In today’s digital era, cybersecurity is more critical than ever. With a constantly evolving threat landscape, organizations must implement effective defenses and strategies to protect themselves. We spoke with experts from Cisco, who offered us three essential tips to create a resilient security posture.
1. Update Zero Trust Network Access
Identity-related attacks are on the rise, and cybercriminals have learned that it’s easier to log in than to force entry. To counteract this, Zero Trust and least privilege policies are essential. These policies limit user access only to the data and applications necessary for their work, reducing the impact of a security breach.
Cisco offers a comprehensive solution to this problem by combining their traditional VPN with modern Zero Trust in an integrated solution called Cisco Secure Access. This allows for an excellent user experience from day one, managing both legacy applications that require VPN support and modern applications that adhere to the least privilege framework.
A standout feature is Cisco ThousandEyes, which can identify the source of any issue, whether it be the broadband provider, a cloud application, or even the user’s own device. This ensures a high-quality user experience and the ability to diagnose and resolve issues quickly.
2. Protect Your Applications with AI
Just like with user identity, attackers can exploit compromised applications or machines to infiltrate the network. Therefore, Zero Trust must extend beyond humans to encompass the data center. Segmentation is a key strategy that defines how an application can communicate, limiting hackers’ access.
Cisco introduces its Hypershield technology, which uses artificial intelligence to deeply understand an application’s behavior, allowing for the prediction and application of policies that prevent unauthorized activities. Hypershield also manages application-level vulnerabilities, automating protection, identifying applications that need patches, and isolating them if compromised.
3. Enhance Analytics
Attackers are becoming increasingly adept at impersonating legitimate users and applications, making advanced analytics essential for distinguishing friends from foes. Cisco XDR (Extended Detection and Response) is an analytical tool that extracts telemetry from user and application protection suites, identifying threats like ransomware at very early stages and automating recovery.
Cisco’s recent acquisition of Splunk will further enhance these capabilities, offering a transformative blend of networking, security, observability, and artificial intelligence. Splunk provides sophisticated security analytics regardless of where the information resides, whether in physical installations or various clouds, unifying everything with its unique federated search capability.
Conclusion
With these three essential capabilities and the integration of Splunk, any company can excel in security. Cisco offers a complete solution, from infrastructure to advanced analytics, to strengthen organizations’ cybersecurity in an increasingly challenging digital world.
Source and Image: Cisco