Security is considered a key performance indicator, along with traditional KPIs for reliability, performance, and availability. Therefore, it is imperative to deploy visibility and threat detection capabilities on multi-vendor and virtualized network and service infrastructures in this interconnected world.
Cybercrime has reached unprecedented levels in recent months, with cybercriminals exploiting new vulnerabilities and disrupting VPN networks as well as firewalls and cloud tools used by employees working from home. By preventing legitimate users from accessing networks, attackers can freeze operations and cause financial loss and damage a company’s reputation.
Bad actors are increasingly finding new ways to infiltrate networks by arming unknown attack vectors, exploiting mobile hotspots, and targeting compromised Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Thus, the complexity and frequency of cybercrime threats worry companies. They want unparalleled visibility and insight into the growing threat landscape to respond appropriately to attacks.
As if 2020 didn’t present enough challenges, it has also led to an increase in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, ransomware, and malware. Additionally, as businesses that have been affected by one or more of these network security incidents can attest, cyber attacks can have a devastating impact on businesses. It is the death knell for most organizations when they cannot access critical data or systems remotely.
As businesses increasingly rely on network and cloud architectures, this trend has exposed new cyber attack risks. To combat this clear and current danger, Network Operations (NetOps) and Security Operations (SecOps) teams must step out of their respective silos and work together to address this growing threat. As businesses increasingly adopt software-defined data centers and public and private cloud architecture, collaboration between silos is increasingly important.
Collaboration between network and security teams is essential
Protecting our cyber-connected world of networks and devices from the growing number of attacks is essential. Security teams must detect, validate, investigate and respond to threats on an ongoing basis. However, security is also a strategic priority for network teams. Reducing security risks is one of the critical measures of network team success, ahead of quality of service, network visibility, and end-user experience. It is also essential that the network and security teams work together to determine whether an IT service event is a performance issue or a cyber attack. In addition, collaboration between teams will improve costs and operational efficiency, reduce overall risks and accelerate the pace of resolution of security incidents.
According to a recent Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) white paper on NetOps and SecOps collaboration, 35% of network operations teams say security system issues, such as bad policies and device failures, have led to a complex service that is difficult to troubleshoot. performance issues. An additional 35% indicated that incidents initially presented as complex service performance issues requiring collaboration across silos.
As such, IT leaders need to foster greater collaboration by providing a transformative view of security across operations and infrastructure, which includes the following:
• A data repository that can be used by both security and network teams
• A set of tools that enables collaborative workflows
• Documented policies, regulations and best practices to formalize collaboration between teams
This effort will provide the solid foundation needed to configure and implement a robust cybersecurity strategy to protect what is considered the new gold for any business: its data.
Calling all stakeholders
Cybercrime has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, and cybercriminals will continue to develop new methods to launch sophisticated attacks. Only a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders in the internet community, connected device manufacturers, network equipment manufacturers, internet service providers, cloud providers, integrators, government agencies, businesses and the cybersecurity industry will successfully create a more secure cyberspace for all.
Gaurav Mohan is the Vice President of Sales, SAARC and Middle East, Netscout
Read: Faces to watch: Cybersecurity leaders in the MEA region
