Time to revisit your security approach

Time to revisit your security approach

Rick Rogers, Area Manager for East and West Africa at Check Point Software Technologies.

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete, commented Buckminster Fuller some decades ago. But they still ring true in present times, especially when it comes to the progression and innovation in technology.

To be as effective as possible, security threat defences need to be observed and managed in real time to give as much time to respond as possible. Robust security management is a solution that includes the installation of high-tech systems designed to protect an organisation’s data, networks and devices, while providing real-time visibility into security risk. This includes development, documentation, implementation of policies and procedures for protecting these assets.

Unfortunately, the response to potential threats tends to be point product or the reactive construction of new policies and rules, which only serve as a band-aid, at best. This is largely because a unified security programme based on integrated technology is often not being used.

The security industry does not need more point products to duct-tape solutions together and hope for the best. Companies need real solutions – ones that can integrate their system and give them visibility into the security risk of the environment. A powerful security management platform gives your company a strategic and tactical advantage by enabling the management of potential threats, without inhibiting business innovation.

With that said, there are five primary ways in which you can help secure your company’s environment:

Conquer with consolidation

Security complexity can be conquered through consolidation, bringing all security protections and functions under one umbrella. By consolidating security on a single platform, companies gain more control over their security, get better insight into their security posture and can respond more quickly to shut down threats to their entire environment.

Unified policy management

Ultimately, when policies are misconfigured, the organisation is not able to protect and gain visibility into the increasing number of business segments. This puts the entire organisation at risk. The key to strong security architecture that can overcome the most difficult cybersecurity challenges can only be delivered by using a security management solution that delivers operational efficiency.

Integrated threat management

You cannot monitor or protect devices you do not know about. Security challenges are increased when there is a lack of proper visibility for incident detection and response. This is precisely the reason why a single, visual dashboard is so important for event analysis, and threat monitoring and mitigation, to ensure full-spectrum visibility into threats across the entire perimeter and beyond.

Automated operations

By automating operations, security teams have the confidence to integrate ticketing, network management or cloud orchestration systems, knowing that they can limit exactly what integrated systems have access to and what they are capable of doing.

Consolidate and optimise

As evasion techniques evolve and become more intelligent, so must the technology to keep your business secure. A robust security management platform allows your company to be proactive in its approach to security, rather than reactive.

Businesses need to rethink their security posture, and enable strong protection for the organisation. Everything from technology, people, policy, operations and management must be considered in new light with a fresh mindset.

Browse our latest issue

Intelligent CIO Africa

View Magazine Archive