Unifying fragmented security: Transformation through platformization

From the C-suite to the Security Operations Center (SOC), the growing scope and scale of cyberattacks is raising security concerns to new heights. The total annual economic impact from cybercrime is estimated to exceed $10.5 trillion by 2025, and CEOs need to combat ransomware, malware, phishing, DDOS, and other cybersecurity incidents. We are looking for a more effective approach. He also reports that SOC operators no longer have time to review 51% of daily alerts, so cybersecurity professionals are using AI, automation, and more to detect, avoid, and stop cybersecurity risks. and a more seamless cloud security architecture.

Meanwhile, the growth of cloud computing, mobile devices and apps, AI, the Internet of Things, and edge computing are creating additional vulnerabilities that attract hackers and cybercriminals. According to an IBM study, the average cost of a data breach now stands at $4.45 million worldwide, an increase of 15% in one year. In the United States, the average cost is as high as $9.48 million.

With time running out until hackers gain access, businesses and cybersecurity leaders must rethink their information security strategies and rebuild resilient organizations. This is about deploying automation to allow cybersecurity professionals to spend more time on their jobs, and incrementally integrating security solutions up front rather than piecing them together afterwards. It means delivering unattainable cyber defense outcomes.

This leap to next-generation security is built on a hybrid-by-design information technology architecture, accelerated by AI, and enabled through a fundamental and pervasive strategy called platformization.

The average organization partners with more than 13 security vendors, pays for 31 different security solutions, and manages a complex security posture.

Fragmentation leads to vulnerabilities

In response to the increasing volume of cyberattacks, many companies are following a common strategy for managing cybersecurity risks. This means we add individual solutions ad hoc as needed to address ransomware attacks, malicious software, phishing, and social network security challenges. engineering, attacks on critical infrastructure, etc. However, over time, this cybersecurity strategy has evolved over time to the extent that protection is provided by individual solutions that are not necessarily designed to fit into a broader security strategy or address all cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Create a patchwork.

As complexity impacts performance and costs continue to rise, three in four organizations are consolidating their security vendors, compared to just 29% in 2020. A recent IBM Institute for Business Value (IBM IBV) study also focused on the issue of complexity. A lack of common tools for stakeholders across the enterprise is recognized by executives as the biggest barrier to progress in security and cyber defense.

The state of fragmented solutions reflects a more fundamental problem: not approaching security strategically. Although 86% of organizations have a security strategy, an IBM IBV study found that only 35% have started executing on that strategy.

Fragmentation means that many organizations' data security posture becomes reactive and tactical rather than proactive and strategic. No one knows the complete picture of security risks at the enterprise level. Addressing unknown security threats without clear and comprehensive insight is becoming an increasingly unsustainable cyber risk management strategy.

Organizations that integrate security through a platform-based approach experience faster incident response, responding to cyber attacks 55% faster and remediating security events 58% faster.

Platformization changes the security paradigm

As the tempo of cyberattacks increases and the cost of security breaches increases, there is an urgent need to move from piecemeal, point-based security to a seamless, platform-based approach. Platformization allows enterprises to simplify, strengthen, and unify their security efforts and stakeholder partnerships. This is not possible when solutions designed for standalone deployment are improvised for integration, often in suboptimal and costly ways.

A strategically designed portfolio of solutions running on a common platform is critical for integration, enterprise-wide visibility, and easy scalability to address emerging threats from cybercriminals. Also address the cybersecurity job shortage and augment cybersecurity resources by leveraging automation, machine learning, and AI in a unified infrastructure security platform.

Additionally, a platform-based approach allows security teams to focus on high-value tasks such as risk assessment and mitigation. Digital assistants and bots, on the other hand, can handle everyday tasks such as monitoring computer systems, validating credentials to prevent unauthorized access and fraud, and managing multi-factor authentication.

From an organizational structure perspective, a platform-based cybersecurity plan breaks down security silos and more efficiently delivers improved security outcomes. A recent IDC study found that organizations that integrate security through a platform-based approach see a 34% increase in security team operational efficiency and a 10% reduction in annual security-related platform costs.

Transforming generative AI from a security risk to a security asset

96% of executives see generative AI as a potential cybersecurity threat. They say that adopting this technology could lead to security breaches within organizations within the next three years. 94% of executives say it is important to protect AI solutions from hackers before deployment, but interestingly, 94% of executives say they will incorporate cybersecurity components into their generative AI projects and computer systems within the next three months. Only 24% said he was.

But what happens if the perception of AI changes from what it used to be? security risk to Security assets? Can AI improve security? And can security enable AI-driven innovation?

AI provides a comprehensive, dynamic view of your entire security posture with insights and recommendations from endpoints, networks, servers, cloud workloads, and security information and event management systems (SIEM) . AI also automates and integrates response recommendations into more streamlined workflows.

Platformization provides a safer and more efficient way to deploy new AI applications to address emerging threats such as adversarial AI. Adopting a platform-wide Zero Trust approach using AI strengthens your cyber defenses, strengthens your security posture, and increases resiliency through improved threat detection and faster mitigation.