Page 95 - Cyber Defense eMagazine July 2024

Yet, having policies and controls is only half the battle. The shifting, evolving IT landscape makes security
a moving target. Organizations need total and continuous visibility over where and how controls have
been implemented, to identify whether they are working as they should be, and close potential coverage
gaps.

Too often organizations are relying on incomplete, siloed and even contradictory information. Security
tools can be unreliable witnesses; they only report on what they alone can see, not the whole picture.
This leads to conflicting reports, allowing undiscovered vulnerabilities and threats to hide in the fog.
Overworked and stressed security teams are drowning in data but lacking insights that can drive change.

Overcoming these problems is a big data challenge. CISOs need a validated system of record they can
trust that gives total visibility over coverage gaps and their true control status. Trusted data allows
businesses to assess risk in the context of their business. This enables security teams to identify and
take action on high risk issues to mitigate them instead of focusing on the wrong things, such as reporting,
fixing yesterday’s problems, or just dealing with indicators of compromise instead of solving the root
causes.

As it’s the root cause of so many attacks, let’s take patching as an example. Ensuring every single asset
on your network is updated is a daunting task. But with the right contextual data to show which machines
represent the greatest risk, security teams can focus on the highest priority assets first. This targeted
approach will drastically reduce risk exposure and improve the efficiency of overstretched security
practitioners.

Brighter skies ahead

Sophisticated, industrialized, and opportunistic attacks all differ, and remediation tactics vary from
ensuring zero trust to patching. But there is one key thread woven throughout the approach to defense
against each – data. Without it, security leaders and their teams are left in the dark, unsure which assets
are critical and require immediate attention, and which can be prioritized for now.

Those organizations that can harness the power of the data at their fingertips will be well equipped to
ride out the cyberattack storm. Whilst those that continue to ignore this invaluable resource will remain
caught up in the never-ending downpour of attacks.

About the Author

Nick Lines, Security Product Expert, champions Panaseer’s unique value and
ensures they're helping solve the biggest challenges in cybersecurity. He’s
worked for multinational systems integrators and consultancies in roles
including developer, technical sales, and offering management, and previously
spent a decade at Microsoft. Nick can be reached online at LinkedIn and at
our company website https://panaseer.com/.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – July 2024 Edition 95
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