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4 Ways Automation Can Improve Your Organization’s Cybersecurity

by CybersecurityEncryptionFognigmaIntelligence CommunityOnline PrivacyUncategorized

The new year is here, and that means new threats. Is your organization prepared?

With the exponential increase in the number and types of cyber attacks, preparation and response are more important than ever. But according to an Enterprise Strategy Group study, IT departments ignore 74% of security incidents or alerts. And that’s not just due to negligence – teams are simply unable to keep up with the number of threats.

Automation is an obvious solution, and with the virtualization of computer systems in the 2010s and more recent technology, it’s far more feasible. Here are 4 four ways automation improves organizational security.

Reduced risk from human error

Even if an IT team has the personnel to manage the volume of threats, that’s only half the issue. The downside of virtualization is that it creates greater complexity – larger networks, Internet of Things devices, digital instances, and more. Networks have become less and les homogenous, and each element composing them is a potential vulnerability. Even the most capable cybersecurity experts are prone to fatigue, carelessness, or other inherent human flaws, but attackers work 24/7, leveraging automation, AI, and other new tech for their attacks. One absentminded misconfiguration can result in millions of dollars of loss.

These instances of human error are what automation seeks to correct, and cloud-based infrastructure makes it accessible at scale. This is what a recent comprehensive study of cybersecurity automation called the “new frontier” – the automation of the design and deployment of security and network architecture, firewalls, VPN gateways, and other cyber defenses.

Increased operational efficiency

When sensitive data or human lives are on the line, every second matters. Automating the deployment and management of resources, administrative tasks, encryption key generation and management, and other elements required for secure communication and collaboration allows agents in the field and at headquarters to be more prepared for sudden changes, new threats, or other risks.

According to Eran Barak, CEO and co-founder of the security firm Hexadite (purchased by Microsoft in 2017), automation goes beyond just prevention and detection of threats. It’s about policy execution, alert monitoring and prioritization, incident response planning, and investigation, action, and remediation. Incorporating automation at every level enables organizations to not only detect threats, but enhance readiness and respond at every operational level.

Reduced cost

Time is money, and that’s especially true for any organization relying on cloud-based infrastructure. There are several commercial cloud providers available, but resources aren’t always needed 24/7/365. On the one hand, constantly running resources even when not in use will accumulate larger costs. On the other hand, it requires significant manual administrative effort to constant destroy and redeploy resources. And this isn’t going to be feasible for some operations that require a fast pace and high level of preparedness.

Automating the deployment of needed resources can ensure you get the best of both worlds, keeping costs down while ensuring resources are always available when needed. This is also true for security automation. In 2018, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the worldwide cost of cyberattacks was around $600 billion, and was expected to rise to 6 trillion annually in 2021.

Easier integration & collaboration

Collaboration is important, but it comes with security risks. It takes time to integrate new users into a system without compromising security, especially if they’re not necessarily trustworthy. It takes IT and security significant time to manage this, depending on the systems they use. On top of that, fatigue can be a significant issue over time. As incidences increase and operations proceed, this can be a devastating issue. Automating security practices for incorporating and maintaining new users can address these issues, while reducing human error risks like inexperience, fatigue, and carelessness.

With networks becoming increasingly complex over time, and cyber attacks becoming more complex and frequent, it’s clear that automation will continue to be a key security tool in 2024 and beyond. Learn more today on how Fognigma can help your networks become automated & secure. 

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The Benefits of a Hybrid Cloud Implementation

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A Hurried Migration to the Cloud

As knights of old stood near the deep moats of the castles they were tasked to protect, they never realized how much the defense of the future would rely in the clouds above their heads. <insert uplifting lute music here.> Okay, so not really those clouds, but we just wanted to paint a dramatic picture of some folks in armor. Today, organizations are moving quickly into the cloud, often for its versatility of access (i.e., users can reach organizational resources from anywhere in the world). This is great for usability but can spell ruin for those without a proper cyberdefense plan in place. A hybrid cloud implementation may seem out of reach for organizations.

According to FireMon’s 2019 State of Hybrid Cloud Security Survey (via BusinessWire), “60% say cloud business initiatives are accelerating faster than security teams’ ability to secure them.” Organizations are rushing to adopt a technology without being properly prepared. The “why?” is anyone’s guess, but the reality is they are exposing their users, data, customers, missions, resources, and very existence to a swirling mass of calculated chaos bent on exploiting the hard work of others for their own financial gain.

 “The enterprise that the perimeter is intended to protect now extends well beyond ‘the four walls’ to the cloud.” – Accenture

 

A Hybrid Cloud Implementation Appears

For many organizations though, putting everything online isn’t the best use of their cloud resources. Sometimes it’s because their network uses legacy technology that isn’t adapted to the fast-paced world of the cloud. Other times, it’s due to laws or procedures which mandate they retain physical control over their resources. There are also organizations who wish to stay off the cloud so they can continue to protect the perimeter they know versus the unknown perimeter expanded by the cloud (as illustrated in the above quote).

communication cloud setup

Even these organizations realize that being connected to the cloud isn’t inherently a bad thing but being fully on the cloud is not a solution they are ready for. This is what is so great about a Hybrid Cloud – it works with already existent resources and can adapt to fit the online needs of any organization. “But writer-person, what benefits can a Hybrid Cloud give me now?” you demand. We point to the next headline and urge you to keep reading.

 

Hybrid Cloud Benefits

The benefits of a Hybrid Cloud implementation are multi-fold and specific to the organization’s needs.

Here are five of the main benefits:

  1. Maintaining physical control over resources. With a Hybrid Cloud, the cloud part is in addition to whatever physical servers the organization uses. Resources can remain on the physically controlled private servers while the network has access to the cloud.

physical cloud servers

  1. Flexibility to move resources on- or offline. With a Hybrid Cloud, organizations have the ability to move their resources to where they are most needed, whether that be online or offline. And this isn’t just a one-time movement—it is dynamic, with organizations having the power to move resources from their physical storage to the cloud and back at any time.

 

  1. Global access to specific organizational resources. As mentioned before, global access is one of the reasons organizations have pushed all their resources into the cloud. We can’t argue that being able to access your files from anywhere in the world is an amazing feature but doing so without thought to or planning for the dangers is a disaster waiting to happen. When properly configured and protected, a Hybrid Cloud gives you the benefit of global access.

cloud networks around the globe

  1. Quick scalability of online presence. Since only part of the organization exists online when using a Hybrid Cloud, their online presence doesn’t have to be bloated with every asset and resource of the organization. This gives great flexibility for the size of the organization’s online presence. When the organization needs more online resources, the Hybrid Cloud can expand to meet those needs (and vice versa when less online resources are required).

 

  1. Protect legacy infrastructure with leading-edge cloud technology. Hybrid Clouds can be the buffer between out-of-date networks and the Internet. They allow an organization to safely leverage online assets while still using their legacy systems. A Hybrid Cloud can also give a legacy system the means to upgrade itself bit by bit in a protected environment.

 

Fognigma Offers Unique Hybrid Cloud Solutions

Fognigma, the premier solution for invisible and secure cloud-based networks, gives organizations the Hybrid Cloud setup they desire with some added superpowers. One of the most important benefits of a Fognigma Network deployed as a Hybrid Cloud is the encrypted and invisible protection Fognigma offers an organization. [For a summary of Fognigma, click here.] This indispensable security will protect assets in your cloud and your physical servers.

Fognigma is a true enterprise solution—once an organization purchases it, the Fognigma Network is run and owned exclusively by the organization without any third-party oversight. Not all enterprise products work this way. One very recent example was an issue with the online storage service, Box. As reported by The Register, “Various Box Enterprise customers have inadvertently shared, and probably still are sharing, sensitive corporate data on the public internet. And that included Box itself.” Cybersecurity firm, Adversis, discovered that Box Enterprise customers got their own sub-domains and URLs, which followed a very specific pattern. Replicate that pattern with different business names and it was possible to brute-force your way into an organization’s files (terabytes of data have been exposed). Unfortunately, this is a chilling example of the danger of using online solutions with third-party oversight.

The list of Hybrid Cloud benefits Fognigma can provide to an organization are too many to go into detail here. The best way to learn about them is to contact us today, request more information, and schedule a demonstration.

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Fognigma Version 1.4 Has Been Released

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Fognigma v1.4 brings a host of new and powerful features

Herndon, VA – Dexter Edward is thrilled to announce the release of Fognigma v.1.4. Fognigma still creates invisible and encrypted cloud-based networks full of communication and collaboration components, but now it has added some important new features. Fognigma is now FIPS 140-2 Validated and has added a wolfSSL TLS 1.3 layer to its already-unprecedented level of security and anonymity. Update 1.4 gives users the power to transfer files from a USB drive directly into a Virtual Desktop (VDI) completely bypassing the host computer. Plus, with the new Active Directory integrations, admins can import users from their already existent Active Directory straight into the Fognigma Console, greatly speeding up the onboarding of users.

“We are proud to bring even more abilities and security to our customers in Fognigma v1.4. We have raised the bar once more, while continuing to enhance the utility and capability of the system for the end users,” said Cael Jacobs, Dexter Edward’s Chief Technology Officer.

These new features (along with many under-the-hood updates) mark even more leading-edge advances Fognigma is making in the realm of communication security. Fognigma is ready to give organizations the power to create encrypted and invisible networks which hide all their communications and collaboration – now with even more superpowers.

About Dexter Edward:

Dexter Edward LLC is the premier integrator of secure, encrypted, and traceless communications and collaboration systems. We provide commercially available products ready for immediate implementation. Our solutions allow organizations to create invisible network spaces for multilateral, inter-agency cooperation without the risk of intrusion by external forces; provide an encrypted means to obfuscate Internet traffic and misattribute the connectivity of users; and safeguard communications, intellectual property, users, and other organizational assets. These solutions are ready to assist agencies (within the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, Law Enforcement, and other organizations) to achieve mission success.

We are committed to providing organizations the enterprise software solutions they need to protect their communications, users, and data. This is what drives our business. Dexter Edward’s founders, investors, and employees are all American citizens and have a combined experience of over 150 years in cybersecurity and network development.

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What is Identity and Access Management (IAM)?

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In the workforce, identity isn’t really who you are. It’s not your name, age, shoe size, etc. Your identity is your place and role within the company. Think of what your job title is and add all the other things you do. That’s your Identity (which we will now be capitalizing to distinguish it from your identity (name, age, shoe size, etc.)). It sounds simplistic, but knowing your Identity is extremely important for your cybersecurity team. Why? Because knowing your Identity allows you to be given the proper access to your company’s data and networks. Identity and Access Management (IAM), then, is accurately and precisely defining your role in the company (Identity) and making sure you can only use the tools and data you need (Access) to do your job.

IT Department
Your role plays a part in your identity

Identity and Access Management Issues

And still you are probably thinking this sounds like something basic and easy to do – but it’s not. Almost everyone can agree that the job description they were hired for isn’t exactly the job they ended up doing. It takes time to settle into a workplace and really get a feel for your true role in the company. In fact, in the 2018 edition of the Cyber Defense Magazine, Ketan Kapadia, VP of IAM at Herjavec Group, says it can take 6-8 weeks to complete a solid Identity Access Management assessment of an employee. That is a huge time to be in cybersecurity flux.

But a company can’t sit around on its elbows waiting to figure out an employee’s Identity and then grant access to network resources, files, etc. Access needs to be given (in some form or another) as soon as the employee starts. So, what happens? Access to resources is granted based on a guess of what the employee needs, the bare minimum based on the job description, or (horror of horrors) everything (just to make the sysadmins’ job easy). Many times, this last possibility wins out due to time constraints (because time = money, you know). None of these situations is good for cybersecurity, your workforce, or your company. 

Fognigma with the Identity Access Management Assist

Fognigma builds its Mission Partner Networks (MPNs) out of randomly leased parts on multiple public clouds. MPNs are a collection of parts, but they function as a whole. They are invisible to the outside world of evildoers and protected with two layers of AES-256 encryption between all the parts. And inside the MPN with its stealthy ephemeral style, reside components for secure communication, your files and data, and the see-through playground in which your users work. [For a more detailed explanation of Fognigma, click here.]

Identity and Access Management

Now you know the patented Fognigma engine lets you create a powerhouse of cybersecurity for your company. But that’s not why we brought you here. We want to showcase how Fognigma can make IAM easier to implement, and it does it with three words: granular user controls.

Granular user controls let the MPN’s administrator set precise permissions for each user. It’s still up to you and your company to determine your users Identities, but Fognigma makes adding users and granting/changing/removing Access as simple as a few mouse clicks. No more guessing all the permissions someone needs. No more just giving in and granting everything (while putting your entire organization at risk) because the Access management part doesn’t take a chunk of time anymore.

Because one aspect of cybersecurity that is quite important is speed. The faster you can deal with situations, the better. And the faster your team can manage an employee’s Access, the less chance of “no time” being an excuse for sloppy IAM practices. Fognigma give you the IAM speed you need and the controls to make sure your Identities have exactly the Access they require.