Page 161 - Cyber Defense eMagazine December 2023
P. 161

Since  the  early  1990s,  organizations  have  utilized  standard  cybersecurity  processes  like  periodic
            vulnerability  scanning  as  part  of  their  defense  strategies.  Despite  how  established  they  are,  these
            processes cannot offer 100% protection when used intensively. For example, daily vulnerability scans
            can take up to 23 hours of exposure, providing threat actors with more than enough time to exploit these
            weak spots.

            This challenge is exacerbated by an organization's composition and established procedures. The team
            assigned to incorporate exposures as a component of their deployment strategy is often the same team
            assigned to mitigate them, which may cause setbacks in response times. For example, if a security team
            documents a  problem after  24 hours,  the  configuration  associated  with  that  issue  has  already  been
            utilized. Repairing it poses severe risks to the environment's resilience, potentially affecting corporate
            activities.  Because  of  this,  operations  teams  may  give  precedence  to  other  activities,  leaving  a
            vulnerability unaddressed for an extended period.

            The remedy for this ongoing issue is to mesh security and operations teams through real-time exposure
            detection.

            Real-time  exposure  detection  entails  constantly  evaluating  exposure  levels  without  depending  on
            intermittent scans. Each modification in the environment is promptly analyzed to identify exposure levels.

            Organizations can achieve the most success with real-time exposure detection by adopting the following
            best practices:



               1.  Align with Organizational Requirements: Every organization has its own distinct needs, including
                   its level of tolerable exposure. Security teams must implement parameters that cater to these
                   specific needs, including pinpointing critical assets, analyzing risks in data flows, and mitigating
                   threats internally.
               2.  Encourage Operations To Be More Security-Minded: Operation teams must be well-informed of
                   exposure levels for several reasons. First, operations teams can examine deployments before
                   introducing security gaps, therefore shielding systems from exposures before they can occur.
                   Second, instant exposure detection, when deployed, facilitates safe reversion because it gives
                   the operations team sole reliance on the configurations and allows for speedy remediation.
               3.  Adopt Automated Fixes: For best results, security and operations teams should agree regarding
                   the  guardrails  they  establish  to  provide  automated  responses  when  specific  incidents  occur.
                   These rules are cultivated and outlined to generate efficient automated solutions.



            Real-time exposure detection is vital in giving cybersecurity teams an advantage over cyber criminals. It
            provides organizations with the ability to respond quickly, work together effectively and bolster cloud
            environments, developing a more secure digital landscape for everyone. When time is of the essence,
            real-time exposure detection is critical to being in control of cybersecurity.








            Cyber Defense eMagazine – December 2023 Edition                                                                                                                                                                                                          161
            Copyright © 2023, Cyber Defense Magazine. All rights reserved worldwide.
   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166