The increasing volume and sophistication of cyberattacks have naturally led many companies to invest in additional cybersecurity technologies. We know that expanded threat detection capabilities are necessary for protection, but they have also led to several unintended consequences. The "more is not always better" adage fits this situation perfectly.
An upcoming webinar by cybersecurity company Cynet (register here) sheds light on alert overload, the result of too many alerts. Beyond discussing the stress and strain placed on cybersecurity teams trying to sift through an ongoing barrage of threat alerts, Cynet shows how this situation actually degrades cybersecurity effectiveness. Then Cynet will talk about the way out – something important to almost every company suffering from alert overload.
The Real Impact of Alert Overload
It's interesting that threat alerts, which are so vital to protection have also become an obstacle. Cynet lays out two key reasons why this has come about. First, the number of real attacks faced by most companies on a daily basis has skyrocketed over the past dozen years. Second, security monitoring tools are very sensitive to anomalies, and often mistake legitimate actions for malicious ones.
Many security teams continuously face far more alerts than they can ever hope to handle. But, the security teams understand that missing dangerous alerts can lead to a cybersecurity disaster. This puts tremendous stress on cybersecurity professional who are tasked with a responsibility they cannot fulfill.
The Way Out
Cynet indicates two options for fixing the alert overload dilemma: outsourcing and technology. The Cynet webinar first discusses outsourcing to a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider that is tasked with monitoring, investigating, and responding to alerts is way to tap into a highly scalable resource than can remove the stress-intensive workloads from the security team. Then Cynet discusses the technology option, which must be implemented regardless of the outsourcing decision.
From a technology perspective, Cynet shows how companies can first make alerts more accurate, thereby dramatically reducing the number of alerts that must be addressed. Second, Cynet shows how response automation technology can eliminate much of the manual work associated with alert investigation and remediation. The webinar details the specific technologies that can be employed to automate response, even for smaller security teams with limited budgets and bandwidth.
