The Nuances of Security in a Digital Infrastructure

In an exclusive interview with ITSecurityWire, Bill Franklin, Senior Director of Cloud Engineering at AVANT says “Measuring a company’s risk, business flow and driving revenue is now intertwined with their cyber security posture”. While Steven Baer, Field CTO for the Americas at Trustwave adds, “There is no more ‘set and forget’ when it comes to cybersecurity. We’re in the business of mitigating the risks so the business can flow, that requires vigilance.”

ITSW Bureau:  What are the practical ways that enterprises can implement cybersecurity measures for augmented business workflow?

Bill Franklin, AVANT: Practical is always in the eye of the beholder. We have seen a large uptick in SSO/MFA as well as EDR/MDR in customers because of many factors including cyber insurance mandating, ransomware and more devices/users in remote settings. Measuring a company’s risk, business flow and driving revenue is now intertwined with their cyber security posture.

ITSW Bureau:  Currently, more IT leaders are prioritizing protection of business data and assets like never before. How does utilizing advanced security solutions like DRaaS help?

Bill Franklin, AVANT: Scripps Health has taught us so much about how advanced ransomware is attacking offsite backups. More companies are realizing DIY disaster recovery is very complex and expensive, and building an immutable backup is becoming a necessity. DRaaS exists as a part of CIS Top 20 controls because companies have to take a layered approach to cyber security frameworks to minimize any downtime if a ransomware attack occurs.

Also Read: Securing the Enterprise against Rising Application Layer Attacks

ITSW Bureau:  As a cloud engineering expert, do you think it is possible to be prepared for any cyber-attack in this digital era?

Bill Franklin, AVANT: Very much so, but this has to be a priority within digital transformation efforts and not on the backburner of priorities. Every one of my cloud conversations deals with the ‘possibility’ of threats and mitigating/responding. Previous experience has taught me to be a thought leader to discuss openly, instead of just selling companies the ‘Cloud Dream’.

ITSW Bureau:  According to you, how can establishing automatic protocols within the system help to refresh authorized accounts that involve sensitive information?

Steven Baer, Trustwave: First of all, there are a ton of tools out there — some native to the system, some bolt on. Life constantly teaches us to use the right tool for the job. Some are great at monitoring, while some are better for prevention. Business needs to run, without interference.  Whatever tooling is put in place, they need maintenance as well. Attack vectors change daily. Tools need to be kept up to date. The teams running the tools need up to date training and monitoring to make sure they are optimal for the business. There is no more ‘set and forget’ when it comes to cybersecurity. We’re in the business of mitigating the risks so business can flow, that requires vigilance.

Also Read: Strategies for Securing Critical Infrastructure in the Digital Battleground

ITSW Bureau:  Given the current market scenario, many organizations prefer installing key-encryption access to databases that come with restricted usage. What are your views on this?

Steven Baer, Trustwave: There are a lot of factors to consider here, speed being one the major ones. Can your business afford the time delay in encrypt to decrypt? Key storage is a concern. If the keys are compromised, then data is at risk. The key storage systems are targeted.  Protection levels should reflect the data itself. Continuous and expanded data discovery, rights management, and vulnerability management might be more efficient for a lot of organizations. Over-protection becomes overkill fast, often crippling the applications using the data.