When SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) came on the scene, it promised to give a “single pane of glass” across an organization’s entire network in order to prioritize and respond to threats faster. When EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) came on the scene, it promised to offer the ability to continuously monitor all endpoints. Now we are in a world of MDR, XDR, and so many other variations. The bottom line? As the landscape is changing, point solutions and other cybersecurity technology are constantly struggling to keep up. And yet, today’s cyber landscape is ever-evolving.
Disconnected technologies, unorganized data, and reactive processes can only get you so far. Protecting businesses in today’s threat landscape demands more. Protecting the trust of your customers demands more.
And while the cybersecurity market is saturated with a seemingly endless introduction of point-based solutions, companies are increasingly looking for more integrated cybersecurity solutions – which has led us to the introduction of a concept to drive improvement in the security industry: Cyber Fusion.
Case Study: The University of Tennessee Medical Center
What is Cyber Fusion? Why is it Important?
“Cyber Fusion” is not a technology platform. It refers to the unification of security functions to create a holistic approach to cybersecurity, addressing organizational problems we see today:
Cyber fusion is a next-generation approach that integrates data from multiple sources* across your systems, our intelligence, and experience. This can then inform a single alert or task that allows security to be handled in a collaborative manner. Fusion is about integrating across areas of security to inform monitoring, protecting, and decision-making.
*This includes:
One of the key benefits is a proactive approach to contextualizing potential threats. To better understand the relationships between potential threats and how they impact one’s organization. Cyber fusion supports the constant flow of threat intelligence among teams, fostering visibility and collaboration to allow for faster and more effective threat identification and response.
How Does Cyber Fusion Work?
Cyber fusion is about building a robust defense operation that gets smarter as you layer threat response with real time threat intelligence sharing and improved collaboration across traditionally disparate security teams.
This becomes possible by enabling the automatic intake of threat data from diverse sources and bringing together various security teams to quickly identify, prioritize, and address incidents and threats. By bridging the gap between teams, cyber fusion helps inform more data-driven, proactive decisions.
Implementing a cyber fusion approach requires a holistic approach to security. This can be achieved through the careful alignment of people, processes, data, and technology.
The role of intelligence in cyber fusion:
By leveraging data gathered in threat research, penetration testing, vulnerability management programs, industry activity, and threat actors we can improve the data and analytics used in detection and prevention methods.
The role of data analytics in cyber fusion:
Fusion provides advanced analytics due to the improved quality of intelligence and application of contextual information helping to identify known indicators faster and the ability to detect more elusive activity that would go undetected otherwise.
The role of technology in enabling cyber fusion:
Technology plays a critical role in enabling cyber fusion by providing the tools and infrastructure needed to integrate data from multiple sources. The technology combined with well-defined processes and highly trained staff creates the value of cyber fusion. All are required to make it work. Some of the common technology implemented:
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Threat intelligence platforms: These are platforms that enable organizations to collect, store, and analyze threat data from a variety of sources, including internal systems, external feeds, and third-party providers.
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Threat detection systems: Systems, such as security information and event management (SIEM), and a multitude of detection systems such as Endpoint (EDR), IoT/OT, Extended XDR, and monitoring areas like Identity & Access Management, Access Controls, Data Loss Prevention, and policy control systems. These all enable organizations to collect and analyze security-related data from various sources in real time, helping them to identify and respond to threats and incidents more quickly.
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Collaboration tools: These tools enable different security teams to work together more effectively, allowing them to share information and collaborate on threat hunting and response efforts.
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Automation tools: These tools enable organizations to automate various aspects of their cyber security processes, including the ingestion of threat data, the analysis of security-related events, and the response to incidents.
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Integrated professional services: Having knowledge of your security maturity plans provides an added layer of intelligence to help drive value for the business beyond standard monitoring. Engaging with GRC management programs to maintain compliance as well as vulnerability management programs to continually assess vulnerabilities discovered in penetration testing, software development, and other areas beyond standard scanning solutions.
Related reading: Avertium Advances its Cyber Fusion Capabilities by Adding Microsoft Security Expertise
Benefits of Moving to a Cyber Fusion-Driven Approach
A cyber fusion approach helps organizations build more resilient cybersecurity and overall increase their security maturity.
Broken down, here are a few benefits of a cyber fusion approach for organizations of all sizes:
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Improved threat detection: By integrating data from multiple sources, a cyber fusion approach can help organizations to more effectively detect and identify potential threats.
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Greater visibility: By providing a 24/7 comprehensive view of an organization’s security posture, the cyber fusion approach helps to identify and address potential vulnerabilities, reduce risk, and stop threats across remote endpoints.
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Faster response times: By bringing different security teams together and enabling real time threat intelligence sharing, a cyber fusion approach can help organizations to respond more quickly to incidents and threats.
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Better use of resources: By prioritizing the most pressing threats and coordinating efforts among different security teams, a cyber fusion approach can help organizations to more effectively allocate resources and make the most of their security budgets.
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Eliminates silos: By promoting collaboration among disparate security teams, a cyber fusion approach enables different teams to work together more effectively to detect and respond to threats.
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Measurable impact: By taking proactive cybersecurity measures, the cyber fusion approach continuously measures risk, refines defenses, and improves security maturity over time, delivering real insight and real value that goes way beyond the alert.
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Integrated GRC: Compliance cyber services are only as good as you put them to work. Advanced cyber fusion methodology allows you to take insights and vulnerabilities uncovered throughout professional services and incorporate those in your overall cyber defense approach.
Related reading: Cybersecurity Begins in the C-Suite
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MICROSOFT CASE STUDY – Implementing cyber fusion into an organization’s technology stack:
Microsoft Security technology fuses insights with new threat behaviors to offer companies a cost-effective and secure approach to threat defense. Implementing cyber fusion (Avertium’s Fusion MXDR) helps customers who want to replace legacy tools, consolidate point solutions, and build a cyber maturity program that is integrated with Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Sentinel platforms. This approach reduces systems complexity and decreases the cost of a potential breach while enhancing the visibility, integration, and efficiency of the company’s security strategy. As a result, companies are better equipped to adapt, attack, and evolve alongside their business and the threat landscape.
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A Greater Outcome – Avertium’s Take on Cyber Fusion:
Avertium has always believed that attacking the chaos of the cybersecurity landscape requires context – of your business, of your existing technology, and of the threat landscape. Out-of-the-box tech doesn’t adapt and evolve with the threat landscape – that’s why you have Avertium (who knows the full picture of your business and where your weaknesses are) to tune the tool. Avertium’s approach has always been fusion-first because we believe that cyber fusion offers more flexibility, more control, and more resilience.
And naturally, the cyber fusion approach is baked into everything we do. As evidenced by our company pillars, here’s how we incorporate the cyber fusion philosophy:
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Incorporation of Human Expertise + An Integrated Approach
Human Element (Our People): Avertium's deep bench of cybersecurity experts helps you accelerate your efforts with specialized, human expertise, bringing context to the chaos of cybersecurity operations.
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Measurable Maturity
Business-First Mindset (Our Process): With each passing year, cybersecurity is increasingly embedded into every aspect of the business. Today, it’s about compliance, maintaining business continuity, and protecting a business’ brand reputation. Avertium delivers measurable maturity that spans all aspects of cybersecurity and then connects that maturity to the business-level impact.
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Programmatic Cybersecurity
Fusion Engine (Our Technology): Avertium’s fusion engine brings together the right combination of technology, threat intelligence, security automation, threat response, and resource empowerment to enable a more holistic approach to cybersecurity.
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Integrated Professional Services
MDR + GRC (Our Difference): Your compliance can make your MDR approach stronger, but only if you make it part of your MDR operations. Avertium’s approach to MDR incorporates everything you learn from your compliance projects in a programmatic framework that allows you to measure your MDR efficiency and effectiveness.
Conclusion
With the constant changes and advancements in technology, it’s becoming increasingly important to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to your cybersecurity. As new threats continue to evolve, organizations must begin taking a more integrated, fusion-based approach to cybersecurity in order to protect themselves.
Looking for your next read? Take a look at our latest eBook, 2023 Cybersecurity Landscape!
ABOUT AVERTIUM
Avertium is a cyber fusion company with a programmatic approach to measurable cyber maturity outcomes. Organizations turn to Avertium for end-to-end cybersecurity solutions that attack the chaos of the cybersecurity landscape with context. By fusing together human expertise and a business-first mindset with the right combination of technology and threat intelligence, Avertium delivers a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. That's why over 1,200 mid-market and enterprise-level organizations across 15 industries turn to Avertium when they want to be more efficient, more effective, and more resilient when waging today's cyber war.
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