Security & Business Resilience

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Matching staff levels to demand has always been one of the toughest gigs, and in an industry sector like security where staffing needs to be set at an adequate level, it becomes even tougher. Right now, the security industry is seeing unprecedented levels of blow-outs - because of illness, lockdown, self-isolation and home schooling. Security businesses have to meet contractual demands with set staffing levels and as a result the sector is under further pressure to ensure they can fill any blow-out shifts. Thanks to COVID-related complications, staff sickness and absence rates could reach as much as 15% this winter.

Everyone is excited to give 2020 the boot. And while we don’t quite know what to expect in 2021, it can’t get any worse. Or can it? As businesses prepare for a new year, with a new set of challenges and new ways of working that may never change, one thing they need to be prioritizing is data privacy. Because if the dominoes fall and privacy is involved, the repercussions can result in a disaster.

It’s undeniable that Machine Learning (ML) is changing the game for securing cloud infrastructure.  Security vendors have rapidly adopted ML as part of their solutions, and for good reason:  By analyzing massive quantities of data, it can help identify threats, speed incident response, and ease the burden on over-taxed security operations teams.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is tracking a known compromise involving SolarWinds Orion products that are currently being exploited by a malicious actor. An advanced persistent threat (APT) actor is responsible for compromising the SolarWinds Orion software supply chain, as well as widespread abuse of commonly used authentication mechanisms. If left unchecked, this threat actor has the resources, patience, and expertise to resist eviction from compromised networks and continue to hold affected organizations at risk, says CISA. 

Meet Ali Golshan, CTO and co-founder at StackRox, a Mountain View, Calif.-based leader in security for containers and Kubernetes. Prior to StackRox, he was the Founder & CTO of Cyphort (acquired by Juniper Networks) and led the company's product strategy and research initiatives. Previously, he worked as a security researcher and engineer at Microsoft and PwC. His career started in government, conducting security and vulnerability research for the intelligence community. Here, we talk to Golshan about the benefits of DevOps. 

Modern cloud based security systems and surveillance solutions have come a long way. While some companies continue to rely on the older technology they are accustomed to, traditional systems are continually being phased out in favor of the flexibility offered by cloud-based solutions. Cloud-based systems have a myriad of advantages over older, on-premises security systems, and there is rarely an instance where an on-premises system is preferred over a cloud-based framework when installing a new setup.

Relying on outdated fraud prevention and identification measures will no longer cut it, and businesses that don’t adapt will lag. As people continue to work, collaborate and socialize via their mobile devices, businesses must equip themselves with technology and tools that will prioritize fraud prevention. If not, companies risk losing their customers to those who have invested in more robust solutions.    

Despite many companies' best efforts to combat cybercrime, it persists and is increasingly costly. Here’s a look at some of the latest technologies that may be able to turn the tide against malicious hackers because they can still deliver performance and function at the necessary scale.

COVID-19 has accelerated a variety of global trends. Some of these are perhaps ultimately good, for example moves towards more investment in AI and automation, or a growing focus on taking this opportunity to making lasting changes to benefit the environment. Many others are, however, quite concerning. Continued threats to the global order, the likelihood of states testing the resolve of the new U.S. administration, and increasingly polarized populations are all factors that will dominate 2021.