Security point solutions are useless in 2022 and beyond

What will happen in 2022? Masergy recognizes distinct trends that will continue to foster innovation, putting digital transformation on the fast track as we enter the next year. This series of articles outlines the four key predictions we think will happen next.

Don’t miss our previous predictions:

1. AIOps goes mainstream, empowering hyper automation and accelerated innovation
2. 2022 will be the year to modernize IT or die
3. Convergence and co-creation trends will give birth to open-innovation ecosystems

Here is our fourth and final prediction…

Security point solutions are now useless

The same way silos disable digital transformation, point solutions diminish a cybersecurity program by blinding total awareness and blocking granular visibility throughout the IT environment.

The days of fighting threats by slapping on another point technology are over. Today’s cybersecurity solutions are converged capabilities that consolidate a constellation of data feeds in order to deliver a holistic and correlated picture of your security posture.

In 2022, point security solutions should not exist but rather be integrated into a broad technology platform capable of taking an all-environments approach. Specifically, platforms should ingest direct and third-party data from sources all across the IT environment:

• Network and on-premise resources
• Cloud services and applications
• All endpoints to include servers and desktops as well as unmanaged personal and IoT devices

These platforms must also:

• Work with on-premise tools, cloud tools, and hybrid tools in response to today’s dynamic businesses, including the combination of on-premise and remote staff operating under a hybrid work business model
• Monitor all user environments whether on premises, remote, or working in a hybrid of the two, and across the enterprise’s entire geographic footprint

All tech-born data must feed into one analytics engine and management system. In fact, analysts at Nemertes advise that companies and particularly their security service providers must be able to “knit many security technologies together using security automation and response (SOAR) systems and apply behavioral analytics to the mass of log data created across all environments to help drive robust threat detection and response.”

Breaking down silos and taking a holistic approach

What can IT leaders do to evolve their security platforms using an all-encompassing approach? Technology upgrades are the first step in accommodating the necessary adjustments, but operationalizing the consolidated tech stack is equally as critical. Whether you have your own certified cybersecurity professionals or you work with a security services provider for managed detection and response services, technology must be backed by professionals taking action.

The most critical technologies

All-encompassing security platforms should include advanced technologies like

• Endpoint security to protect an expanding number of devices
• Machine learning, behavioral analytics, and AI-powered security analytics
• SASE: Secure Access Service Edge
  • Cloud firewalls
  • Secure Web Gateway
  • CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker)
  • SD-WAN
• SOAR platforms to help unite information and automate security response

Correlation is the secret, and SOAR tools help tie everything together. They serve as the glue that brings the strongpoints of each individual technology into one environment. SOAR systems are where incident analysis and triage are performed through a combination of AI-based intelligence and human investigation. Using SOAR, security teams define, prioritize, and drive standardized incident response activities through digital workflows. Moreover, they can leverage the technology to automatically respond to security threats, keeping analysts focused on only the most urgent and important events.

Our thinking must also evolve

And, it’s not just tech solutions that need a new approach. IT leaders and their teams must also think bigger about security strategy, taking a wider view that leaves perimeters and locations in the rearview mirror. Analysts at research firm Nemertes put it all too well in their new Buyer’s Guide for managed security services:

Many security professionals still situate all their thinking about security, unconsciously, within a mental context that is no longer correct and useful. Perimeter-based thinking is stubbornly persistent, leading to difficulty embracing the idea of Zero Trust. IT folks might say, “Why should I deny all communications security among our own servers—aren’t they all friends?” It also leads to difficulty seeing how to implement Zero Trust, with comments like, “That is a lot of ACLs to constantly manage, or too many firewalls.”

When security takes an all-encompassing approach, point technologies evolve into comprehensive platforms and perimeters are replaced with new security frameworks applied across every location, user, and device. This holistic strategy better powers today’s innovation with the confidence of a wide sweeping and modern cybersecurity program.

Related Resources and Recommended Reading

• Nemertes: MSSP Buyer’s Guide
• Converged IT Solutions: The Straight Talk Guide to SASE
• Nemertes: Finding a Path to Zero Trust
• InfoGraphic: SASE and Zero Trust Acronym Detangler

Friction in the IT Helix: How to Create Harmony Between Network Design and Security