Cyber Defence 360: The Ideal Security Framework

With rapid digitalisation, IT and OT are converging in smarter and more connected cities, opening new doors for threat actors. Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and sophistication, and security is more critical than ever.

What can organisations do to deal with increasingly complex threats? Traditional perimeter defences are no longer adequate - security teams need to implement continuous monitoring and prevention to stay vigilant. A holistic security framework can be put in place by augmenting your threat prevention process (Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond) with People, Process, Technology and Intelligence.

Cyber security is no longer just a technical issue, and needs to involve all levels of your organisation from C-suite to operational staff. Singtel Cyber Security Institute (CSI) provides training to build cyber security expertise and skills, developing individuals and teams to keep your organisation secure. Boards and C-suite managers need to be trained in risk management, business continuity planning and crisis preparation, while operational teams need to develop defence and response capabilities. CSI’s cyber range facility can also conduct simulated attacks to test your company’s inherent vulnerabilities and defence capabilities. These exercises can help heighten your employees’ knowledge of their roles and their responsiveness during cyber incidents.

Process is the all-important link between people and technology, and includes policies, procedures, certification, data governance and incident response plans. Effective processes need to be formalised, documented and communicated across the organisation. Today’s attacks are spearheaded by droves of automated bots. To keep up with the sheer number of attacks, organisations need to streamline security processes by adopting Security Operations Centre Automation and Orchestration. By collecting, processing and analysing data from Security Information Event Management (SIEM), behavioural analytics and investigations, you gain enhanced situational awareness of the security battle field. These complex workflows should be automated so that your security team can eliminate slow manual processes, reduce response time and increase operational efficiency.

Organisations need to build multiple layers of proactive security defences to rapidly identify, protect, detect, respond and recover from cyber threats. Detecting abnormal behaviour and responding early in the attack cycle is the key to mitigating threats. Endpoint Detection and Response continuously monitors all your endpoints for suspicious activity, and uses behavioural analysis to hunt for evasive malware and zero day threats. Deceptive Technology can be deployed to confuse and misdirect attackers into revealing themselves, while Web Isolationcreates a secure “air gap” layer between the web and users, preventing threats from reaching your devices.

In the battle against cyber threats, knowledge is power. Real-time threat intelligence provides organisations with insights into cyber threats, threat actors, indicators, exploits and vulnerabilities. Aggregating data from multiple threat feeds, organisations will be able to draw up better strategies to stay ahead of evolving threat conditions. Security teams can prioritise resources and respond more quickly to the most critical threats, reduce time taken to conduct forensics, and take preventive action against future attacks.

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Contact a Singtel security advisor to find out more about the security framework.