thousands of passengers. These incidents remind us that even the slightest change or error in configuring security policies can bring an entire organization to its knees. Yet security changes are made to devices on a daily basis, whether these are alterations to filtering rules or changes to the traffic routing – networks are in a constant state of change. So what can you do to prevent these outages and minimise their impact when they do happen?

The post Keep your Network Flying: Tips on Avoiding Downtime appeared first on algosec.

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The world of cybersecurity has been dominated in recent weeks by the hacking of Ashley Madison. Just like the Sony hack at the end of last year, which many security experts believe was an inside job, the Ashley Madison case again raises the issue of insider threats. So what can organizations do to mitigate the risk of a disgruntled insider breaching their network?

The post Insider Threats: Anyone Could Cheat, So Who Can You Trust? appeared first on algosec.

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Encryption protects communications in transit and allows for secure sessions between you and the destination endpoint. If that’s what you think, you’re 100% percent right and it’s also one of your biggest security holes in your network!

The post Is Encryption One of Your Biggest Network Security Holes? appeared first on algosec.

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VMWare lets customers write filtering policies for any traffic that goes into an NSX data center, exits from it, or moves between different servers inside the NSX data center. But having the ability to create these filtering rules doesn’t mean that it’s easy to actually write them, so here are some tips.

The post Tips on How to Create Filtering Policies for VMware NSX appeared first on algosec.

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With VMware offering new and exciting capabilities for virtual data center owners, use this blueprint to successfully migrate and manage application connectivity on VMware NSX.

The post A Blueprint for Migrating Applications to VMware NSX appeared first on algosec.

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It’s well-known that SSL is the source of many recent vulnerabilities, including POODLE, Heartbleed, and FREAK, and the facilitator of many recent cyber-attacks. As a result, best practices recommend that companies turn off SSL and move to the far more secure TLS protocol. Other than the obvious need to move away SSL, why is this so important?

The post Still Using SSL? You’re No Longer Compliant with PCI appeared first on algosec.

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In my work I find many mistakes in firewall configurations. Here are the most common types of firewall misconfigurations that I encounter and how you can avoid them.

The post Five Common Firewall Configuration Mistakes – and How to Avoid Them appeared first on algosec.

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Last week our CTO, Professor Avishai Wool, presented a technical webinar on the do’s and don’ts for managing external connectivity to and from your network. Based on our audience poll this is clearly a very relevant issue for many enterprises, and one which can have a profound effect on security. Here are a few key issues that you should be mindful of when managing external connections.

The post Tips for Managing Your External Network Connections appeared first on algosec.

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Whether you know it or not, there are intruders in your network and they’re most likely leaving footprints everywhere. Some of these footprints may be […]

The post Look at Behavior to Find the Needle in the Network appeared first on algosec.

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If you don’t think about security when you start going down the DevOps path you’re going to get caught by surprise when someone tells you that what you’re doing is insecure. At that point you’ll have to retrofit security into the process – and that’s painful.

The post Future-Proof Security into DevOps appeared first on algosec.

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Are you really sure your external connections are secure and compliant? Are you really sure they are not inadvertently creating holes in your network and exposing your organization to cyber criminals? The Target breach – and many others like it – should at least make you double check your practices.

The post Who’s Connecting to Your Network? appeared first on algosec.

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Do you really know what vulnerabilities currently exist in your enterprise firewalls? Your vulnerability scans are coming up clean. Your penetration tests have not revealed anything of significance. Therefore, everything’s in check, right? Not necessarily. Here are my top 10 common firewall vulnerabilities that you need to be on the lookout for.

The post Top 10 Common Firewall Flaws: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You! appeared first on algosec.

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Traditionally security was not part of the DevOps process. But I’m now starting to see companies begin to integrate security into the DevOps process – often now renamed DevSecOps.

The post Bringing Security into DevOps appeared first on algosec.

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I recently sat down with Avishai Wool, our CTO, and asked him for some tips for companies who are considering migrating their business applications to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The post Migrating Business Applications to AWS? Tips on Where to Start appeared first on algosec.

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According to Sun Tzu to gain an advantage on your opponent you need to catch him off guard - make him believe you're something you're not, so that you can leverage this opportunity to your advantage. As security practitioners we should all supplement our security practices with this timed and tested decoy technique against cyber attackers.

The post How to Use Decoy Deception for Network Protection appeared first on algosec.

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No matter how you slice it, creating a security professional with 10 years of experience takes, well, 10 years. Here are six suggestions for doing more with less.

The post Survival Tips For The Security Skills Shortage appeared first on algosec.

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Taking a risk first approach, where you analyze what you need to protect and what the consequences are if you’re unable to protect these assets, is a must more strategic and long term approach to security. Once you have this mapped out you’ll then be able to start looking for the right products to fill the holes and protect you against relevant threats to your organization.

The post How to Model Your Security Risks: 5 Tips appeared first on algosec.

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A few weeks ago, Adam Gaydosh, a certified QSA with Anitian, and Nimmy Reichenberg, our VP of Strategy here at AlgoSec presented an educational webinar on the top PCI audits pitfalls, and how to avoid them. You can view the full presentation is here, but for those of you who don't have the time and want the readers digest version here are some of the highlights from the webinar.

The post Ever Wish You Could Get Inside your QSA’s Head Before Your Next PCI Audit? appeared first on algosec.

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Welcome to the last blog post in our special series, Mitigating Gartner’s Network Security Worst Practices. Under and over-segmentation of networks is among Gartner’s “Dirty […]

The post Hazardous Network Segmentation: When More Isn’t Better appeared first on algosec.

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In this lesson Professor Wool reviews AWS's own auditing tools, CloudWatch and CloudTrail, which are useful for cloud-based applications. However if you are running a hybrid data center, you will likely need to augment these tools with solutions that can provide reporting, visibility and change monitoring across the entire environment. Professor Wool provides some recommendations for key features and functionally you’ll need to ensure compliance, and tips on what the auditors are looking for.

The post Change Management, Auditing and Compliance in an AWS Hybrid Environment appeared first on algosec.

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In this post we’ll cover the worst practice of “Uncoordinated Policy Management” which Gartner also nicely referred to as “firewall roach motel — rules go in, but they don't come out“. Helping organizations improve security policy management is obviously at the heart of what we do here at AlgoSec.

The post Who Put That in Here? (And Who’s Going to Take It Out) appeared first on algosec.

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In this lesson Professor Wool, highlights the limitations and consequences of leaving the default rules in place, and provides recommendations on how to define outbound rules in AWS Security Groups in order to securely control and filter outbound traffic and protect against data leaks.

The post Tips on How to Protect Outbound Traffic in an AWS Hybrid Environment appeared first on algosec.

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Enterprise mobility security must now involve the end-user, how content is consumed, how efficiently it’s being delivered, security and compliance as well as the end-point device itself. While the overall goal of mobile communications is to enable and empower the mobile workforce to give them greater freedom of access to information and resources, it must be done securely.

The post Tips for Creating a Security Architecture for the Mobile Enterprise appeared first on algosec.

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In this lesson, Professor Wool provides an overview of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Security Groups and highlights some of the differences between Security Groups and traditional firewalls. The lesson continues by explaining some of the unique features of AWS and the challenges and benefits of being able to apply multiple Security Groups to a single instance.

The post The Fundamentals of AWS Security Groups – A New Professor Wool Educational Video appeared first on algosec.

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This blog post will discuss two factor authentication – when you should use it, and what techniques are available to help prevent the theft of credentials and protect against unauthorized access.

The post Two Factor Authentication: Why, When and How appeared first on algosec.

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Ever wish you could get inside your QSA’s head before your next PCI audit? Get the inside scoop on what QSAs are looking for when they audit you. Aimed at security and networking professionals, this webinar will provide insider tips and tricks to help you prepare for and pass your audit – wherever your credit card data is stored – and remain continuously compliant even if you’re breached.

The post Top PCI Audit Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them: The QSA’s Perspective appeared first on algosec.

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While you’re standing on the ramparts of your enterprise perimeter, scanning for bad guys, there may well be a threat right in your blind spot: […]

The post Insiders – the Threat Right in Your Blind Spot appeared first on algosec.

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In this new educational whiteboard video, Professor Wool provides the example of a virtualized private cloud which uses hypervisor technology to connect to the outside world via a firewall. If all worksloads within the private cloud share the same security requirements, this set up is adequate. But what happens if you want to run workloads with different security requirements within the cloud? Professor Wool explains the different options for filtering traffic within a private cloud, and discusses the challenges and solutions for managing them.

The post Tips for Filtering Traffic within a Private Cloud: New Professor Wool Educational Video appeared first on algosec.

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According to the 2015 Accenture Technology Vision Report, Digital Business Era:  Stretch Your Boundaries, 81% of executives believe that “industry boundaries will dramatically blur as […]

The post My Impressions from the Cisco Partner Summit 2015: Security, IoE, and Cloud appeared first on algosec.

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In this post Matt Pascucci provides invaluable advice for CISOs and Security and Compliance Officers on security planning, including the value of a security plan, what should be included in a security plan, when and how to maintain and update it.

The post What’s in a Plan? Tips from a Security Expert on How to Develop an Effective Security Plan appeared first on algosec.

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While at RSA last week I had the pleasure of attending the T.E.N breakfast which brought together CISOs from Aetna, Cox Automotive, SunTrust Bank, Target, and The […]

The post We Need a Better Mousetrap: Insights on Security from Key CISOs at RSA appeared first on algosec.

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According to the recently released Verizon 2015 Compliance Report “27% of organizations that suffered a data breach in 2014 were compliant with Requirement 1 at the time of their breach.” And, a“there is strong correlation between a badly configured firewall and the likelihood of a security breach”. In this post I’d like to discuss Verizon’s findings and its recommendations to help companies comply with Requirement 1.

The post Firewalls, Breaches and the 2015 Verizon PCI DSS Report: What You Need to Know appeared first on algosec.

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If you’re going to the RSA Conference in San Francisco next week, make sure to drop by AlgoSec’s booth (2115) and say hello. We'd love to see you!

The post Hope to See You at RSA appeared first on algosec.

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As business demands increase and network complexity grows, it’s easy—and dangerous—to get overwhelmed as a firewall administrator. With all the security risks facing networks today, the last thing your business needs is for you to be so distracted by the hundreds of little things that pop up each week that you miss the critical responsibilities of your job. Here are some tips to help you manage your day-to-day work that can help you stay on top of the really important things, get more done, and keep your sanity.

The post Secrets of a Successful Firewall Administrator appeared first on algosec.

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It’s no surprise that most security gaps are already known by the security team, but have not been addressed because of other priorities. But claiming that its “not my job” that you don’t have the time to address security gaps is not good enough anymore and isn’t going to hold water when you’ve been breached or when a critical business application suffers an outage –as many CIOs who have recently lost their jobs will testify.

The post Mind the Security Gap – It Is Your Job appeared first on algosec.

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Organizations are using a variety of technologies to empower their businesses to run faster and perform better: virtualization, more multi-tenant systems, better application delivery methodologies, and of course – more mobility. But through it all, where does security really fit in? How can you deliver proactive security across so many systems that enables the business rather than hinders it? Here are a few tips from an experienced director of IT.

The post Make Sure Your Security Fits into Your Business appeared first on algosec.

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In this new educational video, Professor Wool identifies common missteps when creating security zones, and provides practical recommendations for designing and managing your network for better security and protection.

The post Common Mistakes and Best Practices for Designing Network Security Zones from Professor Wool appeared first on algosec.

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Most often, when we hear people say that they’re going to “save their data to the cloud” they’re referring to the SaaS (Software as a […]

The post SaaS and Security: 7 Tips to Help You Assess the Risks appeared first on algosec.

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In this latest post in our ‘Mitigating Gartner’s Network Security Worst Practices Blog Series’ we’ll discuss my thoughts on Gartner’s worst practice of “suboptimal branch […]

The post Finding the Right Notes for Your Network Security: The Trombone Effect appeared first on algosec.

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I am a big advocate of examining solutions from both a processes and a tools perspective. Although AlgoSec is a software provider, I am the first to acknowledge that a good tool will not fix a bad process. On the flip side, a good process which can’t be enforced will not go very far either. This blog post examines what you can do from a process perspective to address organizational misalignment.

The post All War and No Play: Align Your IT Organization to Eliminate End-User Frustration appeared first on algosec.

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A Zero Trust network abolishes the quaint idea of a “trusted” internal network demarcated by a corporate perimeter. Instead it advocates microperimeters of control and […]

The post 5 Steps to a Zero Trust Network: From Theory to Practice appeared first on algosec.

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Breaches are always going to happen unfortunately. In some instances they are caused by negligence or a user mistakes. In other cases there is criminal intent. Either way, there are some absolute musts when it comes to securing your environment:

The post You’ve Just Been Breached…Keep Calm and Make Sure to Lock the Door appeared first on algosec.

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New kinds of virtual services, better policy controls, and even secure mobility services are changing the way we secure our data centers and cloud. Cloud economics, including server cost, resiliency, scalability, and product lifespan, along with enhancements in cloud security, are promoting migration of workloads across servers, both inside the data center and across data centers (even data centers in different geographic areas). So let’s take a look at 5 ways you can keep your cloud and your data center a bit more secure.

The post 5 Tips to Help Your Cloud and Data Center Live Together More Securely appeared first on algosec.

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Do you really have true visibility into all your public-facing networked applications? Given today’s network complexity, I suspect that most people would be hard-pressed to […]

The post Secure the Web Apps You Dont Know You Have appeared first on algosec.

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Welcome to the fourth blog in our special series, Mitigating Gartner’s Network Security Worst Practices. In this post we’ll cover the worst practice of “Insufficient […]

The post Taking Care of Your Business appeared first on algosec.

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In the first article in our series on security for IaaS, PaaS and SaaS we discussed the IaaS model, and provided tips on what to ask […]

The post PaaSing the Buck? 8 Tips to Help Ensure Your PaaS Vendor is Looking Out For Your Security appeared first on algosec.

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Welcome to the third blog in our special series, Mitigating Gartner’s Network Security Worst Practices. In this post we’ll discuss Gartner’s “Defense with inadequate depth” […]

The post Defense with Inadequate Depth: More Vendors, More Security? appeared first on algosec.

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Enterprise-sanctioned application deployments on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud platforms are fast becoming a reality. But while IaaS’s flexibility and cost-savings benefits are important, […]

The post AWS Security Fundamentals: Dos and Don’ts, with Professor Wool appeared first on algosec.

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In this blog we’ll cover “The Culture of No”. According to research by Gartner, “Many Gartner clients make statements along the lines of "those IT folks prevent us from doing our jobs." They specifically cite that security departments implement policy and controls without regard for business function.” Does this sound familiar?

The post Saying No to the Culture of No appeared first on algosec.

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Many companies who completed our recent survey on security practices in hybrid cloud environments have already migrated at least some of their business applications to […]

The post Do Hybrid Environments Cloud the Choices for Security Controls? appeared first on algosec.

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Welcome to the first blog in our special series, Mitigating Gartner’s Network Security Worst Practices. In this blog I’ll discuss my thoughts on Gartner’s “Shiny […]

The post You Can Resist the Temptation of the Shiny New Tools appeared first on algosec.

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Welcome to our special blog series: Mitigating Gartner’s Network Security Worst Practices. Over the course of more than 3,000 client interactions in the past year, Gartner […]

The post Mitigating Gartner’s Network Security Worst Practices – Special Blog Series appeared first on algosec.

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Managing ever-growing network security policies is not getting any easier. We are facing more threats, greater complexity and increased demand for both security and application […]

The post Are You Guilty of the Seven Deadly Sins of Security Policy Change Management? appeared first on algosec.

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As cyber-attacks become more and more sophisticated and frequent, security practitioners are realizing the value of network segmentation as a key defense-in-depth security strategy. In […]

The post Best Practices and Tips for Network Segmentation appeared first on algosec.

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With its flexibility and cost savings cloud computing is now here, and whether you know it or not, you’re most likely using it one way […]

The post Selecting the Right IaaS Platform: 8 Tips to Help Ensure You’re Secure appeared first on algosec.

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As a security professional, you’ve no doubt heard about Service Organizational Control (SOC) Reports in security conversations. When the need arises for determining how “secure” […]

The post What SOC reports won’t tell you (and what you need to do about it) appeared first on algosec.

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For years, organizations have focused most of their network security efforts on the perimeter. First there were firewalls, then intrusion prevention systems came along followed […]

The post Micro-Segmentation – Do Good Things Really Come in Small Packages? appeared first on algosec.

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Your personal data is your own and it should stay that way. Enabling other people, organizations, or for that matter systems, to peek into our […]

The post Don’t want to be the next SONY? Encrypt Everything! appeared first on algosec.

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“The only thing constant is change” dates back to 500 BC, but never has it rung more true when it comes to managing your network […]

The post Shift Happens: How to Eliminate the Risks of Network Security Policy Changes appeared first on algosec.

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In 2015 cyber-attacks will likely become more and more sophisticated and we’ll continue to see high-profile breaches. On the other hand you will be expected […]

The post Top 11 New Year’s Resolutions for Networking Ops and Security appeared first on algosec.

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Complexity is commonly known as a security killer, yet oftentimes organizations find their firewalls inundated with rules that have added up over time. So as […]

The post Kick off the New Year with a Security Policy Clean Up appeared first on algosec.

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As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time for some predictions for the year to come. Some of some of what we see developing in […]

The post Predictions for IT Security in 2015: Cloudy with a chance of security, microsegmentation and SDDC appeared first on algosec.

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When most people talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) today, they’re usually referring to the cool gadgets and toys du jour – Google Glass, […]

The post IoT: The Weakest Link in Your Enterprise Security appeared first on algosec.

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As we continue to hear the command “To the Cloud!” it seems that the cloud is not quite as resilient and secure as many were […]

The post Key Network Security Questions You Need To Ask Your Cloud Vendors – Now! appeared first on algosec.

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You likely have many servers in your data center, and many of them can probably be organized and categorize by multiple criteria such as […]

The post Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Tips on Re-Using Network Objects to Automate Connectivity Provisioning for Shared Applications appeared first on algosec.

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Over the life cycle of an application, network connections tend to become more complex and the need for them may come and go. Yet it’s […]

The post Application Connectivity: There’s a Map For That! appeared first on algosec.

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I’m sure over the past couple years you’ve heard the term “Net Neutrality” thrown around. In this post I’d like to discuss what it is […]

The post Water or Sports Channels? Why Net Neutrality is Important appeared first on algosec.

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One of the more interesting phenomena I have observed when working with companies on their network security challenges is that every company feels that their […]

The post The Tribe Has Spoken – You are Voted off the Network appeared first on algosec.

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Why is it that virtually all aspects of IT operate at near real time EXCEPT security? You can spin up a new server on demand […]

The post Tips to Help You Bring Security Up to Speed appeared first on algosec.

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There’s a mantra in the business world that says “You can’t manage what you can’t measure” and no truer words have ever been spoken in […]

The post You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure: Tips to Help You Build an Information Security Measurement Program appeared first on algosec.

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For many IT security professionals, compliance goes way beyond meeting regulatory standards. Increasingly, many companies, particularly those in the financial sector, have taken a harder […]

The post Dont Know How to Stay on Top of Corporate Security Policy Compliance? Start by Baselining your Environment appeared first on algosec.

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According to a recent survey, two thirds of organizations are currently deploying or planning to deploy business applications on a public cloud infrastructure. If your organization […]

The post Reaching for Cloud Nine: Tips to Help You Prepare to Launch Business Applications to the Cloud appeared first on algosec.

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A business owner makes a simple change request in order to allow traffic to a new application. You now need to figure out the right […]

The post Don’t Get Lost in Translation: Tips to Understand Your NAT When Managing Firewall Rules appeared first on algosec.

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The recent spate of breaches and outages at leading retailers and financial institutions has placed the spotlight firmly on security at most enterprise organizations. But […]

The post Security is Not Just Technology: 4 Tips to Secure Your Enterprise Without Technology appeared first on algosec.

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This situation may sound familiar – your CEO, CIO, or another executive outside of the security organization summons you to a meeting. “We have decided […]

The post Look Before You Leap: Tips to Help You Manage Your Security Policy Across a Hybrid Cloud Environment appeared first on algosec.

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As its Halloween I thought I would share an e-commerce horror story—where one bad decision was able to bring a large organization to its knees— and […]

The post Halloween Horror: How One Bad Decision Brought Down an Enterprise E-Commerce Site in Minutes appeared first on algosec.

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It’s that time again, when the ghouls of cyber security come out to haunt you – and trust me there are plenty of them this […]

The post Creepy Creatures on Your Network: Chilling Security Breaches and How to Protect Against Them appeared first on algosec.

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Following on from last week’s recommendations from Matt Pasucci on how to protect your privacy in the digital world, I’d like to add my own […]

The post Why You Should Write Down Your Passwords appeared first on algosec.

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In September, a critical bug in the open source Bourne-Again Shell (BASH) that’s ubiquitous in Unix-based systems, including Linux and Mac OS X, displaced Heartbleed […]

The post Bashing Bash with Network Segmentation appeared first on algosec.

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Over the past couple years we’ve seen digital privacy take the world by storm. Recent revelations about government snooping, data breaches releasing personal information, mobile […]

The post Who’s Watching Me? Tips to Protect Your Privacy in the Digital World appeared first on algosec.

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As we found out in our recent survey, network security and data security are the two most challenging security functions to migrate to cloud environments. […]

The post Network Security in Hybrid Cloud Environments: Separating the Myths from the Facts appeared first on algosec.

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Exciting news from AlgoSec this week: we announced our solution for unified security policy management across hybrid cloud infrastructure. This is a key component of […]

The post Where Were You Born? appeared first on algosec.

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Following on from his recent Security Management 201 video which provides some key tips to help you easily define, simplify and enforce network segmentation and […]

The post Diamonds Are The Firewall Administrator’s Best Friend appeared first on algosec.

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Over the next few years, organizations of all sizes will be deploying a good chunk of their business applications on a public IaaS platform. Not […]

The post Clueless About Network Security in the Cloud? You’re Not Alone appeared first on algosec.

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Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Security Issues You’re in no doubt familiar with Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) technology and its ability to segment traffic […]

The post Why VLANs May Not Be Providing the Security You Need appeared first on algosec.

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Continuing our recent focus on network segmentation, this week’s network security tip comes from Charles Riordan, Managing Consultant at Check Point: “Build and deploy “for-purpose” […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [25] appeared first on algosec.

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When working with some of the largest organizations in the world, many are now asking me just how agile is my data center? How easy […]

The post Is My Datacenter Agile? Tips to Help Simplify the Datacenter Security Policy Migration Process appeared first on algosec.

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So we’ve made it to the last part of our blog series on PCI 3.0 Requirement 1. The first two posts covered Requirement 1.1 (appropriate firewall and […]

The post Avoid the Traps: What You Need to Know About PCI Requirement 1 (Part 3) appeared first on algosec.

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We’ve now reached part two of our three part series on PCI Requirement 1. In our previous blog post we reviewed the 1.1 sub-requirement which […]

The post Avoid the Traps: What You Need to Know about PCI Requirement 1 (Part 2) appeared first on algosec.

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Following our recent webinar on “Segmenting Your Network for Security: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, our own CTO, Professor Wool, has produced a […]

The post How to Define, Simplify and Enforce Network Segmentation and Security Zoning appeared first on algosec.

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As we have recently seen in the news, Point-of-Sale (PoS) systems become a prime target for hackers. While debit and credit card transactions have increase […]

The post Are You Positive Your PoS is Secure? appeared first on algosec.

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A couple of weeks ago Mark Wolfgang, CEO of Shorebreak Security gave a fascinating webinar on a recent engagement where his organization undertook a pen […]

The post Mission Impossible: Network Segmentation War Stories from a Frontline Pen Tester appeared first on algosec.

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It goes without saying that security is the cornerstone of any organization today. This includes ensuring access to corporate data is secured, connectivity to the […]

The post Firewall Migration: 3 Tips To Help Make The Process Easier appeared first on algosec.

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So you’re going through a PCI assessment for the first time and you start reading through the requirements mandated by your Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) […]

The post Avoid The Traps: What You Need To Know About PCI’s Requirement 1 appeared first on algosec.

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We’re at the stage where modern enterprises now directly rely on their data center to run their businesses. And security – protecting what’s actually […]

The post Three Tips for Creating an Effective Security Change and Process Control Strategy appeared first on algosec.

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Be it criminal hackers or rogue employees, the bad guys always seem to be ahead of the curve. This explains the continuing struggles businesses have […]

The post Top 12 Reasons Why the Bad Guys are Always One Step Ahead appeared first on algosec.

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Picture this: A phone call wakes you, the CTO, at 6am on a Saturday morning. It’s a reporter from a large newspaper asking about your […]

The post Keep Calm and Be Prepared: Know Your CSIRT appeared first on algosec.

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It’s all about cloud computing these days. Our ability to deliver rich content, streamline data control, and develop advanced virtual technologies are all fueling the […]

The post Never Forget the Physical Aspects of Corporate Security appeared first on algosec.

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Insecure Service Protocols and Ports Okay, we all have them… they’re everyone’s dirty little network security secrets that we try not to talk about. They’re the […]

The post Let’s Put Down Insecure Protocols For Good appeared first on algosec.

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I am psyched to have Mark Wolfgang, expert penetration tester from ShoreBreakSecurity join us for our webinar on network segmentation next Tuesday. Mark will share […]

The post A Sneak Preview of Our Network Segmentation Webinar next Week appeared first on algosec.

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Over the past couple years anything with the word “cloud” in it has been selling big. It’s been the ultimate buzzword in marketing and has […]

The post Onward Through the Cloud…Securely appeared first on algosec.

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Last week we held a webinar with our good friends from Qualys (you can view the recording here). The webinar discussed the integration between Qualys […]

The post The Neglect of Security Basics appeared first on algosec.

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Heartbleed happened - find out how to deal with the fallout.

The post Dealing with the Heartbleed Fallout appeared first on algosec.

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Do you ever get excited about something, perhaps a new restaurant opening in your area or a new project you get to be a part […]

The post How to keep your users interested in security appeared first on algosec.

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Moving to the cloud? Find out how a cloud ready firewall can help!

The post The future of the cloud firewall appeared first on algosec.

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It’s inevitable; someone from outside your organization is invited into your corporate headquarters, either for business reasons, professional services, sales etc. and needs to access […]

The post Creating a Secure Guest Network appeared first on algosec.

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When it comes to securing your assets you need all the help you can get and it’s about time we realized that we’re not in […]

The post Integrating Threat Intelligence into Your Network Security Program appeared first on algosec.

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Are you getting the respect – and budget – you believe you deserve when it comes to network security? Do you feel like your environment […]

The post Three core essentials for selling security up the food chain appeared first on algosec.

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As your cloud platform grows - consider these five next-gen security tools and features to help lock down your infrastructure.

The post Five next-gen security tools to consider for your cloud-ready infrastructure appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip goes back to the core of defining your firewall policy: “Create a rule before the last rule that blocks broadcasting […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [24] appeared first on algosec.

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Practice doesn’t make perfect it… it makes us better at something. If we’re not hardening our craft and finding our weaknesses we’re doomed to fail. […]

The post The Impact of Red Team Drills on Your Information Security Program appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on standardizing access configuration, which can help reduce network security management complexity. Thomas, a manager based in Germany offers […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [23] appeared first on algosec.

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The modern data center has become the home of next-generation technologies. The proliferation of cloud computing and the data-on-demand generation has created new types of […]

The post Security Orchestration – From data center to cloud appeared first on algosec.

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Today we published our third annual State of Network Security survey findings, which explore key risks in organizations’ security management practices and access to critical […]

The post Key Findings from the State of Network Security 2014 appeared first on algosec.

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Over the past couple months we’ve seen a major shift in the way assessors are dealing with PCI-DSS and security. In speaking with some retail […]

The post The PCI-DSS Game Changer: Q&A with a Security Professional appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on reducing complexity when it comes to firewall policy management. Our latest tip comes from our own James Dowell, […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [22] appeared first on algosec.

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Following up on my last post on ensuring network security when working with third party vendors, to wrap up the discussion, we must examine data […]

The post Ensuring Network Security When Working with Third Party Vendors: Part 2 of 2 appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on simplifying your firewall rulebase. It’s commonly discussed that complexity is a security killer. So going with that premise, […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [21] appeared first on algosec.

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I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Conrad Menezes to discuss some of the current and future networking and security trends and challenges […]

The post Conversation with a CISO on Networking and Security Trends appeared first on algosec.

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In our final post on the security policy management maturity model (if you’ve missed the others in our series, please check out Part 1- Initial, […]

The post Security Policy Management Maturity Model and the Benefits from Moving Up the Ladder: The Final Chapter (Part 4 of 4) appeared first on algosec.

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In my last post, I drew some comparisons between our personal health and our network health. I strongly believe that if we struggle to focus […]

The post How to ensure a “healthy” and secure network: Part 2 appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip examines the importance of network segmentation. While you certainly want to have firewalls and other devices along the perimeter, you […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [20] appeared first on algosec.

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When it comes to network security and attempting to protect the digital assets of your organization, you’re only as secure as your weakest link. I […]

The post Ensuring Network Security When Working with Third Party Vendors: Part 1 of 2 appeared first on algosec.

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Vulnerability management continues to be an important cornerstone of any cyber security program. But the unfortunate reality is that every organization has more vulnerabilities than […]

The post Getting Application-Centric with Vulnerability Management appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip seems obvious, but is more common than any of us would like to admit. Yup, we’re talking about default passwords. […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [19] appeared first on algosec.

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I’m a true believer in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Exercising, eating well and so on. There’s that equation that all of us are well aware […]

The post If we can’t even take care of ourselves, how can our networks possibly survive? appeared first on algosec.

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We’re back with the network security tip of the week. This week’s tip looks at the importance of network segmentation, which has been a hot […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [18] appeared first on algosec.

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In my previous post on the security policy management maturity model, we examined what an Emerging organization (level 2) looks like. Steps to automate security […]

The post Security Policy Management Maturity Model and the Benefits from Moving Up the Ladder: Part 3 of 4 appeared first on algosec.

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More information is coming out on the Target breach and a key takeaway is to reexamine the importance of security zoning. It is being reported […]

The post Security Zoning and It’s Role in the Target Breach appeared first on algosec.

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Vulnerability management has always been a cornerstone of a sound information security program, but the reality is that traditional scanners uncover too many vulnerabilities for […]

The post Delivering Vulnerability Management from a Business-Application Perspective appeared first on algosec.

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Virtualization has come to the forefront as one of the biggest trends in IT over the past decade. While there are many benefits of virtualizing […]

The post Virtualization and its Impact on Security: Q&A with a Security Architect appeared first on algosec.

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In my previous post on the security policy management maturity model, we examined level 1, or the Initial level, which means you’re either not managing […]

The post Security Policy Management Maturity Model and the Benefits from Moving Up the Ladder: Part 2 of 4 appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip is actually a list of firewall policy management recommendations from a Reddit user in the Netsec community. These tips deal […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [17] appeared first on algosec.

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With the release of PCI-DSS 3.0, organizations have a framework for payment security as part of their business-as-usual activities. The updated standard introduces more flexibility […]

The post What You Need to Know about PCI-DSS 3.0 When it Comes to Your Firewalls and Routers appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip looks at process and the human element when it comes to the security change management process. A lot of the […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [16] appeared first on algosec.

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You’ve no doubt seen and heard the impact of security compliance on your business. You probably went for years, maybe decades, with minimal support for […]

The post The funny thing about compliance and network security appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on troubleshooting application outages or disruptions. While firewalls are in place to filter out the bad traffic, they are […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [15] appeared first on algosec.

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The Target security breach is another eye-opening example that these compromises don’t just happen in the movies. This is going on everywhere and we need […]

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This week’s network security tip focuses on the network security devices that filter and enable traffic. Yup, we’re talking about firewalls. The challenge with managing […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [14] appeared first on algosec.

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In my first post on the Security Policy Management Maturity Model, I highlighted the challenges of network and security complexity and dynamic business requirements that […]

The post Security Policy Management Maturity Model and the Benefits from Moving Up the Ladder: Part 1 of 4 appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on the issue of shared responsibility. The concept of shared responsibility is a key component of the updates in […]

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Over the last decade, the responsibility for securing Business Applications has unnaturally shifted towards the Security organization.  The idea is that a central group with […]

The post Gravity Shift: Enabling Business Application Stakeholders to Own the Risk appeared first on algosec.

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Now that we’ve begun a new year, it’s a good time to reflect on the past and look to the future. Which brings us to […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [12] appeared first on algosec.

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Does the following scenario sound familiar? Your network complexity is getting out of hand with too many firewalls, routers, switches, secure web gateways and more, […]

The post Examining the Security Policy Management Maturity Model appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip of the week focuses on the importance of creating enclaves in your network to isolate and protect critical/risky assets. A […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [11] appeared first on algosec.

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We’ve spent a lot of time on this blog talking about the importance of understanding and managing the connectivity required by business applications – whether […]

The post How to Discover the Connectivity Needs for Your Data Center Applications appeared first on algosec.

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Besides all the technology we talked about in the last two blogs that examined the network and application layers of the LAN, this next section […]

The post Tips to Secure the LAN: A Look at the Human Layer appeared first on algosec.

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NAT Network Security I came across some discussions regarding Network Address Translation (NAT) and its impact on security and the network. Specifically the premise that […]

The post To NAT or not to NAT – It’s not really a question appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip is all about keeping it simple. As Bruce Schneier has said, “Complexity is the enemy of security.” How complex are […]

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Your data center(s) and the cloud. There a lot of reasons, including financial and operational benefits, that the cloud has to offer. At the same […]

The post Tips to Migrate Your Data Center to a Private Cloud without Disruption appeared first on algosec.

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Now that we have the LAN locked down at the network layer, let’s try and get the application layer tied up a little bit. This […]

The post Tips to Secure the LAN: A Look at the Application Layer appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on controlling access… after all firewalls either allow you to enable connectivity or block network traffic flows. Vasilis, a […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [9] appeared first on algosec.

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How to Secure Your Local Area Network In my last blog series we reviewed ways to protect the perimeter of your network and then we […]

The post Tips to Secure the LAN: A Look at the Network Layer appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on the importance of documenting firewall rules. Ramani, an IT Manager in India, says that a best practice is […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [8] appeared first on algosec.

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The “cloud” is a hot topic in the network security world these days as many organizations want to take advantage of the many benefits that […]

The post Migrating your data center to the cloud – a network security perspective appeared first on algosec.

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Since it’s Halloween, I thought it would be fun to revisit some chilling tales of network operations and security incidents. Ghosts and goblins aren’t the […]

The post Spooky Network Security and Operations Incidents appeared first on algosec.

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Business critical applications fuel the modern data center and organizations are increasingly reliant upon more data center applications – whether in the physical or virtual […]

The post More Data Center Applications, But Less Agility… How to Overcome this Challenge appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on the importance of governance for zone traversal. When it comes to network security architecture, there must be a […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [7] appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip deals with the risk in making firewall policy changes. Business requirements change often, and to enable the necessary connectivity to […]

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Last week, Josh Karp wrote a blog on 5 Assumptions Security Admins Should Never Make. We asked for your feedback and we received great response! […]

The post Things You Should Never Assume When it Comes to Network Security appeared first on algosec.

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The threat landscape has evolved over the years. Now many organizations are struggling with the rising volume and sophistication of APTs and DDoS attacks. The […]

The post Rethinking Network Security: How to Better Defend and Optimize Against Advanced Threats appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip has to do with turning on logs for firewall rules. With complex network security environments, there is a lot of […]

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When you assume…. well you know the rest. It happens to all of us. We make assumptions on a daily basis that end up screwing […]

The post 5 Assumptions Security Admins Should Never Make appeared first on algosec.

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What’s in a name? This week’s network security tip addresses this question as it relates to firewalls. Optimizing firewall rules and reducing complexity is important […]

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In previous articles we examined what layers should be in place & how to harden security device configurations. Next step: How to create & secure the DMZ.

The post The Ideal Network Security Perimeter Design: Part 3 – Examining the DMZ (Cont.) appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip comes examines the idea of being able to classify sensitive data and implementing multiple security layers to ensure its protection. […]

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In the previous articles on designing the ideal network security perimeter (part 1 and part 2), we examined what layers should be in place and […]

The post The Ideal Network Security Perimeter Design: Part 3 – Examining the DMZ appeared first on algosec.

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HP Firewalls Never a dull moment in firewall market. This week, HP became a firewall vendor, unveiling a family of Tipping-Point Next-Generation Firewalls at its […]

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Network security change requests are made often and typically need to be processed quickly – to keep up with the speed of business. However, sometimes […]

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Our always-on, anywhere workforce has scattered the perimeter of the network to coffee shops, home offices, and just about any other place imaginable with Wi-Fi […]

The post Denial of Service (DoS)- This time It’s Personal appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip comes all the way from Finland. In this tip, Ahti, a software specialist explains why having two networks is better […]

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If you have been following AlgoSec and our blog, you probably have noticed an evolution in our strategy. From our work with some of the […]

The post The AlgoSec Vision of Managing Security at the Speed of Business appeared first on algosec.

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If you have ever asked for directions while driving in Boston, then you have undoubtedly been told “you can’t get there from here”. It sounds […]

The post Cloud Security: You can get there from here! appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on implementing a “deny” firewall rule at the end of the ruleset as a method to prevent traffic from […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [4]- Firewall Rules appeared first on algosec.

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The PCI Council just announced the revisions planned for PCI-DSS 3.0 and while the updated PCI compliance requirements don’t take effect until January 1, 2015, […]

The post PCI-DSS 3.0 – What it Means to You and Your Business appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip is around a theme we’ve been examining over the past few weeks: firewall change management. This tip from Pedro, an […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [3] – Firewall Change Management appeared first on algosec.

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Firewall change management  is a complex process that spans multiple departments and requires lots of energy, time and focus to get right. But doing it […]

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Midday yesterday the security news coverage focused on the NY Times website outage that lasted roughly 2 hours. Initially, there were reports of a cyber-attack […]

The post Security or Operational Snafu – What Went Down at the NY Times? appeared first on algosec.

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In our first blog on ideal network security perimeter design, we looked at how to harden and configure your network as well as understanding what […]

The post The Ideal Network Security Perimeter Design: Part 2 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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This week’s network security tip focuses on managing the security policy over the long haul and the concept of rule recertification as a necessary step […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [2] appeared first on algosec.

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Network Perimeter Security Best Practices Designing the network security architecture is a task that will never truly be completed because as with many things the […]

The post The Ideal Network Security Perimeter Design: Part 1 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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Working with more than 1000 organizations across the globe allows us to gain some interesting perspectives from customers when it comes to network security tips. […]

The post Network Security Tip of the Week [4.1] appeared first on algosec.

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With so many security tools at different layers to address a multitude of evolving threats, deciding the right amount of investment and where that investment […]

The post Security Investment Questions and Considerations for CSOs appeared first on algosec.

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It seems there is never a dull moment in the security mergers and acquisitions arena. Not long after McAfee announced it is acquiring StoneSoft, Cisco […]

The post Quick Takes on Cisco’s Acquisition of SourceFire appeared first on algosec.

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Networks and the defenses we put in place to protect them have become extremely complex – to the point that it can negatively impact the […]

The post Network Security Best Practice “No Brainers” appeared first on algosec.

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There’s a trending thought process that IT isn’t there just to support the business, but to drive the business (see my previous blog on this […]

The post Top Tips to Align IT with the Business appeared first on algosec.

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Last week I had the privilege of chatting with @Ira_Victor from the Cyber Jungle on the topic of thinking differently about how we configure corporate […]

The post Welcome to the Jungle… Thinking Differently about Our Firewalls appeared first on algosec.

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Cloud security is one of the big buzzwords in the security space along with big data and others. So we’ll try to tackle where cloud […]

The post Cloud Security: Current Status, Trends and Tips appeared first on algosec.

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In a recent SANS blog on Analyzing The Cost of a HIPAA-related Breach Through the Lens of the Critical Security Controls, the writer, John Pescatore, […]

The post Secure Configurations for Firewalls, Routers, and Switches – Critical Control with an ROI! appeared first on algosec.

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I am hearing feedback that organizations are checking out Firewall Analysis vendors to save time satisfying firewall change requests and to increase the security quality […]

The post Selecting the Right Firewall Analysis Solution for Your Organization appeared first on algosec.

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In our first blog on improving network security with what you already have, we examined some tips around logging for certain types of alerts as […]

The post Practical Tips to Improve Network Security with What You Already Have: Part 2 of 2 appeared first on algosec.

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We live in the information age and threats against organizations’ information infrastructure continue to increase. This is no surprise since the value of information stored […]

The post Do You Really Understand The Applications Flowing Through Your Network? appeared first on algosec.

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I read an excellent article earlier this month on Forbes in which Revlon’s CIO talks about simplifying IT to more quickly deliver new capabilities that […]

The post Driving Business Agility through IT Security Simplicity appeared first on algosec.

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I think we as security experts need to stop focusing on who or what will attack us and start acting like we’re already owned. If […]

The post Practical Tips to Improve Network Security with What You Already Have: Part 1 of 2 appeared first on algosec.

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Yesterday’s news brought us yet another reason why companies of all sizes need to take network security seriously.  This is no place for companies to […]

The post Don’t Gamble When it Comes to Information Security appeared first on algosec.

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Big news from McAfee on Monday, acquiring Stonesoft for $389M in cash – a whopping 128% premium on Stonesoft’s closing price last Friday. It’s not […]

The post Quick Takes on McAfee’s Acquisition of Stonesoft appeared first on algosec.

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How many times has your organization been ready to decommission an application, but the network ops team is afraid to remove the underlying security rules? […]

The post Tips to Securely Decommission Business Applications appeared first on algosec.

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Too often we react to tasks by simply doing them.  We do them over and over again, perhaps without looking for a bit of optimization…because […]

The post Audit Preparation: Around and Around We Go, When We’ll Stop We’ll Never Know appeared first on algosec.

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Yesterday we announced the findings from our second annual “State of Network Security” survey, which we conducted to identify and analyze current and trending security […]

The post Examining The State of Network Security 2013 Survey Findings appeared first on algosec.

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Today’s network security policies continue to grow in volume and complexity, yet oftentimes organizations rely upon manual management, which is too cumbersome, inefficient, and error-prone. […]

The post Examining the Need for Application-Centric Security Policy Management appeared first on algosec.

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In part 2 of our DDoS series, we shared some ways to go about protecting yourself against a potential attack. So what should you do […]

The post An In-Depth Look at DDoS – Part 3: DDoS Do’s and Don’ts appeared first on algosec.

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Okay so if you’ve read Part 1 of this blog series, you now know what DDoS is (and if you don’t, you’re on the wrong […]

The post An In-Depth Look at DDoS – Part 2: Considerations to Improve Your DDoS Defense appeared first on algosec.

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Every once in a while there’s a news story about a company that suffered an outage due to “an internal process error”. Oftentimes the specific […]

The post Understanding the Link Between Business Applications and the Security Policy appeared first on algosec.

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Recently we’ve seen the renewed interest of DDoS methods and tools splash the front pages of major newspapers and news sites throughout the world. Just […]

The post An In-Depth Look at DDoS – Part 1: Motives, Methods and Tools appeared first on algosec.

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Continuing our follow-up from the State of the Firewall in 2013 webcast, our panelists addressed questions such as “What’s the difference between UTM and NGFW?” […]

The post State of the Firewall: Even More Q&A with Our Panelists appeared first on algosec.

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Since it’s RSA week, it’s a perfect time to continue the discussion of the State of the Firewall in 2013. Last week we attempted to […]

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Podcast: Differences between UTM and NGFW In our recent webcast discussion alongside panelists from Fortinet, NSS Labs and General Motors, we examined the State of […]

The post State of the Firewall – UTM vs. NGFW appeared first on algosec.

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Anyone following information security over the past 3 years has heard the nasty four letter acronym of BYOD or Bring Your Own Device. This phenomenon […]

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At the end of last week, SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab issued a security advisory for several Barracuda Networks devices regarding an undocumented backdoor in the […]

The post Barracuda Backdoor Highlights Importance of Configuration Compliance appeared first on algosec.

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Two weeks ago, AlgoSec guest blogger Matthew Pasccuci wrote about the Evolution of the Firewall. I’d like to continue this discussion… In his blog Matt […]

The post Debating the State of the Firewall in 2013 appeared first on algosec.

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In part 2 of our Cool vs. Control blog series we examined the traditional corporate security approach to a very cool, yet out-of-control application – […]

The post Cool versus Control: Being a Cool Parent – Part 3 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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As we’ve entered a New Year and we look back at the events of the past year, I thought it would be interesting to examine […]

The post Back in Time and Back to the Future: Looking at the Evolution of the Firewall appeared first on algosec.

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In today’s interconnected environment, no large organization can run without the applications that run both its internal operations (email, HR, Finance etc.) as well as […]

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So we’re past the predictions and trends that come with the holiday season and now that it’s the beginning of the year, it’s time to […]

The post Top 5 Network Security Resolutions for 2013 appeared first on algosec.

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Renowned security professional Bruce Schneier has said that “complexity is the worst enemy of security.” In our Dangers of Network Security Complexity survey, we found […]

The post Network Complexity – The Security Admin’s Kryptonite appeared first on algosec.

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In our first Cool versus Control post we began to examine the evolution of technology and its impact from both a coolness perspective and also […]

The post Cool versus Control (History Repeats Itself): Part 2 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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In our last article we looked at how to harden your perimeter with traditional firewalls and routers. In part 2 we will continue this examination […]

The post Enhancing Your Security at the Edge: Part 2 of 2 appeared first on algosec.

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I think many of us can agree that the network perimeter as we’ve known it is no longer. In this two-part blog series we won’t […]

The post Enhancing Your Security at the Edge: Part 1 of 2 appeared first on algosec.

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Throughout the World, the more interoperable, fringe, or radical a system, person, or thing is, the cooler it is… and generally the less under control […]

The post Cool versus Control: Part 1 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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We’ve spent a lot of time and written many articles on this blog around the challenges of firewall change management. One area that we’ve touched […]

The post Including Firewall Rule Recertification as Part of Your Change Control Process appeared first on algosec.

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So far, we’ve examined the business case for firewall policy management around the following areas: Simplifying Firewall Audits and Preparation Reducing the Time to Process […]

The post Making the Business Case for Firewall Policy Management: Part 4 of 4 appeared first on algosec.

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As you prepare for Halloween this evening, here are some spooky stories coming out of the network security space. I sat down with Alan Shimel […]

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Next-Generation firewalls provide more granular control than traditional firewalls, but there are many things to consider when implementing these devices. Not only should you have […]

The post Automating Policy Management for Next-Generation Firewalls appeared first on algosec.

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If you manage your organization’s network, you have most assuredly had one of those days… where network traffic isn’t flowing properly or even worse where […]

The post Making the Business Case for Firewall Policy Management: Part 3 of 4 appeared first on algosec.

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In order to stand up to cyber threats and defend the network and critical assets, we’ve fallen into the trap of bolting on more and […]

The post Uncovering the Dangers of Network Security Complexity appeared first on algosec.

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The network perimeter has disappeared for many reasons including some common buzzwords these days such as BYOD, the cloud and more. But what often is […]

The post Ensuring Your Firewalls are Properly Configured appeared first on algosec.

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In our first blog of this series on the business case for firewall policy management, I examined the potential cost savings from an audit perspective. […]

The post Making the Business Case for Firewall Policy Management: Part 2 of 4 appeared first on algosec.

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Many organizations overlook traffic-filtering routers as part of their security policy, but in doing so they have a gap in their security posture. Even if […]

The post When Analyzing Your Security Policy, Don’t Forget About Your Routers! appeared first on algosec.

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Why on Earth are APTs still all the rage in the security space?  The topic is so last year right?  Well, not really.  We have […]

The post Forget the Fire Drill – Understanding Your Security Policy and Leveraging Situational Awareness to Defend Against APTs appeared first on algosec.

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Recently, we posted a blog on firewall misconfiguration horror stories. One of the great security myths is that inbound traffic is more dangerous than outbound […]

The post Firewall Policy Configuration Myth Examined appeared first on algosec.

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Guest post by Chuck Mackey, Chief Security Architect, Sequris Group Every day that passes brings new threats, attacks, and intrusions to computing environments.  Inadequate cyber […]

The post Have Your Cake AND Eat It Too with Tighter Control and Increased Access appeared first on algosec.

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“Return on investment” does not come naturally when evaluating the purchase of security products. The reason for this is fairly simple as you don’t get […]

The post Making the Business Case for Network Security Policy Management: Part 1 of 4 appeared first on algosec.

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On Monday, the Twittersphere and Facebook boards were lighting up with complaints about GoDaddy’s website hosting service being down. It’s been debated in the media […]

The post GoDaddy Stops – Why Network Security Management is So Important appeared first on algosec.

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In our the last installment of our network security horror stories (part one was on Change Control and part 2 on Firewall Misconfigurations) and today […]

The post Network Security Horror Stories: Router Misconfigurations appeared first on algosec.

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Here we are with our second installment of network security horror stories and having already discuss some of the firewall change control issues in this […]

The post Network Security Horror Stories: Firewall Misconfigurations appeared first on algosec.

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Last week, we posted some change control horror stories witnessed first-hand by AlgoSec guest blogger and infosecurity practitioner Matthew Pascucci in his 10+ years in […]

The post Risk Check – An Important Step Before Making a Firewall Change appeared first on algosec.

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Following up on guest blogger Matthew Pascucci’s article yesterday on change control horror stories, beyond using sound judgement there two key high level things you […]

The post Firewall Changes Don’t Have to Become Horror Stories appeared first on algosec.

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When you’re in IT Security for as long as I have been you’ll most likely have quite a few horror stories regarding firewall change management […]

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We’ve reached the final frontier in our blog series on simplifying firewall audits and ensuring continuous compliance. A quick recap of the previous steps examined: […]

The post Simplifying Firewall Audits and Ensuring Continuous Compliance: Part 6 of 6 appeared first on algosec.

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Security has traditionally been viewed as a tradeoff with business productivity. It’s been this way for years. But it doesn’t have to be. CIOs and […]

The post 4 Ways to Persuade Upper Management that Business Agility Can Be Improved through Information Security appeared first on algosec.

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Historically there has always been a clear network perimeter, with traditional firewalls separating internal resources from the outside world. However, with emerging trends such as […]

The post In the Trenches – How to Secure the Disappearing Network Perimeter appeared first on algosec.

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Managing firewall changes is no simple task. There are several keys to ensuring a smooth firewall change management process – that meets both security and […]

The post Automating Firewall Change Management and How to Integrate with Remedy appeared first on algosec.

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In Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls, the research firm examines the firewall’s evolution and the necessity for incorporating next-generation capabilities. In the […]

The post Next-Generation Firewalls and How to Manage Policies in a Defense-in-Depth Architecture appeared first on algosec.

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Change. It occurs all the time in our networks, especially when it comes to firewall rules. How you manage this change significantly impacts not only […]

The post Firewall Management 201: Automating the Firewall Change Control Process appeared first on algosec.

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Ok folks, we’re almost at the end of the tunnel with our audit checklist part 5 of our 6 part series  on Simplifying Firewall Audits […]

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Network complexity is a killer. Managing different network and security devices, from different vendors, distributed across multiple geographical locations isn’t easy and can pose operational […]

The post Automating the Change Workflow for Blue Coat Secure Web Gateways appeared first on algosec.

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Recently a very interesting discovery – a common feature in modern firewalls (discarding out-of-state packets) actually leaks useful information to a malicious hacker – was […]

The post Is Your Firewall Vulnerable to a TCP Hijack Attack? appeared first on algosec.

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Today’s threats and complex environment make it hard to effectively define and enforce policies in a black or white fashion… it’s just not that simple […]

The post Firewall Management 201: Firewall Policies are not a Black or White Decision appeared first on algosec.

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We’ve now crossed over the halfway point in our series on simplifying firewall audits and ensuring continuous compliance and that brings us to a major […]

The post Simplifying Firewall Audits and Ensuring Continuous Compliance: Part 4 of 6 appeared first on algosec.

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Increased government regulations and industry requirements are forcing organizations to comply with standards that in the long run are actually very useful. Many of the […]

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The second whiteboard video in our series Firewall Management 201 with Professor Wool (don’t miss the first video on Managing Firewall Policies in a Disappearing […]

The post Firewall Management 201: Next-Generation Firewalls for Today’s Environment appeared first on algosec.

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In the first two parts of this blog series I focused on Gathering Pertinent Data for a Firewall Audit and Reviewing the Firewall Change Control […]

The post Simplifying Firewall Audits and Ensuring Continuous Compliance: Part 3 of 6 appeared first on algosec.

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Today, InfoWorld posted an article written by Roger Grimes called “Why you don’t need a firewall” that takes a narrow viewpoint and doesn’t account for […]

The post Taking Issue with Article on “Why you don’t need a firewall” appeared first on algosec.

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Today we launched the first video in a new educationally focused whiteboard series called Firewall Management 201 with Professor Wool. In this series, AlgoSec’s CTO […]

The post Introducing a new Whiteboard Video Series: Firewall Management 201 with Professor Wool appeared first on algosec.

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Webster’s dictionary defines being proactive as “acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes”. From a security perspective this means taking the initiative to […]

The post Shifting Gears into Proactive Security appeared first on algosec.

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In this blog series, I have been examining how each of the following three steps from the PCI Council and how they apply to you, […]

The post When PCI Compliance meets real world security: Part 3 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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This should come as no surprise, but the network perimeter is disappearing – or at least it’s getting very blurry. If this is a surprise […]

The post The Dissolving Network Perimeter – And What You Can Do About It! appeared first on algosec.

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Yesterday, we published the results of our latest research efforts, titled The State of Network Security 2012. This survey polled more than 180 IT security […]

The post The State of Network Security 2012 Finds Poor Internal Processes and Insider Threats as the Greatest Security Risk appeared first on algosec.

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Going through an audit is certainly no fun. But if you aren’t set up to prove continuous compliance, then you are sure to have multiple, […]

The post Simplifying Firewall Audits and Ensuring Continuous Compliance: Part 2 of 6 appeared first on algosec.

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Today’s business environment has become more regulated – with different mandates and requirements spanning multiple industries and regions. Some regulations require multiple audits per year […]

The post Simplifying Firewall Audits and Ensuring Continuous Compliance: Part 1 of 6 appeared first on algosec.

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When it comes to the network, IT operations and IT security teams need to work together to ensure security, productivity and ultimately business agility, but […]

The post Podcast: In the Trenches – Examining the Disconnect Between IT Security and IT Operations appeared first on algosec.

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Protecting an organization from risk is still the main reason we have firewalls in place today, but with the advent of Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) the […]

The post Next-Generation Firewalls: A Step in the Right Direction, but it’s Not a Black or White Decision appeared first on algosec.

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I know it’s shocking that a firewall policy management vendor would write a blog about firewall policy management, but I want to share some anecdotes […]

The post Strategies to Improve Firewall Policy Management appeared first on algosec.

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In this series of blog posts, I’m looking at an often overlooked and extremely simplistic approach to security as outlined by the PCI Council. We’ve […]

The post When PCI Compliance meets real world security: Part 2 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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In today’s business environment, mergers and acquisitions occur on a regular basis. While many different organizational and cultural aspects are impacted by a merger or […]

The post Mergers and Acquisitions: A Security Point of View appeared first on algosec.

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Yesterday, we announced the latest release of AlgoSec Security Management Suite, which addresses the growing complexity of security policies, especially in networks where next-generation firewalls […]

The post Firewall Policy Management for Next-Generation Infrastructures appeared first on algosec.

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Having worked directly with PCI Compliance and merchants for a few years before joining AlgoSec, I’ve had a lot of opportunity to see where PCI […]

The post When PCI Compliance meets real world security: Part 1 of 3 appeared first on algosec.

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Firewall policy management is complex… due to heterogeneous environments with numerous firewalls (including different vendors and devices) – that span physical and virtual environments, thousands […]

The post Firewall Policy Management Described in Under 2 Minutes appeared first on algosec.

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We’ve all been there and if you’re reading this article you know exactly what I’m talking about: the classic battle between IT and Security. Both […]

The post When IT and Security Don’t See Eye-to-Eye: A Security Professional’s Viewpoint appeared first on algosec.

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Virtualization is one of those buzz words… maybe not as cool as “the cloud”, but still a hot topic nonetheless. There are some pretty compelling […]

The post Virtualizing Your Data Center and the Need to Manage Hypervisor-level Firewall Policies appeared first on algosec.

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With the increased sophistication of threats (think APTs) and the rising network complexity requires us to take a step back and re-examine our network security […]

The post Rising Network Insecurity… and the Need to Re-examine Security Fundamentals appeared first on algosec.

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In this video blog, guest contributor Matthew Pascucci highlights the separation of duties challenge to improve change control and risk management practices.

The post 2012 Network Security Resolutions: Separation of Duties to Improve Change Control and Reduce Risk appeared first on algosec.

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Are your admins holding the keys to your network’s kingdom? No, this isn’t some fairy tale where the admins are dark wizards with magical powers […]

The post Do Your Admins Hold the Keys to the Kingdom? appeared first on algosec.

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Firewall Management Tools   Richard Hicks’– Forefront TMG 2010 Edge Security Blog Forefront TMG Blog – aims to provide “notes from the field” in addition […]

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During the Christmas holiday season many companies utilize network freezes to protect themselves from errant changes which could cause outages during valuable high traffic days. […]

The post The Dangers of the Holiday Freeze appeared first on algosec.

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Tis the season when everyone comes out of the woodwork to offer their top trends for the coming year. What’s the latest threat? What are […]

The post Trends Shmends, How about Focusing on Network Security Fundamentals? appeared first on algosec.

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A common phrase I’ve heard is that “a security policy is only as good as the paper it is written on”. What is a good […]

The post What Constitutes a Good Network Security Policy? appeared first on algosec.

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Over the weekend I read a very interesting top 10 CIO Priorities list by @robpreston, VP and Editor in Chief at InformationWeek. While all 10 […]

The post Prioritizing IT Security Management to Fuel Business Growth appeared first on algosec.

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While we’ve been bombarded with the fear, uncertainty and doubt about today’s sophisticated threats, we have thankfully seen network security innovation with the development of […]

The post Next Gen Firewalls (NGFWs) Must Also Be Managed appeared first on algosec.

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Guest post by Kevin Beaver, founder and principal information security consultant of Principle Logic Back in the early days of local area networks, I remember […]

The post Do You Really Understand Your Network? appeared first on algosec.

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Let’s face it – it’s very difficult to measure the return on investment (ROI) of most security products. In fact, many argue that as with […]

The post Measuring the ROI of Security Change Management appeared first on algosec.

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A few weeks back, we asked the community of security professionals to submit their best advice for managing complex network security policies. We were pleasantly […]

The post A Synopsis of our Firewall Management Tips Collection appeared first on algosec.

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Change management is hardly big news for anyone in IT. Change management systems (such as BMC remedy and HP Service Manager to name a few) […]

The post Do I Need a Change Management Solution Just for Network Security? appeared first on algosec.

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Perimeter security is not stupid, but the way that we manage it is. Check out my blog post on this subject on The Last Watchdog

The post Why Perimeter Defense is Still Important appeared first on algosec.

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Many organizations have processes in place for making security policy changes. (An alarming number of companies do not, but that’s a subject for a different […]

The post Easy There Cowboy… appeared first on algosec.

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Over the last weeks, we have surveyed over 100 security professionals (none of which were AlgoSec customers by the way) to try and gain some […]

The post Findings from Our Recent Security Management Survey appeared first on algosec.

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This week we are fortunate to be speaking alongside Stefano Ciminelli of Verizon Business at the Check Point Experience show in Barcelona. I would like […]

The post Sneak Preview of Our Check Point Experience Session appeared first on algosec.

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The report from independent lab NSS is making news today. NSS labs evaluated six network firewalls (from Check Point, Juniper, Cisco, Fortinet, Palo Alto and […]

The post 3 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your (“Grossly Overstated?”) Firewall Performance appeared first on algosec.

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From what I read about the Epsilon breach, I have not been able to obtain any technical information on how the breach had occurred. The […]

The post The Epsilon Data Breach: Is Outsourced Data a Risk? appeared first on algosec.

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At the last RSA show, I had the pleasure of speaking with Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest, on the latest developments in the […]

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Today we have released version 6 of our Security Management Suite which includes a lot of enhancements to improve firewall risk management, compliance, and security […]

The post Can One Typo Bring Down Your Network? appeared first on algosec.

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One thing that is often neglected is getting rid of rules that are no longer needed. Maybe that server has been decommissioned? Maybe the relationship with that company has been terminated? Even if the answer is “Yes”, it’s quite likely that the old firewall rules are still there, because no one asked to remove them.

The post Firewall Rule Recertification: Goals, Challenges, and Tips appeared first on algosec.

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As 2011 rolls along, it’s time for those New Year resolutions. So here’s one I would like to throw out – Automate More!   These […]

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I recently came across a great study on the state of PCI-DSS compliance conducted by Verizon Business. Unlike much of the baseless chatter circulated by […]

The post Firewall PCI-DSS Compliance, The Numbers are In… appeared first on algosec.

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While doing firewall policy analyses for customers, I very often come across rules that allow any ip traffic from anywhere outside the primeter into big […]

The post Does VPN traffic pose a risk? (Yes it does…) appeared first on algosec.

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With the first wave of holiday travel behind us and the next big wave around the corner, many of us will be suffering through endless […]

The post Security Lessons Learned from the TSA (or how to annoy your users) appeared first on algosec.

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Inbound and Outbound Firewall Traffic Firewalls are the cornerstones of corporate intranet security. Even the smallest organizations have them. Almost invariably, these firewalls implement a […]

The post Filtering Outbound Traffic at the Firewall appeared first on algosec.

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Gartner recently published a short research paper aimed at answering this very question. Not surprisingly, Gartner recommends standardizing on a single vendor firewall platform since […]

The post Is It More Secure to Use Firewalls from Two Different Vendors? appeared first on algosec.