Medieval castles stood as formidable fortresses for centuries, thanks to their meticulous design. In the digital age, the wisdom of medieval defense still resonates in the field of cybersecurity. Similar to castles with strategic layouts to withstand attacks, the Defense-in-Depth strategy is the modern counterpart — a multi-layered approach that combines passive and active security controls to provide strategic redundancy. However, the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape can challenge even the most fortified defenses. Despite the widespread adoption of the Defense-in-Depth strategy, cyber threats persist. Fortunately, the Defense-in-Depth strategy can be enhanced using Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS), an automated tool that assesses and improves every security control in each layer.
The defense-in-depth strategy, also known as multi-layered defense, has been widely adopted by organizations since the early 2000s. It’s based on the principle that adversaries must breach multiple defense layers to compromise valuable assets. However, a false sense of security from the assumption that layered solutions will always function as intended has led to common security breaches. This tactic, though widely employed, requires regular updating against new attack methods, possible configuration changes, and the complex nature of managing security controls. Substantiated trust in defensive layers is crucial in the face of evolving cyber threats.
To perfect the Defense-in-Depth strategy, organizations model their layers around the Network, Host, Application, and Data layers. While deploying security solutions is important, organizations must stay up-to-date with the threat landscape and regularly test their security controls against real cyber threats. The introduction of Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) into this strategy has become crucial in automating the assessment and improvement of security controls. BAS provides automated threat intelligence and threat simulation to help security teams proactively identify and mitigate potential security gaps.
Introducing automation into the Defense-in-Depth strategy is essential in navigating today’s vast cyber threat landscape. Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) has become a valuable tool in automating threat intelligence and threat simulation for security teams. It can be integrated with the defense-in-depth strategy to assess security controls holistically and identify and mitigate potential security gaps before they are exploited by malicious actors.
BAS works with multiple security controls across the network, host, application, and data layers, allowing organizations to assess their security posture holistically. It can also analyze and track an organization’s threat landscape using deep learning models like ChatGPT, Bard, and LLaMA to operationalize large volumes of threat intelligence reports. BAS solutions simulate malicious infiltration attempts, test the effectiveness of security controls, and rigorously assess protection mechanisms against real-life cyber threats.
Security teams use BAS to continuously validate every layer of their defense-in-depth approach, ensuring their security controls can withstand any cyber attack. Organizations can improve their cyber resilience with the Picus Security Validation Platform, which supercharges existing security controls against even the most sophisticated cyber threats. For more information, visit picussecurity.com to book a demo or explore the array of resources available to refine your defense-in-depth strategy and stay updated on evolving cyber threats.