Making enterprises cyber resilient: Hybrid cybersecurity for the interconnected world

The increasing adoption of digital transformation and IT rollout have become critical business imperatives for organizations to remain competitive. While ease of cloud accessibility and advances in data driven technologies such as automation, machine-to-machine communication and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) have been driving productivity gains, more sophisticated, multifaceted threats have also become a daily reality in the world of the ubiquitous, interconnected and expanding multimode computation. It has been estimated that globally cybercrime will cost us USD 10.5 Trillion annually by 2025, underscoring the importance of being resilient to attacks and protecting business value and data. 

The flipside of interconnectedness 

The growing complexity of integrated edge-to-core-to-cloud platforms have exposed multiple vulnerable entry points for attack vectors. Remote and hybrid work models, hybrid cyber-physical systems, digital manufacturing and digital twins have led to greater sophistication in targeted cyber-attacks through a burgeoning array of aggressive tools that can compromise hardware, applications, and sensitive company data. As data is a commodity that can be traded nowadays, large, integrated systems with their huge repository of financial and personal data are also lucrative targets for data breaches. 

Cloud platforms, due to their open architecture and API-driven automation, pose distinct security challenges. Besides misconfigured or insecure APIs, cloud frameworks are also vulnerable due to poor access control, lack of multi-factor authentication and shared tenancy. Over and above deploying antivirus tools across all endpoints and implementing firewalls and network sandboxing, unique security solutions customized for cloud and hybrid infrastructure are therefore necessary to guarantee predictable protection based on measurable service performance. Most importantly, it is evident that defence must move from ‘on-device’ to ‘on-platform’, if we are to battle the expanded cyber threat.  

Risk assessment is the first step towards cyber resilience 

Several new promising solutions for securing data and applications in interconnected and heterogeneous cloud environments are now gaining wide acceptance, with their ability to deliver benefits across the four pillars of visibility, compliance, threat protection, and data security. Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) and Secure Web Gateways (SWGs) provide protection to the web application layer from common attack vectors such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other malicious infiltrations. Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) offer flexibility and choice, with the ability to deploy SASE on-premises, or in the cloud. 

Realizing security objectives, however, is not a simple matter of buying the latest package off the shelf. Organizations must recognize that security is not a product— it is a process. Even the best security frameworks with high availability and redundancy must be complemented by enforcing a coherent set of robust protocols and policies based on a data-first approach.  

Cyber resilience strategizes on two aspects of the proliferating cyber threat. First, it develops ways to prevent cyber-attacks. Second, it devises ways to successfully recover data and restore operations should there be a breach in security.  

Cyber resilience must begin with a thorough audit of risks and vulnerabilities across all endpoints, and embed critical attack vectors into the threat map, developing a predictive threat intelligence with assessments of capabilities, intentions, and likely actions by malicious actors.  

Teja Manakame
Vice President
IT, India
Dell Technologies

Minimizing cyber vulnerabilities through sustained interventions 

Dell offers a comprehensive range of next generation solutions to improve security posture under a broad set of use-cases and enhance cyber resiliency with a Zero Trust model and architecture, where no access is granted without validation and authorization. 

Vulnerabilities in business operations have underscored the need for Business Continuity Planning. Cyber resilient strategies involve continuous monitoring to minimize data risk, encrypting all sensitive data, and having backup and disaster recovery tools for the protection of applications, data, and infrastructure, preferably with managed detection and response to augment cyber defence capability, operational resilience, and risk containment.  

Cloud based Enterprise Risk Management architectures deliver robust Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC), but need to be supported by administering documented cyber security policies, regulatory compliance, and governance frameworks to limit information loss while establishing visibility and control over critical processes.  

Dell is committed to enable businesses to overcome cyber security challenges through implementation of technology solutions that ensure security and safety in hybrid environments at low total cost of ownership, and engage on the strategy, best practices, and tactical aspects of security operations to achieve improved cyber resilience for sustained productivity and business continuity. 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

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