Security testing should be the north star of successful security leadership, not simply a nice-to-have. On the other hand, our security validation tool should inform you in real-time if your security controls can withstand the most advanced contemporary attacks if either your existing investments are generating ROI and where you need to direct the organization next.
Given the rapidity with which new attack strategies and tactics emerge, this is a lot of strain, which is why the security validation market is evolving fast. Today’s security testing methods range from vulnerability scanning to more advanced approaches like Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS), and practitioners frequently utilize frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK to help them get the job done.
What, on the other hand, makes a good security testing solution? We’ve put up a list of five must-haves for CISOs when putting together a contemporary, threat-centric security validation program to help them navigate this fast-changing industry.
Requirement 1: Ability to utilize imminent advanced threats
One of the most difficult aspects of security testing is that new cyber threats emerge regularly. They utilize a broad range of complex strategies and techniques to accomplish their objectives. This covers tactics that are meant to avoid detection.
As a result, standard vulnerability scanning solutions will assist security professionals in getting insight on new security risks as they are identified (which may or may not be exploited in the next wave of assaults). Still, they will lack the crucial context of what attackers are up to “in the wild.” They help security teams discover prospective “victims” in their organizations, but that’s not the same as responding to established enemy behavior patterns.
Organizations may use red team activities to align their validation with real-world circumstances. On the other hand, red team testing is resource-intensive and time-consuming; therefore, it won’t meet our second major requirement: 24x7x365 preparedness on its own.
Requirement 2: 24x7x365 validation
In the world of cybersecurity, the enemy never sleeps. According to a 2020 Accenture research, new threats emerge at such a rapid pace that security stakeholders view it as a “continuous fight” to keep ahead of them.
Red team exercises, which may take weeks or even months to design and execute, cannot provide the kind of round-the-clock threat preparedness that security teams require to thrive in this environment. While they play an important role in evaluating security measures against the most sophisticated approaches, companies will need to go elsewhere for continuous security validation 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Requirement 3: Assessing existing control capabilities
It may seem self-evident, but an effective security testing solution must account for the whole spectrum of security measures currently in place in a company’s IT infrastructure, no matter how sophisticated or multifarious. Security validation tools will struggle to give important information on the importance of individual security vulnerabilities and their priority if they can’t analyze current control capabilities.
Requirement 4: Immediate mitigation
In some cases, security validation tools will reveal security flaws that must be rectified immediately. As a result, we believe it’s critical that a successful security testing solution alerts security teams to areas of danger and provides them with the knowledge they need to mitigate those risks in minutes. This may include a thorough to-do list of mitigating ideas in some situations.
Requirement 5: Enable team communication and collaboration
Finally, a successful security testing solution must address the complete spectrum of risks, possible victims in the organization, current control capabilities, and the many diverse roles, departments, and personnel that must be engaged in reacting to security risk.
Every security executive understands that getting security and business stakeholders to communicate and collaborate is easier said than done. Effective validation should enable all stakeholders to see and grasp the intricate links between threats, risks, mitigation action, and ROI safety and engage the whole team to work together for the same goal.
Ward Solutions offers a comprehensive set of cyber testing services. If you are interested in any of the testing services described in this blog then please contact:
- Contact our sales team: Information Security – Ward Solutions or call 01 6420100
- To get more information visit our website at Security Testing