Search results

Modern organizations face a wide and constantly changing range of network security threats, and security leaders must constantly update... Network Security Network Security Threats & Solutions for Cybersecurity Leaders Tsippi Dach 2 min read Tsippi Dach Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 2/11/24 Published Modern organizations face a wide and constantly changing range of network security threats, and security leaders must constantly update their security posture against them. As threat actors change their tactics, techniques, and procedures, exploit new vulnerabilities , and deploy new technologies to support their activities — it’s up to security teams to respond by equipping themselves with solutions that address the latest threats. The arms race between cybersecurity professionals and cybercriminals is ongoing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, high-profile ransomware attacks took the industry by storm. When enterprise security teams responded by implementing secure backup functionality and endpoint detection and response, cybercriminals shifted towards double extortion attacks. The cybercrime industry constantly invests in new capabilities to help hackers breach computer networks and gain access to sensitive data. Security professionals must familiarize themselves with the latest network security threats and deploy modern solutions that address them. What are the Biggest Network Security Threats? 1. Malware-based Cyberattacks Malware deserves a category of its own because so many high-profile attacks rely on malicious software to work. These include everything from the Colonial Pipeline Ransomware attack to historical events like Stuxnet . Broadly speaking, cyberattacks that rely on launching malicious software on computer systems are part of this category. There are many different types of malware-based cyberattacks, and they vary widely in scope and capability. Some examples include: Viruses. Malware that replicates itself by inserting its own code into other applications are called viruses. They can spread across devices and networks very quickly. Ransomware. This type of malware focuses on finding and encrypting critical data on the victim’s network and then demanding payment for the decryption key. Cybercriminals typically demand payment in the form of cryptocurrency, and have developed a sophisticated industrial ecosystem for conducting ransomware attacks. Spyware. This category includes malware variants designed to gather information on victims and send it to a third party without your consent. Sometimes cybercriminals do this as part of a more elaborate cyberattack. Other times it’s part of a corporate espionage plan. Some spyware variants collect sensitive information that cybercriminals value highly. Trojans. These are malicious applications disguised as legitimate applications. Hackers may hide malicious code inside legitimate software in order to trick users into becoming victims of the attack. Trojans are commonly hidden as an email attachment or free-to-download file that launches its malicious payload after being opened in the victim’s environment. Fileless Malware. This type of malware leverages legitimate tools native to the IT environment to launch an attack. This technique is also called “living off the land” because hackers can exploit applications and operating systems from inside, without having to download additional payloads and get them past firewalls. 2. Network-Based Attacks These are attacks that try to impact network assets or functionality, often through technical exploitations. Network-based attacks typically start at the edge of the network, where it sends and receives traffic to the public internet. Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks. These attacks overwhelm network resources, leading to downtime and service unavailability, and in some cases, data loss . To launch DDoS attacks, cybercriminals must gain control over a large number of compromised devices and turn them into bots. Once thousands (or millions) of bots using unique IP addresses request server resources, the server breaks down and stops functioning. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: These attacks let cybercriminals eavesdrop on communications between two parties. In some cases, they can also alter the communications between both parties, allowing them to plan and execute more complex attacks. Many different types of man-in-the-middle attacks exist, including IP spoofing, DNS spoofing, SSL stripping, and others. 3. Social Engineering and Phishing These attacks are not necessarily technical exploits. They focus more on abusing the trust that human beings have in one another. Usually, they involve the attacker impersonating someone in order to convince the victim to give up sensitive data or grant access to a secure asset. Phishing Attacks. This is when hackers create fake messages telling victims to take some kind of action beneficial to the attacker. These deceptive messages can result in the theft of login credentials, credit card information, or more. Most major institutions are regularly impersonated by hackers running phishing scams, like the IRS . Social Engineering Attacks. These attacks use psychological manipulation to trick victims into divulging confidential information. A common example might be a hacker contacting a company posing as a third-party technology vendor, asking for access to a secure system, or impersonating the company CEO and demanding an employee pay a fictitious invoice. 4. Insider Threats and Unauthorized Access These network security threats are particularly dangerous because they are very difficult to catch. Most traditional security tools are not configured to detect malicious insiders, who generally have permission to access sensitive data and assets. Insider Threats. Employees, associates, and partners with access to sensitive data may represent severe security risks. If an authorized user decides to steal data and sell it to a hacker or competitor, you may not be able to detect their attack using traditional security tools. That’s what makes insider threats so dangerous, because they are often undetectable. Unauthorized Access. This includes a broad range of methods used to gain illegal access to networks or systems. The goal is usually to steal data or alter it in some way. Attackers may use credential-stuffing attacks to access sensitive networks, or they can try brute force methods that involve automatically testing millions of username and password combinations until they get the right one. This often works because people reuse passwords that are easy to remember. Solutions to Network Security Threats Each of the security threats listed above comes with a unique set of risks, and impacts organizations in a unique way. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to navigating these risks. Every organization has to develop a cybersecurity policy that meets its specific needs. However, the most secure organizations usually share the following characteristics. Fundamental Security Measures Well-configured Firewalls. Firewalls control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on security rules. These rules can deny unauthorized traffic attempting to connect with sensitive network assets and block sensitive information from traveling outside the network. In each case, robust configuration is key to making the most of your firewall deployment . Choosing a firewall security solution like AlgoSec can dramatically improve your defenses against complex network threats. Anti-malware and Antivirus Software. These solutions detect and remove malicious software throughout the network. They run continuously, adapting their automated scans to include the latest threat detection signatures so they can block malicious activity before it leads to business disruption. Since these tools typically rely on threat signatures, they cannot catch zero-day attacks that leverage unknown vulnerabilities. Advanced Protection Tools Intrusion Prevention Systems. These security tools monitor network traffic for behavior that suggests unauthorized activity. When they find evidence of cyberattacks and security breaches, they launch automated responses that block malicious activity and remove unauthorized users from the network. Network Segmentation. This is the process of dividing networks into smaller segments to control access and reduce the attack surface. Highly segmented networks are harder to compromise because hackers have to repeatedly pass authentication checks to move from one network zone to another. This increases the chance that they fail, or generate activity unusual enough to trigger an alert. Security and Information Event Management (SIEM) platforms. These solutions give security analysts complete visibility into network and application activity across the IT environment. They capture and analyze log data from firewalls, endpoint devices, and other assets and correlate them together so that security teams can quickly detect and respond to unauthorized activity, especially insider threats. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). These solutions provide real-time visibility into the activities of endpoint devices like laptops, desktops, and mobile phones. They monitor these devices for threat indicators and automatically respond to identified threats before they can reach the rest of the network. More advanced Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions draw additional context and data from third party security tools and provide in-depth automation . Authentication and Access Control Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This technology enhances security by requiring users to submit multiple forms of verification before accessing sensitive data. This makes it useful against phishing attacks, social engineering, and insider threats, because hackers need more than just a password to gain entry to secure networks. MFA also plays an important role in Zero Trust architecture. Strong Passwords and Access Policies. There is no replacement for strong password policies and securely controlling user access to sensitive data. Security teams should pay close attention to password policy compliance, making sure employees do not reuse passwords across accounts and avoid simple memory hacks like adding sequential numbers to existing passwords. Preventing Social Engineering and Phishing While SIEM platforms, MFA policies and strong passwords go a long way towards preventing social engineering and phishing attacks, there are a few additional security measures worth taking to reduce these risks: Security Awareness Training. Leverage a corporate training LMS to educate employees about phishing and social engineering tactics. Phishing simulation exercises can help teach employees how to distinguish phishing messages from legitimate ones, and pinpoint the users at highest risk of falling for a phishing scam. Email Filtering and Verification: Email security tools can identify and block phishing emails before they arrive in the inbox. They often rely on scanning the reputation of servers that send incoming emails, and can detect discrepancies in email metadata that suggest malicious intent. Even if these solutions generally can’t keep 100% of malicious emails out of the inbox, they significantly reduce email-related threat risks. Dealing with DDoS and MitM Attacks These technical exploits can lead to significant business disruption, especially when undertaken by large-scale threat actors with access to significant resources. Your firewall configuration and VPN policies will make the biggest difference here: DDoS Prevention Systems. Protect against distributed denial of service attacks by implementing third-party DDoS prevention solutions, deploying advanced firewall configurations, and using load balancers. Some next generation firewalls (NGFWs) can increase protection against DDoS attacks by acting as a handshake proxy and dropping connection requests that do not complete the TCP handshake process. VPNs and Encryption: VPNs provide secure communication channels that prevent MitM attacks and data eavesdropping. Encrypted traffic can only be intercepted by attackers who go through the extra step of obtaining the appropriate decryption key. This makes it much less likely they focus on your organization instead of less secure ones that are easier to target. Addressing Insider Threats Insider threats are a complex security issue that require deep, multi-layered solutions to address. This is especially true when malicious insiders are actually employees with legitimate user credentials and privileges. Behavioral Auditing and Monitoring: Regular assessments and monitoring of user activities and network traffic are vital for detecting insider threats . Security teams need to look beyond traditional security deployments and gain insight into user behaviors in order to catch authorized users doing suspicious things like escalating their privileges or accessing sensitive data they do not normally access. Zero Trust Security Model. Assume no user or device is trustworthy until verified. Multiple layers of verification between highly segmented networks — with multi-factor authentication steps at each layer — can make it much harder for insider threats to steal data and conduct cyberattacks. Implementing a Robust Security Strategy Directly addressing known threats should be just one part of your cybersecurity strategy. To fully protect your network and assets from unknown risks, you must also implement a strong security posture that can address risks associated with new and emerging cyber threats. Continual Assessment and Improvement The security threat landscape is constantly changing, and your security posture must adapt and change in response. It’s not always easy to determine exactly how your security posture should change, which is why forward-thinking security leaders periodically invest in vulnerability assessments designed to identify security vulnerabilities that may have been overlooked. Once you have a list of security weaknesses you need to address, you can begin the process of proactively addressing them by configuring your security tech stack and developing new incident response playbooks. These playbooks will help you establish a coordinated, standardized response to security incidents and data breaches before they occur. Integration of Security Tools Coordinating incident response plans isn’t easy when every tool in your tech stack has its own user interface and access control permissions. You may need to integrate your security tools into a single platform that allows security teams to address issues across your entire network from a single point of reference. This will help you isolate and address security issues on IoT devices and mobile devices without having to dedicate a particular team member exclusively to that responsibility. If a cyberattack that targets mobile apps occurs, your incident response plan won’t be limited by the bottleneck of having a single person with sufficient access to address it. Similarly, highly integrated security tools that leverage machine learning and automation can enhance the scalability of incident response and speed up incident response processes significantly. Certain incident response playbooks can be automated entirely, providing near-real-time protection against sophisticated threats and freeing your team to focus on higher-impact strategic initiatives. Developing and Enforcing Security Policies Developing and enforcing security policies is one of the high-impact strategic tasks your security team should dedicate a great deal of time and effort towards. Since the cybersecurity threat landscape is constantly changing, you must commit to adapting your policies in response to new and emerging threats quickly. That means developing a security policy framework that covers all aspects of network and data security. Similarly, you can pursue compliance with regulatory standards that ensure predictable outcomes from security incidents. Achieving compliance with standards like NIST, CMMC, PCI-DSS, and HIPPA can help you earn customers’ trust and open up new business opportunities. AlgoSec: Your Partner in Network Security Protecting against network threats requires continuous vigilance and the ability to adapt to fast-moving changes in the security landscape. Every level of your organization must be engaged in security awareness and empowered to report potential security incidents. Policy management and visibility platforms like AlgoSec can help you gain control over your security tool configurations. This enhances the value of continuous vigilance and improvement, and boosts the speed and accuracy of policy updates using automation. Consider making AlgoSec your preferred security policy automation and visibility platform. Schedule a demo Related Articles Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Convergence didn’t fail, compliance did. Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Are you tired of playing whack-a-mole with cloud security risks? Do endless compliance reports and alert fatigue leave you feeling... Cloud Security Unleash the Power of Application-Level Visibility: Your Secret Weapon for Conquering Cloud Chaos Asher Benbenisty 2 min read Asher Benbenisty Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 7/22/24 Published Are you tired of playing whack-a-mole with cloud security risks? Do endless compliance reports and alert fatigue leave you feeling overwhelmed? It's time to ditch the outdated, reactive approach and embrace a new era of cloud security that's all about proactive visibility . The Missing Piece: Understanding Your Cloud Applications Imagine this: you have a crystal-clear view of every application running in your cloud environment. You know exactly which resources they're using, what permissions they have, and even the potential security risks they pose. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, it's not just possible – it's essential. Why? Because applications are the beating heart of your business. They're what drive your revenue, enable your operations, and store your valuable data. But they're also complex, interconnected, and constantly changing, making them a prime target for attackers. Gain the Upper Hand with Unbiased Cloud Discovery Don't settle for partial visibility or rely on your cloud vendor's limited tools. You need an unbiased, automated cloud discovery solution that leaves no stone unturned. With it, you can: Shine a Light on Shadow IT: Uncover all those rogue applications running without your knowledge, putting your organization at risk. Visualize the Big Picture: See the intricate relationships between your applications and their resources, making it easy to identify vulnerabilities and attack paths. Assess Risk with Confidence: Get a clear understanding of the security posture of each application, so you can prioritize your efforts and focus on the most critical threats. Stay Ahead of the Game: Continuously monitor your environment for changes, so you're always aware of new risks and vulnerabilities. From Reactive to Proactive: Turn Your Cloud into a Fortress Application-level visibility isn't just about compliance or passing an audit (though it certainly helps with those!). It's about fundamentally changing how you approach cloud security. By understanding your applications at a deeper level, you can: Prioritize with Precision: Focus your remediation efforts on the applications and risks that matter most to your business. Respond with Agility: Quickly identify and address vulnerabilities before they're exploited. Prevent Attacks Before They Happen: Implement proactive security measures, like tightening permissions and enforcing security policies, to stop threats in their tracks. Empower Your Teams: Give your security champions the tools they need to effectively manage risk and ensure the continuous security of your cloud environment. The cloud is an ever-changing landscape, but with application-level visibility as your guiding light, you can confidently navigate the challenges and protect your organization from harm. Don't be left in the dark – embrace the power of application understanding and take your cloud security to the next level! Schedule a demo Related Articles Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Convergence didn’t fail, compliance did. Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Explore Algosec's customer success stories to see how organizations worldwide improve security, compliance, and efficiency with our solutions. Dimension Data Enhances Delivery Of Managed Security Services With AlgoSec Organization DIMENSION DATA Industry Technology Headquarters Australia Download case study Share Customer
success stories "We were fortunate enough to get a double benefit from using AlgoSec in our environment — reducing costs to serve our clients, and expanding our service offerings" IT Solution Provider Streamlines and Automates Security Operations for Clients AlgoSec Business Impact Generate incremental revenue from new policy compliance management services Reduce cost of service for Managed Security Service offering Improve quality of service, assuring a direct and timely response to security issues Background Dimension Data, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Africa, provides global specialized IT services and solutions to help their clients plan, build, support and manage their IT infrastructures. The company serves over 6,000 clients in 58 countries and in all major industry verticals. Dimension Data serves 79% of the Global Fortune Top 100 and 63% of the Global Fortune 500. Challenge In an effort to bring greater efficiency and flexibility, Dimension Data Australia sought to apply security industry best practices and streamlined processes to its delivery methodology. Automation was identified as a key capability that would enable them to reduce service costs and increase quality of service. “The operational management of security infrastructure is quite labor intensive,” remarks Martin Schlatter, Security Services Product Manager at Dimension Data. “The principle reasons for automating managed services are reducing work time, freeing up people for other tasks, and leveraging expertise that is ‘built in’ the automated tool.” By doing this Dimension Data could offer better service to existing clients while expanding their client base. “Additionally, the increased appetite for the Managed Security Services offering has been fueled by an increasing focus on governance, risk management and compliance, and we are expected to deliver faster and more accurate visibility of the security and compliance posture of the network,” explains Schlatter. Solution Dimension Data selected the AlgoSec Security Management Solution as a part of their toolset to deliver their Managed Security Services, which include automated and fully integrated operational management of client security infrastructures. The intelligent automation at the heart of AlgoSec will enable Dimension Data’s team to easily and effectively perform change monitoring, risk assessment, compliance verification and policy optimization for their clients, and act upon the findings quickly. This includes getting rid of unused or obsolete rules in the policy, reordering rules to increase performance and identifying risky rules. Another key factor in the decision making process was the relationship between Dimension Data and AlgoSec. “AlgoSec was deemed most suitable to meet our delivery needs for Managed Services. We selected them for their specific technology fit, and flexibility to assist in growing our managed service business. The partnership element was eventually the overriding factor,” says Schlatter. Results With AlgoSec, Dimension Data is now able to deliver their clients a comprehensive view of the security posture of their network security devices. This is crucial to establishing a baseline understanding of a security network, which makes it possible to truly assess and remediate risks, errors and inefficiencies. The ability to automatically provide this type of information at the most accurate level provides a key competitive differentiator for the company and a large benefit for its clients. “The value-added contribution is saving time, in terms of automation,” remarked Schlatter. “We found a way to reduce costs by automating manual operational tasks. At the same time, we were fortunate enough to leverage AlgoSec to expand our service offerings, so we got a double benefit from using AlgoSec in our environment.” One of the major features of integrating AlgoSec into the Dimension Data solution is the ability to support multiple client domains from a single AlgoSec management console. “This scalable configuration has proven to be invaluable when managing multiple clients with complex multi-vendor, multi-device security environments,” says Schlatter. “It consolidates administrative tasks, cuts time and costs, and ensures proper administration and segregation of duties from our end.” AlgoSec enhances the Managed Security Services offerings by delivering comprehensive risk and compliance management. Dimension Data professionals can generate risk and audit-ready compliance reports in a fraction of the time and with much greater accuracy compared to traditional manual analysis. “Our clients who require ISO 27001 and PCI DSS accreditation have greatly benefitted from this,” said Schlatter. Schedule time with one of our experts

Webinars 5 proven ways to secure your hybrid network environment during team convergence Cloud and datacenter security teams are now one, but the tools, workflows, and policies haven’t caught up. Join ESG Principal Analyst John Grady alongside AlgoSec’s Field CTO Kyle Wickert and Product Manager Gal Yosef for a practical conversation on how leading organizations are tackling the operational challenges of security convergence. What you’ll learn: Why convergence between cloud and datacenter teams is accelerating How to reduce tool overload and policy inconsistencies What steps are teams taking to unify visibility, policy, and risk without slowing down delivery July 16, 2025 John Grady Principal Analyst | ESG Gal Yosef Product Manager | AlgoSec Kyle Wickert WW Strategic Architect Relevant resources 6 best practices to stay secure in the hybrid cloud Read Document Securing & managing hybrid network security See Documentation 6 must-dos to secure the hybrid cloud Read Document Choose a better way to manage your network Choose a better way to manage your network Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

Infrastructure as code: Connectivity risk analysis Datasheet Download PDF Schedule time with one of our experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

Business-Driven security management for financial institutions Download PDF Schedule time with one of our experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

The research found that organizations are prioritizing security, seamless integration, and compliance in hybrid cloud environments with Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, AWS and Microsoft Azure among the leaders The 2024 State of Network Security Report Reveals a Shift Towards Multi-Cloud Environments, with a 47% Increase in SD-WAN and 25% Uptick in SASE Adoption The research found that organizations are prioritizing security, seamless integration, and compliance in hybrid cloud environments with Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, AWS and Microsoft Azure among the leaders June 27, 2024 Speak to one of our experts RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ, June 27, 2024 – Global cybersecurity leader AlgoSec has released its annual ‘The State of Network Security Report’ providing a broad view of network security in hybrid cloud environments, identifying the most popular strategies adopted by security professionals. The report sheds light on key market trends and highlights the solutions and technologies that are in demand and why, helping organizations to navigate the complexities of modern network security. Based on two comparative surveys conducted in H2 of 2022 and 2023, AlgoSec’s research evaluated market leaders including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, Cisco and more, identifying significant shifts in cloud platform adoption, deployment of firewalls and Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN), as well as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) implementation. Key findings from the report include: ● Security, continuity, and compliance driving cloud platform selection – When selecting a cloud platform, organizations prioritize seamless integration, compliance, and robust security features. While the overall adoption of cloud platforms has grown, the ranking of different vendors has remained relatively stable. Azure continues to be the most widely used platform, closely followed by AWS, which has shown the fastest pace of growth. ● The growing adoption of SD-WAN – The move towards remote working and cloud computing has been the catalyst for the increased deployment of SD-WAN, ensuring secure and reliable connections across multiple locations. That is reflected in the report, with a steep decline in the number of organizations that had no SD-WAN solution from 55.2% in 2022 to 34% in 2023. ● The rise in SASE adoption – With network infrastructures becoming more complex, SASE has become a popular solution for organizations, consolidating multiple security functions into a single, unified, cloud service. The report found the rate of SASE adoption has increased year-on-year, with notable growth of Zscaler implementation from 21.9% in 2022 to 37% in 2023, and Prisma access implementation from 16.2% in 2022 to 22.8% in 2023. ● The increasing importance of firewalls in cloud estates – With more businesses looking to secure corporate resources across complex cloud networks, firewall implementation has increased as a result, providing organizations with the means to safeguard against external threats. The rate of adoption has risen significantly, with only 7.1% of respondents saying they had no firewalls deployed in 2023 - a sharp drop from the 28.4% recorded in 2022. ● The persistence of hybrid networks – Despite the general shift towards cloud adoption, on-premise data centers and device rollouts remain a significant feature of the network landscape. “According to our research there has been greater adoption of cloud-based network security solutions across the board”, said Eran Shiff, VP Product of AlgoSec. “However, there is still progress to be made in the SD-WAN and SASE space. By identifying the key trends and the most popular solutions on the market, we can provide some much-needed clarity into the complex world of network security.” The full report can be accessed here . About AlgoSec AlgoSec, a global cybersecurity leader, empowers organizations to secure application connectivity and cloud-native applications throughout their multi-cloud and hybrid network. Trusted by more than 1,800 of the world’s leading organizations, AlgoSec’s application-centric approach enables secure acceleration of business application deployment by centrally managing application connectivity and security policies across the public clouds, private clouds, containers, and on-premises networks. Using its unique vendor-agnostic deep algorithm for intelligent change management automation, AlgoSec enables the acceleration of digital transformation projects, helps prevent business application downtime and substantially reduces manual work and exposure to security risks. AlgoSec’s policy management and CNAPP platforms provide a single source for visibility into security and compliance issues within cloud-native applications as well as across the hybrid network environment, to ensure ongoing adherence to internet security standards, industry, and internal regulations. Learn how AlgoSec enables application owners, information security experts, DevSecOps and cloud security teams to deploy business applications up to 10 times faster while maintaining security at https://www.algosec.com . 

Enhance container security with Prevasio's sandbox. Isolate and "detonate" containers in a safe environment to uncover hidden threats and prevent breaches. Prevasio sandbox 'Detonates' containers in a safe virtual environment Network traffic analysis Prevasio Sandbox intercepts and inspects all network traffic generated by containers, including HTTPS traffic. SSL/TLS inspection is enabled with Prevasio’s MITM proxy certificate being dynamically injected into the virtual file system of the analysed container images. Currently, Prevasio Sandbox provides HTTPS interception for the 10 most common Linux distributions. The following example demonstrates an interception of HTTP and HTTPS traffic in a container spawned from a public Docker Hub image. Schedule a Demo Vulnerability scan Prevasio Sandbox scans container images for the presence of any vulnerable packages and libraries. For example, this ️ Docker Hub image contains critical vulnerabilities in 28 packages. Schedule a Demo ML classifier for malware Any x32/x64 ELF executable files created both during container image build phase and the runtime are scanned with Prevasio’s Machine Learing (ML) model. The ML model used by Prevasio relies on ELF file’s static characteristics, its entropy, and the sequence of its disassembled code. Here is an example of a malicious container image hosted️ at Docker Hub, that was picked up by Prevasio’s ML Classifier. Let’s see what happens if we recompile Mirai bot’s source code️ , by using custom domains for C2 (command-and-control) traffic. The Dockerfile with instructions to fetch, modify, and compile Mirai source code is available here️ . As you see in this example, the use of ML provides resistant detection, even if the malware was modified. Schedule a Demo Automated Pen-Test Full static visibility of the container’s internals is not sufficient to tell if a container image in question is safe indeed. During the last stage of its analysis, Prevasio Sandbox simulates attackers’ actions, first trying to fingerprint services running within the analysed container, and then engaging exploits against them. In addition to that, the pen-test performs a brute-force attack against an identified service (such as SSH, FTP or SQL), in order to find weak credentials that would allow the attackers to log in. As the pen-test is performed in an isolated environment, it poses no risk to the production environment. The following example demonstrates how the automated pen-test has identified the type of MySQL server running inside a container spawned from this️ Docker Hub image, then successfully brute-forced it and found working credentials against it. Schedule a Demo System event graph Prevasio collects kernel-level system events within a running container: File system events Network events Process lifecycle events Kernel syscalls User call events These events are then correlated into a hierarchy, visually displayed in the form of a force-directed graph. The graph allows to visually identify problematic containers and also quickly establish remote access points. Here is an example of an event graph generated for ️this Docker Hub image. Please note the geographic distribution of the bitcoin peer-to-peer nodes. Schedule a Demo Select a size Network traffic analysis Vulnerability scan ML classifier for malware Automated Pen-Test System event graph Get the latest insights from the experts A Guide to Upskilling Your Cloud Architects & Security Teams in 2023 Learn more Securing Cloud-Native Environments: Containerized Applications, Serverless Architectures, and Microservices Learn more Understanding and Preventing Kubernetes Attacks and Threats Learn more Choose a better way to manage your network

ALGOSEC CLOUD Download PDF Schedule time with one of our experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

Looking to learn about cloud security compliance requirements and standards This article covers everything you need to know how AlgoSec can help your company Cloud compliance standards & security best practices ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk White paper Choose a better way to manage your network

Overcome hybrid and multi-cloud security challenges with strategies to enhance visibility, enforce policies, and protect data across diverse cloud environments. Hybrid & multi-cloud Security challenges Overview Cloud computing provides improved security, agility, and flexibility. However, integrating this new service into legacy IT environments comes with some great concerns. In a recent survey conducted by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and AlgoSec, security, data loss and compliance were identified as the top 3 concerns when moving to the cloud. Schedule a Demo Survey creation and methodology The Cloud Security Alliance is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to widely promote best practices for ensuring cyber security in cloud computing and IT technologies. CSA is also tasked with educating various stakeholders within these industries about security concerns in all other forms of computing. CSA’s membership is comprised of a broad coalition of industry practitioners, corporations, and professional associations. One of CSA’s primary goals is to conduct surveys that assess information security trends. These surveys help gauge the maturity of information security technology at various points in the industry, as well as the rate of adoption of security best practices. AlgoSec, a leading network security solution provider, commissioned CSA to develop a survey to add to the industry’s knowledge about hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud security, and to prepare this report of the survey’s findings. Algosec financed the project and co-developed the initiative by participating with CSA in the development of survey questions addressing hybrid cloud security. The survey was conducted online by CSA, from December 2018 to February 2019, and was submitted to nearly 700 IT and security professionals from a variety of organization sizes and locations. Approximately 500 organizations answered the majority of the 20-question survey. The data analysis presented here was performed by CSA’s research team. Schedule a Demo Introduction Year after year, the adoption of cloud technologies continues to increase. Companies of all sizes are taking advantage of the value in cloud computing with its improved security, agility, and flexibility all of which are crucial for success in today’s market. However, like any technology, cloud computing comes with particular concerns and complications, especially when integrating multiple different cloud services with legacy IT environments. To complicate things further, cloud platforms include ecosystems of services that aren’t always fully compatible with each other, causing data ownership and interoperability issues. Today’s cloud adoption requires focused attention on data migration, expert levels of knowledge per service, and an understanding of vendor security and responsibility. One of the challenges of this multi-cloud integration is assigning assets to different types of cloud environments, including public and private cloud services, as well as multiple cloud public platforms and services. The various cloud options must also be integrated with on-premise networks and other third-party services. To top it all off, the final computing environment your organization achieves, regardless of its complexity, must be able to remain secure and stay current with regulatory compliance protocols. To gain a better understanding of information security concerns in this complex environment, the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), in cooperation with AlgoSec, surveyed 700 IT professionals on the following topics related to cloud usage within their enterprises: Types of cloud platforms in use Proportion of workloads actively in the cloud New workloads expected to be moved into the cloud Anticipated risks and concerns about potential migrations to the cloud Challenges managing security after adopting cloud technologies Methods for addressing these security challenges Challenges related to network or application outages Methods for and results of addressing outages and security incidents Schedule a Demo Key findings This survey demonstrated the complex nature of today’s cloud computing environment, and its attendant concerns regarding the management of security risks. The survey also identified potential disconnects and misinformation in the industry related to the importance of visibility into critical cloud resources and the professional security expertise necessary when using cloud services. The survey illustrates the need within our industry to better address these issues before adopting cloud technologies in order to create practical and manageable network environments–rather than simply putting out fires as they arise after deploying new technologies. It also highlighted the need to maintain cloud service specific knowledge during the growth of the service in order to stay current with new features and functionality. Lack of visibility into cloud resources Organizations adopting new technologies in the public cloud may not be considering the potential risks related to visibility until they eventually encounter security problems in practice. A third of respondents (39%) identified visibility as a concern that had arisen when their organization considered adopting a public cloud. However, more than three-quarters of respondents rated visibility as a challenge related to managing their security once in the public cloud. When asked about the level of challenge presented by lack of visibility into the entire cloud estate, 44% reported this issue to be a moderate security challenge, and 36% reported it as a maximum challenge. Cloud computing complexity More than half of survey respondents operate within a complex cloud computing environment, including multiple clouds (66% of respondents) and hybrid clouds (55%). Many also rely on a combination of hybrid and multi-cloud technologies (36%). Of the nearly 700 people who were given the survey, less than 10% of the enterprises reported that they do not use any public cloud services. Meanwhile, many respondents expect to increase their use of cloud computing technologies by 2020. The number of enterprises that host more than 40% of their total workloads in a public cloud should double within one year according to their reports. Lack of security expertise While a third of respondents reported lack of expertise as a concern when considering moving to the public cloud, nearly three-quarters of respondents already using the cloud cited this same concern as a challenge for security management. When asked to rate the level of challenge to managing security that is posed by a lack of expertise in cloud-native security constructs, 43% of respondents rated it a moderate challenge, and 30% a maximum challenge. The importance of staff having security expertise is emphasized once again with regards to network and application outages. More than 200 survey respondents indicated their organization had experienced an outage in the previous year. When surveyed about the causes, most respondents reported they did not know its cause (potentially a visibility issue). Another 20% identified the cause as operational human errors and mismanagement of devices. Together, these findings indicate that adequate security expertise may often be an afterthought. Regulatory compliance and legal concerns When enterprises are deciding whether to move their critical resources into a public cloud platform, one of the top three concerns they report is regulatory compliance, with legal concerns following closely behind. More than half of survey respondents (57%) reported these concerns about regulatory compliance, and nearly half indicated a similar unease regarding legal concerns (44%) when adopting public cloud services. These issues remain at the forefront of an organization’s security posture after cloud computing services are adopted. More than three-quarters of respondents found compliance and preparing for audits to be a challenging aspect of managing the security of their public cloud resources (with 45% reporting this to be a moderate challenge and 31% reporting maximum challenge). Schedule a Demo Background on the cloud today In order to reduce costs, increase scalability, and avoid relying on a single provider for all network needs, many organizations use multiple different cloud providers. Most survey respondents (66%) use multiple clouds (defined as a multi-cloud environment). In fact, more than a third (35%) of respondents using cloud leverage 3+ cloud platform vendors*. In addition to this complexity, organizations may use both public and private clouds. More than half (55%) operate in a hybrid-cloud environment (using at a minimum at least one public and at least one private cloud service)**. More than a third (36%) have a combination of multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud environment***. This trend of using both a hybrid cloud and multi-cloud strategy continues to rise and is predicted to increase significantly in the next three years. * Data was obtained by identifying the percentage of respondents who selected more than one provider on either of the questions: Which public cloud platforms does your organization use? or Which private cloud platforms does your organization use? ** Data was obtained by identifying the percentage of respondents who selected at least one public and one private cloud provider from the questions: Which public cloud platforms does your organization use? and Which private cloud platforms does your organization use? *** Data was obtained by identifying the percentage of respondents who selected at least one public and at least one private cloud provider, and also selected more than one public or private cloud provider for the questions: Which public cloud platforms does your organization use? and Which private cloud platforms does your organization use? Over the past decade, enterprises have made plans to move their workloads from data centers to the cloud, and the past two years were no exception. The percentage of enterprises with a majority of their workload in the public cloud (61-100% of workload) has doubled from a survey conducted in 2017 to 14% today. When asked what percentage of workloads an organization is operating in the public cloud, 0- 20% was the most commonly selected response (38% of respondents). About a quarter of respondents (21%) reported hosting between 20 and 40% of their workload in the public cloud, while another quarter (25%) reported already having more than 40% of their total workload in the public cloud. A small sample of highly regulated industries like healthcare and financial services more frequently reported having less of their information (up to 20% of workload) in the cloud, when compared with other industries*. Respondents were also asked to predict the percentage of workload their organization plans to move to the public cloud by the end of 2020. Respondents indicated they expect these workloads to increase, with an approximate doubling of the number of organizations who would likely be hosting more than 40% of their total workloads in the public cloud. While 9% of respondents reported currently not using the cloud for any workload at all, that percentage dropped to 4% in their projections for 2020. Those in the IT industry were more likely to select 81-100% of workload in the cloud (20%) than those in regulated industries like healthcare (7%) and financial services (8%). * The sample size for healthcare was 35 respondents, and finance was 74 respondents Schedule a Demo Concerns and challenges: ensuring security and compliance With easy accessibility to cloud services, each separate business department in an organization has more control and ownership over the services they use. With this increased use, organizations must identify which department(s) will be responsible for security. Most survey respondents (79%) indicated that their IT department held this jurisdiction. Of those responses, just 15% had nominated a dedicated cloud security team within their IT department. Meanwhile, the remaining respondents relied on other security services, such as DevOps or a managed service provider. As easily available as cloud services are and the speed in which they are being adopted, responsibility for security should be considered shared throughout the organization with each business unit understanding the security issues around each service they are using. The vast majority of respondents (81%) expressed concerns about security when considering moving data to the cloud. Respondents’ concerns about data loss and leakage risks were also high (62% of respondents) when considering moving to the public cloud. Companies already face security issues with on-premise solutions. Moving to the cloud can further expose these vulnerabilities, making the need to protect data before migration an important task. The majority of respondents had high levels of concern for security when adopting public cloud platforms, however, more research needs to be conducted to better understand how these concerned users are using their cloud platforms. Using cloud platforms as a hosted service can amplify existing vulnerabilities when directly migrating enterprise applications. Building or re-building within the cloud platform allows enterprise applications to take advantage of cloud native features including security. In addition to common compliance frameworks (e.g. ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOX, NIST 800-53), cloud providers are continuously upgrading services and platforms to be compliant with new regulatory policies and industry standards, such as the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and CSA Security, Trust, Assurance, Risk (STAR). In recent years, we have seen increased enforcement and greater penalties for security violations. Meanwhile, customers using cloud services may be uncertain about who is liable for any such security violations. More than half of survey respondents (57%) reported concerns about regulatory compliance, and nearly half indicated unease over legal concerns (44%) when adopting public cloud services. There is still ambiguity on how customers leverage these platforms for compliance and who is liable for regulatory violations. Many respondents (39%) indicated that one of the items of concern when moving towards public cloud adoption is visibility into resources in the cloud environment. In a 2017 survey , this concern was significant enough to keep organizations from adopting the public cloud. The need for cloud visibility has given rise to new security tools and vendor solutions to add to the cloud platforms and services that are already being utilized. Leveraging existing standards and open tools can guide organizations in measuring the security, transparency, assurance, and risk of each service. Even with the rise in available security tools, consumers will likely need to push their cloud service providers (CSPs) for higher transparency and accountability. Organizations may also be scrambling to train and acquire talent to manage security skills gaps related to the use of public clouds. These concerns need to be addressed by customers and cloud service providers equally, if the industry hopes to achieve robust security and transparency as a whole. About a third of respondents reported a lack of expertise and a quarter reported lack of staff to manage their cloud environments. Half of this survey’s respondents expressed concern about integrating the public cloud with their current IT infrastructure. Additionally, the above-mentioned 2017 survey found that 61% of respondents already using a hybrid cloud reported that consistent management of security across the hybrid environment is one of their organization’s greatest challenges. With the apparent rise in multi-cloud platform usage and the move to public cloud environments, the skills gap concern will need to address management guidelines for their programs, which includes proper use of provider security tools and default configurations. Less than 2% of respondents mentioned vendor lock-in as a major concern. This correlates to the rise and practice of hybrid cloud and multi-cloud environments, as indicated from earlier analysis. Other interesting findings: Respondents who reported experiencing a cloud-related security incident in the past 12 months were more likely to report lack of staff to manage the cloud environment as a concern (44%) when compared with those who had not experienced a security incident (17%). Of the 58 respondents that recorded experiencing a cloud-related security incident in the past 12 months, 25 reported lack of staff to manage the cloud environment as a concern. Of the 461 respondents that did not record having experiencing a security incident in the past 12 months, 56 reported lack of staff to manage the cloud environment as a concern. Respondents were asked to rate the level of challenge several different issues posed to managing security in the public cloud (no challenge, minimum challenge, moderate challenge, maximum challenge). The issue found most frequently to be a maximum challenge was proactively detecting misconfigurations and security risks, and was followed by a lack of visibility into the entire cloud estate. These challenges, if not managed correctly, can lead to many important security problems. When asked to rate security concerns related to running applications in the public cloud, the highest rated concerns were sensitive customer/personal data leakage, unauthorized access, and infiltration in more sensitive areas in the network (in the cloud or on-prem). Security in the public cloud remains a shared responsibility of providers and end users. To ensure adequate management of security, providers must continue to implement secure default configurations for their customers and alert customers systematically and reliably when these configurations are altered. Meanwhile, when organizations adopt cloud services, it will likely be necessary to acquire tools and staff to manage security properly in these new environments. Schedule a Demo Security management: tools and countermeasues While the use of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments can provide many benefits, it also increases the complexity of securing these environments. To better understand how organizations are navigating these complexities, survey respondents were asked what network security controls they use to secure their public cloud deployments. The majority of the respondents reported using more than one security control to manage their public cloud deployments, with the most popular choice being cloud-native security controls (70%). In a similar study performed in 2017, only about a quarter of respondents were using their cloud providers’ native security tools. This indicates a significant increase in the use of CSP native security controls. There was also a significant number of respondents who reported using cloud providers’ additional security controls (58%) and virtual editions of traditional firewalls (45%). Far fewer, reported the utilization of host based enforcement (32%). Security management can take many forms within security application orchestration. Respondents were asked whether they currently manage security as part of their application orchestration process, and the majority (59%) reported yes. To follow up, respondents were then asked what they use to manage security as part of their application orchestration process in public cloud. The responses were mixed. The most common response was orchestration and configuration management tools (33%). Other common responses included cloud native tools (29%). Less common was the use of home-grown scripts leveraging cloud vendors’ APIs (13%). Early detection of potential security risks continues to be an important aspect of security management. The tools utilized to detect and manage these risks or vulnerabilities are vital to early detection. In this survey, about a third of respondents use their cloud providers’ risk assessment service to detect and manage vulnerabilities, while close to a quarter use designated third-party security tools. Another fifth of respondents use generic risk or vulnerability assessment tools. This indicates that less than half are utilizing tools above and beyond what is provided by the CSP. By doing this, organizations’ trust is heavily placed in CSPs’ assessment services without validation and could leave the organization vulnerable. Schedule a Demo Security incidents and cloud outages: preparation and recovery When asked about security concerns related to applications in the public cloud, nearly 90% of this survey’s participants reported moderate or high concern regarding data leakage; unauthorized access; and infiltration of sensitive network areas. About two-thirds reported the same levels of concern about outages due to DoS attacks; data corruption; and resource abuse. Many enterprises are ill-prepared for security incidents, such as breaches and outages. When asked whether their organization had experienced a cloud-related security incident in the last 12 months, 11% reported definitively having had a security incident, and another 30% were either unsure or could not disclose. In the last year, 43% of respondents’ organizations have experienced a network or application outage. Other interesting findings: Respondents from Asia were more likely to report experiencing a cloud-related security incident in the past year (17%) than were respondents from the EU (5%) or the US (8%). Other interesting findings: Respondents in a small sample of regulated industries like healthcare (53%) and financial services (52%) were more likely to report having experienced a network or application outage than those in other industries (33%). The contributors to these outages included both human error and numerous technical problems, such as power outages and hardware failures. When asked to identify the primary contributor to one recent outage, most respondents were unsure of its cause (which may indicate a problem related to visibility). The next most popular answers were operational human errors and mismanagement of devices (20%) and device configuration changes (15%). For over 25% of respondents, it took over 3 hours to restore normal operation. Significant delays could lead to significant revenue loss for an organization through operational inefficiency, lack of productivity, and leaving the organization vulnerable. Other interesting findings: Those who reported having experienced a network or application outage were less likely to have had their outage resolved within an hour (10%), when compared with those who reported having an application outage but no security incidents (42%). Ninety-seven percent of respondents reported their outages were resolved within one working day. Schedule a Demo Conclusions and recommendations Many organizations are migrating more and more of their workloads to cloud-based resources, including hybrid environments, multi-cloud environments, and combinations of the two. These organizations also are working to integrate various applications from public and private cloud providers with their own on-premise resources. As cloud computing environments become even more complex, it is critical for IT professionals to have visibility into their cloud-based resources and to be able to trust the expertise of their own security staff and their cloud provider’s staff. These concerns are underscored by the many new regulatory compliance and legal obligations, making it absolutely necessary for these responsibilities and liabilities to be clearly designated. Build in security and compliance The use of multiple cloud platforms and services offers best in breed capabilities and reduces the reliance on a single vendor. The added need for visibility of data across multiple services has given rise to even more security tools and vendor solutions. This increased adoption of services, combining traditional on-prem and multiple cloud offerings, adds to an already complex environment. This complexity in a cloud environment increases the level of expertise needed to manage and secure these services. Organizations will need to understand how to leverage cloud platforms and use provider tools in order to maximize the full benefits of the cloud. Cloud providers continue to offer native tooling with added visibility and security, often meeting or exceeding other traditional (on-premise and third-party) security controls. Cloud provider platforms and services meet some of the more strict compliance requirements for industry and government regulations. Architecting your IT environment to the services and platforms that are being used allows cloud customers to use cloud native tools for improved security and built-in compliance across complex environments. “ Take responsibility for security internally The cloud service provider and customer IT management teams should be able to articulate their security objectives and establish a baseline level of security requirements that can be measured and shared by both. This shared responsibility approach can go a long way in bolstering transparency and assisting with additional adherence to security regulations and best practices. It is essential for customers to build trust with cloud service providers before migrating any of your organization’s vital resources to the provider’s cloud. Today’s cloud adoption model doesn’t always allow a procurement team to stand between the company data and cloud services being used. The easy adoption and accessibility to cloud services leads to business units throughout organizations using services that are unknown and often undiscovered by IT management and cloud procurement teams. In addition to establishing shared security responsibility with cloud providers, each separate business unit should have a level of awareness of the security objectives established by their organization. Identifying a department responsible for cloud security, establishing cloud security policies across business units, and raising the level of education and awareness for all employees completes the modernized shared responsibility model. The data owner can take responsibility for data security that includes external business partners and internal business units. “ While many capabilities expand in the cloud, existing and future security risks and vulnerabilities unfortunately may also expand. Cloud providers continue to offer more security features and end users are working to increase staff and expertise to manage these tools. Detecting misconfigurations and security risks Training and acquiring staff to manage security remains a challenge for properly implementing cloud services. In addition to staying up-to-date on security best practices, cloud customers struggle to keep up with the rapid advancement of features constantly being added to the cloud services. The cloud providers need to play a role in both securing the cloud services and ensuring that customers are using the services securely. As cloud services evolve, new features are added to improve functionality and security of cloud services. Customer awareness of these features and the training of secure operation should be a priority for the cloud provider upon releasing updates to their services. Additionally, safe and secure default configurations should be implemented to ensure exposed features aren’t turned on without the acknowledgement or understanding of the customers. Finally, customer notification of misconfigurations of publicly exposed services, insufficient credentials, and misuse of any features should be a built-in part of the service. Cloud customers and providers need to work together to improve the overall operation, management, and security of cloud services.“ When to automate The increased adoption of cloud services and features must be met with a skill set that matches the complex cloud environment. The skills to increase visibility and security in cloud service operations involves the training of people toward the management of each service and the ability to automate features when possible. Automating components of your security aids in the lack of expertise and staff to manage a complex cloud environment. Log activity, data aggregation, threat detection, and security policy management are just a few pieces of where automation can help more quickly and accurately identify security gaps, compliance violations, service misconfigurations, service outages, and other anomalous behaviors. As we look to accelerate the use of new technologies, devices, and users in the cloud environment, automation promises to help organizations and their staff keep up with the security and operational demands of tomorrow’s cloud.” Organizations are continuing to migrate more of their workload into complex cloud environments such as hybrid, multi-cloud, and a combination of the two. These environments are the new reality for organizations and addressing security concerns and challenges, discovered through this survey, is of the utmost importance. Security challenges arise in these complex environments due to several factors including lack of visibility, regulatory compliance and legal concerns, and lack of staff expertise. Organizations are able to remedy the situation by building in security and compliance, proactively taking responsibility of security, establishing safe and secure default configurations, and utilizing automation. Schedule a Demo Survey participant demographics This survey was conducted from December 2018 to February 2019 and gathered 700 responses from IT and security professionals from a variety of organization sizes, industries, locations, and roles. Let's start your journey to our business-centric network security. Schedule a Demo Select a size Overview Survey creation and methodology Introduction Key findings Background on the cloud today Concerns and challenges: ensuring security and compliance Security management: tools and countermeasues Security incidents and cloud outages: preparation and recovery Conclusions and recommendations Survey participant demographics Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network