With the advancement of technology comes the inevitable increased sophistication of cyber-attacks. Over the past few years, we have witnessed the increased scalability of cybercrime and by 2021, it is predicted that damages from cybercrime would amount to $6 trillion.
However, spearheading the new normal of enterprise cybersecurity are technologies that use artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, analytics, and Blockchain to mitigate attacks.
Incident Response - Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR)
According to Gartner, who coined the term back in 2017, “SOAR refers to technologies that enable organizations to collect inputs monitored by the security operations team.” The key feature of SOAR is its integration with other security platforms such as SIEM and UEBA. By bringing alerts from multiple security tools under a single platform, an organization can review threats holistically.
The main benefit of SOAR in incident response is automation. The technology allows you to design and implement a workflow for addressing threats automatically and without direct human intervention. For instance, SOAR software can detect if an email is malicious or not. If it is malicious, it automatically takes containment actions based on pre-set conditions.
Network Monitoring - Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)
A Next-Generation Firewall is an advanced version of a traditional firewall, featuring greater capabilities. A typical traditional firewall uses the stateful model of packet filtering and network monitoring. To filter network traffic, it assesses ports, addresses, and other contextual details. On the other hand, a NGFW can filter traffic based on applications, providing exhaustive network visibility.
An upside of the application awareness of NGFWs is much faster threat detection, reducing detection time from several days to a few seconds. In addition, NGFWs provide an Integrated Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), seamlessly operating with other tools to prevent malware from entering a network. Traditional firewalls can’t provide this.
The unique and superior benefits of Next-Generation Firewalls make them inevitable for any organization today, especially in the face of newly emerging, advanced threats.
Cloud Cybersecurity - Cloud Access Security Broker
Given the massive rise of SaaS applications, cloud cybersecurity is inevitable and paramount. The implication of the use of cloud software is that the organization (client) is not limited to its own risks but can also be affected by the risks facing the service provider.
A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) comes between cloud software consumers and providers to provide security management. The primary use of CASB is to enforce security policies, especially in relation to Data Loss Prevention (DLP), but of course, this includes threat response, access control and authentication, encryption, etc. In addition, CASB can help to mitigate risks associated with shadow IT devices.
Access Monitoring - User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA)
The function of UEBA is to detect and flag non-typical behavior among users. UEBA is an extension of the older UBA (User Behavior Analytics). The ‘E’ in UEBA stands for ‘Entity’ but can also represent ‘Event’; the addition of E to the acronym shows that behavior analytics should not just monitor the activities of users, but also applications and networks. This allows the system greater efficiency against complex attacks.
UEBA collects data from multiple sources and establishes a use pattern. Using machine learning, any unusual event to a pattern is flagged as a threat. This lowers the risks of your organization’s vulnerabilities to insider attacks, phishing, malware, ransomware, DDoS attacks, etc.
Data Protection - Blockchain Technology
Blockchain has been hailed as a groundbreaking innovation, and rightly so. Its virtually unhackable model makes great for enterprise security. One of the promising uses of Blockchain technology in cybersecurity is the area of data protection. For instance, Blockchain can be used to timestamp pieces of data, making it impossible to tamper the data without notice. And if an attacker even gains access to the data, he can’t possibly read it due to encryption.
According to Ed Powers of Deloitte, “...there is promising innovation in Blockchain towards helping enterprises tackle immutable Cyber Risk challenges such as digital identities and maintaining data integrity.”
In addition, the Blockchain’s decentralization makes it even more difficult for attackers to exploit a single vulnerability point. This can help prevent instances of DNS attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, and other such threats that involve significant data manipulation. The next challenge in Blockchain for cybersecurity is to make it commercially viable.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is a never-ending venture, and it is not just about having a dedicated IT team; the key differentiator of the most secure companies from the less secure often boils down to the technologies they employ.
In fact, automation has become a major trend in cybersecurity. Cyber-attacks continue evolving and businesses must not just continually reinvent their strategies, but also adopt more advanced technologies that use artificial intelligence, machine learning, Blockchain technology, etc. in mitigating risks and addressing threats.
Experienced Digital Marketer and PR Specialist, Joseph Chukwube is the Founder of Digitage, a professional digital marketing agency. He's enthusiastic about all things business and technology and he shares informative blog posts about cybersecurity, e-commerce and lifestyle. He's a published writer on Search Engine Watch, ReadWrite, The HuffingtonPost and more.