Why security needs to involve the Cloud

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Blogpost by Erno Doorenspleet, Executive Security Advisor | 

The days when the boundaries of corporate networks were clearly defined, are over. This is one of the starting points of IBM’s approach to IT security in the cloud. The reason being that the cloud enables you to better control the increasing complexity of IT systems and their security.

According to the recent Forrester report, ‘Surviving the Technical Security Skills Crisis’, 92% of decision-makers who specialise in IT security complain about the lack of internal skills in the face of alarming levels of vulnerability. 90% consider that the capabilities provided by external service providers are equivalent to or even better than the internal skills.

The observation is striking. Security needs have never been so diverse – networks, physical servers, virtual servers, applications, endpoints. They are now structured around three main thrusts: protecting the infrastructure against network and application layer threats; protecting terminals against malware; and securing the platforms used for storing business data.

With the development of its Security Intelligence strategy, IBM has anticipated the current interest in Cloud computing and firmly believes it offers new opportunities in terms of IT infrastructural security.

Read this paper to learn how to benefit from cloud for your future security intelligence needs. ‘The case for security intelligence services, hosted from the cloud’.

Why in the Cloud? 

There are very good reasons for transferring not just IT, but also security capabilities, in this case security monitoring, to the cloud. First and foremost there are well-documented benefits in terms of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).

Another reason is that very few companies are able to closely follow the security developments and to respond to the enormous amount of security data that is generated continuously within an organisation. In this respect, IBM´s Threat Intelligence feed helps to compensate for customers’ shortage of qualified manpower. In addition, other tasks can be outsourced as well. There are countless possibilities to supplement cloud-based security monitoring with services to relieve organisations from security tasks, such as incident response activities.

Security Intelligence can work from the cloud and uses the power of analytics and big data to collect and interpret security events from across the business environment, not just the network, including endpoints and sensitive databases. If a suspicious event occurs, the IBM QRadar dashboard will immediately pick up on this. The analyses by the IBM X-Force team provide extra dynamic information gathering.The IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence feed adds the data on current Internet threats to the IBM QRadar threat analyses. These updates take place every minute and are fed back without the slightest delay. This is the benefit of a shared intuitive view that “combines in-depth analysis with technology watch.

Results at multiple levels

The numbers speak for themselves. Within just six months after installing a Security Intelligence solution, a major global bank detected no less than 650 security incidents or anomalies. 32% of companies that use a centralised solution to manage their IT security, have seen significant cost-savings. One financial information provider was able to reduce its risk prevention team by 50%.

Is this solution only suitable for large enterprises? Certainly not. Together with local partners IBM Security can help any business, large or small, to meet their specific needs. Promax and SLTN in the Netherlands and Excellium in Luxembourg also provide Cloud-based security, using IBM Security Intelligence solutions.

Read this paper to learn how to benefit from cloud for your future security intelligence needs. ‘The case for security intelligence services, hosted from the cloud’.