The dynamic nature of cybersecurity, the changes in the threat landscape, and the expansion of the attack surface lead organizations to add more security solutions—from different vendors—creating a layered security infrastructure that introduces new challenges to any team, with a much more significant impact on small ones.
And yet, sophisticated attacks continue to bypass these advanced security layers while FOMO (fear of missing out) compels security teams to evaluate every new solution that comes out.
A new guide, "How Security Consolidation Helps Small Security Teams" (download here), reviews the challenges of a layered, multi-vendor security approach for protecting your internal environment and reveals why the concept of consolidation of security solutions is becoming the go-to security approach of many CISOs with small teams.
Having a single consolidated solution for protecting your internal environment can free up much of your small team's time and reduce your organization's overall workload.
In order to ensure a consolidated solution will have a real impact on your operations and management, reduce time-to-remediation, and save costs, there are a few "must-haves" to watch out for:
More than visibility
When you have multiple solutions, you get fragmented visibility to certain parts of your internal environment, making it easier for malicious actors to bypass existing security. A consolidated solution will provide complete, context-based visibility across your internal network to ensure the detection of stealthy attacks.
Combining capabilities
A consolidation solution that combines different capabilities currently provided by different tools and a few vendors will save your resources and give you a more accurate understanding of your risk and better protection. Ideally, a consolidated solution for your internal environments should include these capabilities:
- NGAV for basic endpoint malware prevention.
- EDR for more advanced endpoint threat prevention, detection and response.
- NTA/NDR for detection of malicious activity, such as lateral movement, on your network.
- UEBA for detecting anomalous or malicious user behaviors.
- Deception Technology for exposing attackers that have bypassed your security controls by making them access fake assets.
Automation goes a long way
A solution that consolidates all you need for fast, accurate, and efficient incident response in a single pane of glass has to be heavily automated. From prevention actions, through accurate detection and prioritization of threats, to investigation workflows and remediation, automation saves time and resources, leverages your team's existing skills, and facilitates adhering to compliance requirements.
Make the most of what's out-of-the-box.
With a small team, you are always short on resources; when you look into consolidation, verify what comes pre-integrated. For example, out-of-the-box remediation tools and playbooks augment your team's capabilities and reduce their manual efforts, enabling them to accelerate the remediation process and shorten the time to respond.
Managed Detection and Response Services.
With a small team, you can't have it all, and access to Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services will give you a high level of expertise as well as advanced research capabilities. In some cases, the solution provider also provides MDR services (for free or for an additional charge); make sure these services include:
- 24X7 proactive monitoring of the organization's environment
- Real-time augmentation of detection mechanisms
- Management of events, alerts, customers inquiries, and incidents
- Proactive threat intelligence and threat hunting
- File analysis and attack investigation
- Remediation guidance and customized playbooks
- Domain expert support for ongoing inquiries and assistance
A single consolidated solution that will keep your internal environment will truly help your small team handle operations, leverage their skills, and optimize their resource allocation.
