Why Increase the Integration of Security Systems and Infrastructure?

When it comes to products and systems for online security – there is a widespread trend of a fragmented approach to this problem. IT security experts often deal with only one fragment or part of your system using the most suitable or best software solution available at that time. This leads to the formation of a portfolio of very strong individual products – which require a lot of time, knowledge, and intuition from IT security experts to gather all information from different platforms and software and based on that form a holistic picture of the system’s state.

The results of ESG research show that 76% of surveyed organizations believe that it is harder to detect cyber threats today than it was two years ago. This is certainly a consequence of increasingly advanced technologies that attackers use to enter your system, but we should not forget the human factor in this story. Your security team often deals with the procurement, maintenance, and licensing of a range of software which can represent distractions, as well as administrative tasks that take time away from their most important task: protecting your system. When too few people (which is the most common case in security IT teams) maintain too much security software – it can solve certain problems in the short term, but in the long run, it is not a sustainable and effective solution. No software designed for individual use on part of the system, no matter how great – can provide complete security.

That is why companies are increasingly resorting to the consolidation of software solutions, i.e., using integrated platforms that control and secure every part of the system. In this sense, integration is a key feature of next-generation security systems – but for them to work seamlessly, they require vast amounts of threat data that can only be provided by the largest manufacturers.

One such system is Cisco AMP for Endpoints which allows you to achieve a higher level of security with fewer people and resources. Yes, this is possible with Cisco AMP in combination with SecureX. Both systems represent a shift in the way of thinking about online security which has also been highlighted as essential by 26% of surveyed CISO managers (according to SANS research) who say that their systems have been successfully attacked multiple times by the same people and organizations using the same or similar attack tactics.

Endpoints, as the most sensitive points of your system, are the most common target of cyber attacks. An attack usually starts at multiple entry points and spreads through the system in a stealth mode without leaving traces, making detection difficult. Cisco AMP (Advanced Malware Protection) scans the entire system and detects infected files, uncovering even the most hidden threats that are difficult to detect and remove – regardless of the type of device, software, or operating system being used. With the ability to track the path of a file or device – AMP reveals the entire intrusion path and isolates all affected points. This allows you to fully and transparently see the lifecycle of the threat that has entered your system.

AMP is integrated with Cisco Talos database – which gives it a significant advantage over cyber attackers. Talos (Cisco Talos Intelligence Group) is a team of 300 researchers who telemetry collect data from 94 million AMP data sources and 600 billion email messages and test over 2 million software samples and billions of DNS requests every day. AMP therefore uses machine learning algorithms to turn data from this database into an integrated endpoint defense system that becomes more powerful every day. All in a fully automated workflow process that saves your team’s time and resources and integrates with other components of the Cisco security system, such as SecureX and Threat Response.

Cisco SecureX is a framework that integrates all parts of the security infrastructure into a complete system that provides seamless visibility, automates, and strengthens security across the entire network and all its endpoints, the cloud, and all applications you use. The result is a much stronger and simpler security system. SecureX is built into Cisco products that easily integrate into a consistent infrastructure.

Knowing that attack is the best defense, we recommend that you launch a frontal attack on cyber threats with some of the integrated software solutions that leave no room for intrusion. In the calm moments that will follow, you can always practice so-called Threat Hunting as a preventive and proactive deep analysis of your system and its vulnerabilities. Only when you move from a reactive to a proactive phase can it be said that your system is truly secured.