Threat detection has always played a major role in every enterprise’s security posture. However, technological advances have turned threat detection into a challenging exercise. Security teams have more fragmented networks to cover, and threats have become more sophisticated.
Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report notes that the time for a threat to move from proof-of-concept to a breach has accelerated. Nimbleness is critical in modern enterprise cybersecurity and threat detection is one of the first steps in this process.
Here’s how enterprises can boost threat detection in this challenging environment.
Continuous monitoring
When speaking of continuous monitoring, most cybersecurity teams think of security validation. While validation is a big part of security monitoring, restricting company activities to within its network is a big mistake. Companies must also secure their assets hosted on other networks, such as the internet. Website spoofing, for example, is on the rise.
While these attacks do not impact companies directly, they cause a massive loss of brand trust. Customers unknowingly input their personal and financial information into fake branded sites, get defrauded, and lay the blame on the company. In the long run, a company that neglects its brand mentions online will project a callous attitude towards its customers (and might possibly need to reimburse their customers, given the direction government regulations are going.)
Tracking all brand mentions is thus a critical part of security monitoring. Enterprises must also take measures beyond mere monitoring, such as real-time detection. Memcyco, an up-and-coming player in the website impersonation and anti-fraud space, has developed a platform that detects when a brand’s website has been spoofed and alerts them in real time. Furthermore, the platform prevents their customers from interacting with the fake site by issuing Red Alerts every time a customer enters it. Memcyco calls this critical time the “window of exposure”, from when a fake site is up until it is taken down (which can take up to months), which is when customers are the most vulnerable to getting defrauded. It’s precisely during this time that it’s imperative to intervene swiftly.
When combined with monitoring attack vectors via continuous security monitoring platforms, external brand monitoring can safeguard enterprises from unknown threats. Moreover, this approach gives security teams a better chance at responding quickly.
Continuous monitoring is a far more nimble approach when compared to scheduled pentests. While the latter is useful, solely relying on it to unearth network deficiencies is a mistake. Attackers might change their tactics by the time enterprises fix issues, causing the entire exercise to be rendered obsolete.
Next-gen SIEM
SIEM has played a large role in advancing modern cybersecurity to where it is. However, modern teams need much more than a logging tool. In today’s fragmented and dispersed network landscape, knowing what is happening is not enough.
Teams need automated threat detection and mitigation, too. Machines form the bulk of entities accessing data these days, and a threat logging solution falls severely short. By the time the security team has a chance to respond, the machine will likely wreak havoc.
Next-gen SIEM adds threat mitigation to existing logging abilities and is an indispensable part of the modern security stack. Eric Parizo, Principal Analyst at Omdia, says, “They consistently deliver faster, simpler deployment; they provide superior systems management; faster and often transparent software upgrades; more frequent new features; new detection and parser content are often all handled by the vendor, akin to a managed service, and they can scale dynamically to automatically accommodate an increase in data sources or burst ingestion events.”
These benefits make next-gen SIEM a no-brainer for enterprises. The good news is next-gen SIEM abilities are integrated with modern EDR and UEBA platforms. With service providers clearly reacting to the modern threat landscape, enterprises have no excuse to stick to legacy SIEM solutions and jeopardize their security.
Incentivize employee reporting
Every enterprise’s biggest resource is its workforce. Why not incentivize employees to report suspicious incidents? Usually, security teams shy away from implementing such programs due to the high number of false positives.
While several false reports will distract security teams away from real threats, the core issue is the lack of employee security training. Firms continue to stick to tired old ways of training employees by delivering seminars and forcing them to understand complex jargon.
Modern companies tailor cybersecurity training by taking every employee’s technical skill into account. Simulation platforms give employees a chance to exercise their skills in a safe environment without fear of causing a breach.
These platforms also help employees change their behavior in the face of a threat. Instead of being merely “aware” of a threat, they act on it. The result is accurate threat evaluation and few false positives. Incentivizing employees to report threats or suspicious behavior will also push them to upskill themselves in cybersecurity. These processes create a win-win for enterprises.
Access monitoring
Monitoring network access is a basic cybersecurity task. However, this is a complex process for modern teams because of the machine-dominated landscape they face. Instead of relying on manual processes, security teams must integrate automation into their workflows.
Zero Trust (ZT) security philosophy is the best way of doing this. ZT emphasizes automation and least privilege access as standard, giving security teams more time to assess security threats.
For instance, ZT specifies that an entity can access data only for a specific period and has its credentials revoked once done. Forcing every entity to prove its identity removes the threat of expired or unused credentials being leveraged by malicious actors.
Least privilege also limits the number of IDs a team issues, ensuring fewer entry points for hackers or anyone else who could initiate a breach.
A nimble approach is critical
Modern enterprise cybersecurity must be nimble to work effectively. The principles outlined in this article will help security teams create a secure environment and more time for themselves to fully assess threats.
Working as a cyber security solutions architect, Alisa focuses on application and network security. Before joining us she held a cyber security researcher positions within a variety of cyber security start-ups. She also experience in different industry domains like finance, healthcare and consumer products.
