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Shared responsibility: Why your Microsoft 365 is not backed up, and how to fix it

While most cloud service providers, including Microsoft 365, offer some degree of data backup, you might be surprised how minimal it actually is. This brings us to the discussion of shared responsibility and why it can’t be ignored if you want complete data protection and backup.    Because Microsoft 365 is so commonplace in business, it’s easy to assume that so long as you stick we them, you have the basics covered. That, unfortunately, is not correct when it comes to cloud backup and recovery. Here are two hard truths you need to take into consideration when you plan your SaaS data protection:
  1. Your cloud service providers are not responsible for the safe keeping of your data. 
  2. You are responsible for keeping your data and metadata safe.
  In this blog post, you will learn: 
  • What shared responsibility means.  
  • What cloud services like Microsoft 365 currently offer to retrieve lost data. 
  • How to make sure your cloud data is actually secure. 

What You Risk by Not Backing Up Your Cloud Data

Let’s start by looking at the exposure a company faces that does not participate in shared responsibility.    Depending on the nature of one’s business, several risk scenarios could arise if you rely solely on cloud service vendors for backup (and the vendors themselves recommend that you do not rely solely on their services):  
  • You lose access to critical intellectual property documentation such as patents. 
  • You may no longer be in compliance by losing access to certain required information. 
  • The entire company loses access to emails and other collaboration tools such as  SharePoint and other apps, thereby preventing employees from doing anything. 
  • Critical systems such as Salesforce, which are based on multiple automations that have been painstakingly built up over time, will need to be rebuilt. 
  When data loss happens to a large business it can result in thousands of unhappy employees and customers. For small to medium-sized businesses the consequences can be even more severe if they lack the IT resources and know-how to immediately address the problem.     The eventual outcomes range from customer inconvenience and disgruntled employees to severe legal problems and potential business catastrophe.  In other words, your business continuity is at stake.

Common Data Loss Threats  

Data loss threats don’t always originate from outside the organization, as demonstrated by a study conducted by the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) which showed that human error from within the organization is one of the single biggest contributors to data loss.    A breakdown of data loss causes is illustrated in the following graphic: If you lose data for any of these reasons, cloud vendors like Microsoft will not provide data backup because they adhere to the “shared responsibility” model that states it’s not their responsibility. More on that later. 

The “Backup Features” Currently Available in Microsoft 365 

In essence, cloud service customers have three functionalities that many think serve as backup of their data.  

Litigation Hold 

The purpose of litigation holds is to help if you are involved in a legal process and need to preserve information exactly as it is at a specific point in time. It is clearly not designed as a backup or recovery tool, because:  
  • Retrieving just a single email requires going through 8-10 demanding steps. 
  • Based on your licensing plan, your cost of storage may be significantly higher. 

Versioning 

Microsoft automatically saves versions of your documents at regular intervals, so you can just go back and open a previous version, right?     Technically yes, but:  
  • You only get the random actual documents. What you don’t get is structure—nothing is where you left it, and there are no folders. So, at scale, this quickly becomes unmanageable. 
  • If there is a ransomware attack, all versions may be encrypted. 
  • There is zero protection against dangerous and potentially crippling ransomware. 
  Speaking of ransomware attacks, check out our popular Disaster Recovery Guide for a seven-step guide on how to keep your business running in a disaster situation. 

Recycle Bin 

Just like the bins around your office, the Microsoft recycle bins are emptied regularly. How frequently depends on the application. For example:    
  • In Exchange: mail items disappear after 30 days, and calendar items after 20 days. 
  • In Teams: channels, teams, and group items go away after 30 days. 
  • In OneDrive and SharePoint, they’re removed every 93 days. 
  • In SharePoint backup, items disappear after 14 days.  
  As useful and convenient as they are for users, these features can lull employees into a false sense of security because if the worst happens, they are not reliable.     Now that you know what’s at stake, let’s dive into the issue of shared responsibility. 

A Crash Course in Shared Responsibility

What is Shared Responsibility?

Although no official dictionary definition exists, in a nutshell, shared responsibility means you and each cloud vendor take shared ownership for accessing your data in the cloud.     Don’t be surprised to learn that Microsoft is not responsible for protecting your data. They are very clear on this issue. You can read a summary of their shared responsibility policy for Microsoft 365 in this short article, and here’s the bottom line (in Microsoft’s own words):    ‘You own your data and identities. You are responsible for protecting the security of your data and identities, on-premises resources, and the cloud components you control (which varies by service type)’.   Regardless of the type of deployment, the following responsibilities are always retained by you: 
  • Data 
  • Endpoints 
  • Account 
  • Access management 
  As you can see in the table below, the division of responsibility between you and Microsoft, depends on your hosting. (For the purpose of this blog post, pay attention to the SaaS column.)  Source: Microsoft 
  As you can see, Microsoft assumes some responsibility for its piece of the cloud service, but it’s up to the customer to protect the critical data that represents the lifeblood of its business.     Microsoft 365 does have some built-in features to retrieve deleted data such as versioning, litigation hold, and recycle bins, however, these also have limitations and are nowhere near viable alternatives to genuine backup. 

Who Uses the Shared Responsibility Model? 

Originally, AWS developed the concept, and today it’s used more or less identically by all cloud services. So, shared responsibility doesn’t just apply to specific vendors or types of services but to cloud computing in general.     If you want to dig deeper and explore how some of the main cloud service providers refer to shared responsibility, follow the links below to learn what each says on their respective websites.   

What Microsoft Recommends Instead: The 3-2-1 Backup Principle 

So, if Microsoft is not responsible for your cloud data, what steps do they recommend?    Simply put, they recommend keeping your eggs in different baskets. The most effective way to safeguard your data is to use the 3-2-1 backup principle, which goes like this:  Store your data separately from your day-to-day operations.     You must keep one copy of your data off site. Years ago, offsite storage was mainly to protect against fire and theft. Today, it’s more complicated than simply separating data geographically. And you can’t fully rely on cloud access, which could be taken offline to protect the providers’ own business interests.    If you want to learn more about what Microsoft recommends what to do if you experience a ransomware attack, you can find a good summary here.      Let’s move on to some actionable advice on what you can do next to bridge the huge security gap left by shared responsibility. 

How to Find a Backup Solution That Works 

If you decide to heed the advice of Microsoft, Google, and the other cloud service providers, and find a reliable third-party backup solution, here are some important considerations: 
  1. Find out who is actually responsible for data loss in applications such as OneDrive, Groups and Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange within your organization. Is there a dedicated person or team, or is the responsibility spread across the organization? 
  2. Make sure backup copies are stored outside of Microsoft 365’s domain. Always have offsite, immutable, backup copies that are stored separately from your primary data. Never store in the same logical infrastructure as your primary data. 
  3. Look for comprehensive coverage for your SaaS data, in order to include as much data and metadata as possible in your backup. 
  4. Look for fast and granular recovery so you can recover from a single item, all the way up to the tenant level to achieve precision recovery at scale.  
  5. Look for a third-party tool that is compliant and offers long-term retention and a variety of security controls. 

How to Find the Right Microsoft 365 Backup Vendor

There are great solutions available, and like everything else, you need to find the one that best meets your needs. To help you in that regard, here are the most important considerations:    Microsoft 365 coverage 
  • Does it support all of Microsoft 365, with all associated data types, such as Teams private chat, channel chat, versioning, and public folders, etc.? 
Data recovery 
  • Can you restore all business-critical data in place? 
  • Is all data restored in its original format? 
  • Is all data restored — from a single item up to tenant level? 
Role-based access control and compliance 
  • Can you configure backup admin permissions? 
  • Is the audit log tamper-proof? 
  • Can you limit access rights across specific data connectors? 
Data storage 
  • Are data centers independent from the SaaS provider? 
  • Are there options for data residency? 
  • Are redundancies built in? 
  • Can you store copies of your data in two separate data centers? 
Pricing 
  • Is the license model clear and transparent? 
  • Is data consumption included? 
  • Are there any hidden costs (for example, for departed users)? 
Search capabilities 
  • Can you search universally across all snapshots in a single view? 
  • Can you preview documents live? 
  • Can you control search and restore delegation? 
  • Can you perform point-in-time navigation or restore? 
Simplicity 
  • Can you easily manage and unify backup sets of cloud apps? 
  • Can you share public links to end users, and download all the data types and levels? 
  • Is the interface intuitive? 
Backup configuration 
  • Is the backup deployment simple and configurable? 
  • Can you scale across any size organization? 
  • Are the retention policies flexible across the instance? 
  • Can you segment Microsoft 365 data to meet business requirements? 
Security 
  • Is the storage engine tamper-proof? 
  • Are there SSO and MFA options? 
  • Are the data centers ISO27001 certified? And what about the software development and operations organization?
Backup management  
  • Is the solution 100% cloud-based with no maintenance required? 
  • Are new users automatically added to the backup? 
  • Can you automate notifications and backups? 
  • Is there an open API allowing for third-party integration? 
 

In summary: 

We’ve covered the concept of shared responsibility, touched on what the cloud service providers cover, and where your responsibility lies. We’ve also shared some advice on what you should look for in a backup and recovery solution. I hope you come away from reading this blog post feeling better equipped to perform your cloud data risk assessments. If you have any questions, you are of course welcome to reach out.  

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About Keepit
At Keepit, we believe in a digital future where all software is delivered as a service. Keepit’s mission is to protect data in the cloud Keepit is a software company specializing in Cloud-to-Cloud data backup and recovery. Deriving from +20 year experience in building best-in-class data protection and hosting services, Keepit is pioneering the way to secure and protect cloud data at scale.

LinkedIn 安全使用指南

LinkedIn 私隱設置有很多選項，您以為自己正在控制所有事情？一旦深入研究，情況會非常令人驚訝。以下，請了解我們為您提供的「LinkedIn 安全使用指南」。

第 1 步：登錄和安全

確保您的帳戶已連接到您的手機，如果沒有，請立即連接。它將確保您可以輕鬆重置密碼，並允許您啟用「兩步驟驗證」。
前往「記得密碼的裝置」，刪除所有您不認識的手機和電腦。這對於登錄公共電腦的人特別有用，他們可能錯誤地保存了密碼。如果出現這種情況，請更改您的密碼。
最重要的提示之一：前往「兩步驟驗證」，選擇您需要的驗證方式，建議選擇電話號碼（SMS）。 按「繼續」， 通過輸入發送到您手機的密碼來激活此步驟。

第 2 步：公開度

選擇「個人檔案」選項，然後選擇您認為最適合的選項。此步驟取決於您使用 LinkedIn 的原因，是為了找工作？還是只是為了聯繫？
點擊「誰能看得到或下載您的 Email」，這是避免網絡釣魚和其他詐騙的重要功能。這不會阻礙獵頭公司與您聯繫，您還可以選擇不允許您的聯繫人下載您的電子郵件。

第 3 步：通訊

保持任何社交媒體平台安全的一個好方法，是只接受您已經認識的人的請求。
前往「誰能聯絡您」，選擇適合您的聯絡方法，例如在「人脈邀請」中，了解「是否允許人脈傳送活動邀請給您？」及「是否允許人脈傳送訂閱通訊的邀請給您？」

第 4 步：廣告資料

與許多其他網站一樣，LinkedIn 會收集有關您的大量信息。您可能不知道的是，一旦首次登錄，即表示您同意 LinkedIn 從您的所有裝置中收集數據。您可以前往「廣告資料」關閉此選項。
我們使用社交媒體的方式因人而異，請根據您的需要，不斷檢查您的設置和相關設定。

About Version 2

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products. Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

關於ESET
ESET成立於1992年，是一家面向企業與個人用戶的全球性的電腦安全軟件提供商，其獲獎產品 — NOD32防病毒軟件系統，能夠針對各種已知或未知病毒、間諜軟件 （spyware）、rootkits和其他惡意軟件為電腦系統提供實時保護。ESET NOD32佔用 系統資源最少，偵測速度最快，可以提供最有效的保護，並且比其他任何防病毒產品獲得了更多的Virus Bulletin 100獎項。ESET連續五年被評為“德勤高科技快速成長500 強”（Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500）公司，擁有廣泛的合作夥伴網絡，包括佳能、戴爾、微軟等國際知名公司，在布拉迪斯拉發（斯洛伐克）、布裏斯托爾（英國 ）、布宜諾斯艾利斯（阿根廷）、布拉格（捷克）、聖地亞哥（美國）等地均設有辦事處，代理機構覆蓋全球超過100個國家。

LinkedIn 安全使用指南

LinkedIn 私隱設置有很多選項，您以為自己正在控制所有事情？一旦深入研究，情況會非常令人驚訝。以下，請了解我們為您提供的「LinkedIn 安全使用指南」。

第 1 步：登錄和安全

確保您的帳戶已連接到您的手機，如果沒有，請立即連接。它將確保您可以輕鬆重置密碼，並允許您啟用「兩步驟驗證」。
前往「記得密碼的裝置」，刪除所有您不認識的手機和電腦。這對於登錄公共電腦的人特別有用，他們可能錯誤地保存了密碼。如果出現這種情況，請更改您的密碼。
最重要的提示之一：前往「兩步驟驗證」，選擇您需要的驗證方式，建議選擇電話號碼（SMS）。 按「繼續」， 通過輸入發送到您手機的密碼來激活此步驟。

第 2 步：公開度

選擇「個人檔案」選項，然後選擇您認為最適合的選項。此步驟取決於您使用 LinkedIn 的原因，是為了找工作？還是只是為了聯繫？
點擊「誰能看得到或下載您的 Email」，這是避免網絡釣魚和其他詐騙的重要功能。這不會阻礙獵頭公司與您聯繫，您還可以選擇不允許您的聯繫人下載您的電子郵件。

第 3 步：通訊

保持任何社交媒體平台安全的一個好方法，是只接受您已經認識的人的請求。
前往「誰能聯絡您」，選擇適合您的聯絡方法，例如在「人脈邀請」中，了解「是否允許人脈傳送活動邀請給您？」及「是否允許人脈傳送訂閱通訊的邀請給您？」

第 4 步：廣告資料

與許多其他網站一樣，LinkedIn 會收集有關您的大量信息。您可能不知道的是，一旦首次登錄，即表示您同意 LinkedIn 從您的所有裝置中收集數據。您可以前往「廣告資料」關閉此選項。
我們使用社交媒體的方式因人而異，請根據您的需要，不斷檢查您的設置和相關設定。

About Version 2

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products. Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

關於ESET
ESET成立於1992年，是一家面向企業與個人用戶的全球性的電腦安全軟件提供商，其獲獎產品 — NOD32防病毒軟件系統，能夠針對各種已知或未知病毒、間諜軟件 （spyware）、rootkits和其他惡意軟件為電腦系統提供實時保護。ESET NOD32佔用 系統資源最少，偵測速度最快，可以提供最有效的保護，並且比其他任何防病毒產品獲得了更多的Virus Bulletin 100獎項。ESET連續五年被評為“德勤高科技快速成長500 強”（Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500）公司，擁有廣泛的合作夥伴網絡，包括佳能、戴爾、微軟等國際知名公司，在布拉迪斯拉發（斯洛伐克）、布裏斯托爾（英國 ）、布宜諾斯艾利斯（阿根廷）、布拉格（捷克）、聖地亞哥（美國）等地均設有辦事處，代理機構覆蓋全球超過100個國家。

Network Security Perimeter: Why Is This Concept Obsolete?

For a long time, companies had data centers as their IT infrastructures, which needed to be protected from external agents. 

Business-critical data was embedded in these allocations, including internal networks, client devices, Internet gateways, applications, and servers. 

To protect these assets, firewalls, antivirus programs, intrusion systems, and demilitarized zones were used, separating those who had access authorization from those who did not.

In this type of structure, anyone could access most of the network, regardless of their need and the tasks they performed in the company.

On the other hand, accessing it remotely was a major challenge due to the Network Security Perimeter. 

The digital transformation process, along with the migration of infrastructures to the cloud and the adoption of remote work models, has led companies to decentralize their infrastructures. 

One of the direct consequences of this movement was the development and adoption of Zero Trust-based models and micro-segmentation, since the Network Security Perimeter has become inefficient. In this article, we will explore this subject. To facilitate your reading, we divided our text into topics:

  • What Is a Network Security Perimeter
  • Why Many Experts Believe the Network Security Perimeter has Become Outdated
  • Three Changes that Contributed to Making the Network Security Perimeter Obsolete
  • New Ways to Handle Network Security Today
  • Internet of Things and the Network Security Perimeter
  • About senhasegura
  • Conclusion

Read our content to the end and understand more about it!

What Is a Network Security Perimeter

The Network Security Perimeter refers to the model used in traditional networks to protect resources and data and prevent them from being accessed by external invaders.

For this, intrusion detection and prevention systems and firewalls are used, among other security measures. There are three best practices when it comes to Network Security Perimeter, which are:

  • Passive Monitoring

Some features can be used to promote passive monitoring by detecting vulnerabilities and identifying different devices connected to the network.

Passive monitoring allows one to locate desktops, remote servers, and routers, among others, and assess their configuration and operating system in order to find weaknesses that can be exploited by malicious agents. To do this, one must activate these features or schedule them manually. 

  • Active Monitoring

Active monitoring makes it possible to map an organization’s private network and check it continuously, identifying irregular traffic, unknown IP, and data transmission, among other patterns.

With active monitoring tools, one can keep employees in compliance with the organization’s guidelines, without exposing the system to security failures due to malicious actions or misuse. They allow you to create logs and reports to audit network security in real-time.

  • Network Zoning

Network zoning divides the areas of a network into secure, restricted, controlled, and uncontrolled zones. Its great benefit is to limit security breaches to the areas where they occurred, without affecting the others.

Each zone has different security policies and traffic can be restricted through firewalls, which leave the identity of the trusted network hidden from untrusted ones that are connected to the Internet.

With the evolution of cloud computing, the Network Security Perimeter has become insufficient to provide cybersecurity to organizations. In the next topic, we explain why.

Why Many Experts Believe the Network Security Perimeter has Become Outdated

The digital transformation has brought the possibility of accessing corporate resources from any environment, maintaining the productivity of employees who are in remote work or on a business trip. 

This can be very positive, as it ensures availability for customers, whose demands are constantly evolving. 

Adapting to digital transformation involves understanding that the security perimeter does not cover just the local network. Today, it is necessary to protect corporate resources accessed from external networks, such as hotels, cafes, or homes of employees and business partners.

For this reason, experts believe the Network Security Perimeter consists of a concept that has become insufficient and obsolete. 

This is because the traditional firewall used to consider the activities developed within a strong perimeter to be secure, and the services managed by public cloud providers extrapolate this delimitation and rely on mechanisms that require other security measures.

Digitally transforming a company requires modifying its security model, applying automated controls, detecting violations using the available signals, and applying the principle of least privilege. In addition, the actions performed by users must be constantly verified, regardless of where these users are located. We call this Zero Trust. 

Three Changes that Contributed to Making the Network Security Perimeter Obsolete

Some changes have contributed to making the Network Security Perimeter an obsolete solution. Among them, we can highlight:

  • Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many organizations to adopt remote work and, as it seems, this type of work may remain.

This changed the way people work: those who settled in an office today access the resources they need from any device, anywhere. 

But even before the spread of the coronavirus, the work had already changed for many: although people worked not only at home, they also worked at home.

  • VPNs

With the growth of remote work, VPNs were used by companies so that their employees could securely perform their tasks, even far from the office.

Today, they are still useful for enabling secure remote connections, but violations have already shown us that their security model is perimeter-based. That’s why organizations are looking for easier and more secure resources. 

  • Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is part of the reality of most companies today. As a result, data and resources are no longer stored in network locations and are stored in an external cloud.

In this way, your employees can access information available in the cloud environment from anywhere in the world, which provides much more dynamism to their activities.

However, it is no longer possible to talk about Network Security Perimeter, or delimiting a certain area, since it dissolves in this context. 

New Ways to Handle Network Security Today

After noting that the Network Security Perimeter has become insufficient, it is necessary to adhere to other ways of handling network security, and some of them are:

  • Zero Trust-based Models

One of the alternatives to the Network Security Perimeter is to migrate to a model based on zero trust, which assumes that one should never trust, but always verify.

Therefore, users and devices must be authenticated and constantly verified each time they access a program or resource through solutions such as SSO or multifactor authentication (MFA).

Thus, users will have access only to the data and tools they need to perform their functions.

This mechanism promotes security because it not only protects the network against external invaders but also against insider threats. At the same time, it favors flexible access to organizational systems, which can be done from any environment. 

  • Micro-segmentation

Micro-segmentation enables the creation of secure areas for companies to segment workloads that must be protected in isolation. 

This feature is useful in environments with many assets, such as cloud deployments and data centers, but it is very complex to deploy it securely in large companies with numerous networks, cloud platforms, and firewalls. 

To be efficient, micro-segmentation needs to have visibility, something that many networks do not have. This is because engineers must know which devices are on the network to target them. 

  • Software-defined Perimeter

Created by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the software-defined perimeter (SDP) is a structure that controls access to resources based on user identity. Its function is to allow connection to applications, network systems, and services securely, hiding details of the infrastructure such as IP addresses and port numbers.

In this model, a network device refuses connections from any other device or application that is unnecessary to perform a certain activity, preventing attackers from exploiting the network. 

Internet of Things and the Network Security Perimeter

The Internet of Things (IoT) is characterized by making it possible to live in a hyper-connected world, in which everyday objects are connected to the Internet, working together with the minimum of human intervention.

Its evolution generates new vulnerabilities when it comes to information security, since not all people are used to adopting appropriate protection measures.

Preventing technological evolution is impossible, however, it is necessary to reflect that having everything connected anywhere makes the goal of the Network Security Perimeterunfeasible, requiring the adoption of layers of security that do not compromise the business. 

About senhasegura

We, from senhasegura, are part of the MT4 Tecnologia group, created in 2001, to promote cybersecurity.

We are present in 54 countries, providing our clients with control over privileged actions and data. In this way, we avoid the action of malicious users and data leaks. 

We understand that digital sovereignty is a right of all and this goal can only be achieved with applied technology. 

Therefore, we follow the life cycle of privileged access management, before, during, and after access, by using machine automation. Among our commitments, the following stand out:

  • Ensure more efficiency and productivity for businesses, as we avoid interruptions due to expiration;
  • Perform automatic audits on the use of privileges;
  • Automatically audit privileged changes to detect abuses;
  • Ensure customer satisfaction;
  • Perform successful deployments;
  • Provide advanced PAM capabilities;
  • Reduce risks;
  • Bring companies into compliance with audit criteria and standards such as PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO 27001, and HIPAA.

Conclusion

By reading this article, you saw that:

  • Network Security Perimeter consists of a model used in traditional networks to prevent data and resources from being accessed by external invaders;
  • There are three best practices when it comes to Network Security Perimeters, which are: passive monitoring, active monitoring, and network zoning. 
  • This capability is not enough to protect corporate resources accessed from external environments by people linked to organizations;
  • It is a system that has become obsolete, due to the reduction in the use of VPNs, the Covid-19 pandemic and the wide adherence to remote work that it caused;
  • Therefore, companies have adapted themselves through solutions such as Zero Trust-based models, micro-segmentation, and software-defined perimeter;
  • The Internet of Things also represents a challenge for the Network Security Perimeter, as it makes it possible to have everything connected anywhere.

Did you like our article on Network Security Perimeters? Share it with someone who may also be interested in the topic.

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About Segura®
Segura® strive to ensure the sovereignty of companies over actions and privileged information. To this end, we work against data theft through traceability of administrator actions on networks, servers, databases and a multitude of devices. In addition, we pursue compliance with auditing requirements and the most demanding standards, including PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO 27001 and HIPAA.

UK Cybersecurity – Lifting the Bottom Up From the Top Down

In my last post, I talked about what makes the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) unique – and a valuable model of national cybersecurity for others to follow. I highlighted a recent report from the NCSC that explores their success with Active Cyber Defence (ACD): where they hunt down and face off against threats to make the cyber landscape safer for all. That report has too many interesting insights to contain in just one post – so I promised to write another. Here’s what I didn’t cover before that I think readers will want to be aware of.

Offense is the Best Defense

One of the signature services of the NCSC goes on the offensive to remove “bad stuff” hosted on the internet: extortion mail servers, fake eCommerce stores, phishing URLs, web shells, and quite a bit more. Kind of like internet cops, they patrol around for any criminal activities trying to ensnare the public and shut them down (hopefully) before anyone gets harmed.

Of course, cleansing the internet is an impossible and overwhelming undertaking for any team, but the impact of the NCSC is impressive nonetheless.

In total, it took down 2.7 million campaigns spread across 3.1 million bogus URLs in 2021. And while that may not sound like much on the grand scale of the internet, these takedowns are still significant. Consider, for example, phishing scams that used the UK government as a lure. These scams are very effective and potentially devastating. But thanks to the NCSC, there are 11,000 fewer active campaigns, and the median availability of attacks dropped by 30%. I call that progress.

The NCSC claims that in the 5 years it has been running the ACD program, the UK share of global phishing attacks has been cut in half, and the lifecycle of commodity attacks has shrunk significantly. Those results make a compelling argument in favor of offensive cybersecurity tactics, for one, and carrying out those tactics at the federal level, for another. As the NSCS says itself, “Our continued hope is that other nations, National CERTs, and other organizations employ similar services to amplify the effect of this work.”

Security Comes From Community

Something else that strikes me as unique about what the NCSC does is its emphasis on community involvement and proactive reporting. Users can provide suspicious emails or URLs for the NCSC to check out. Those tips, in turn, inform the comprehensive threat intelligence that the NCSC provides to organizations across the UK.

I think that’s a powerful model for others to follow: where threat intelligence comes from the bottom up (or perhaps the front-lines backward), and then guidance, support, and services are delivered from the top down. The security apparatus works similarly in other aspects of society – we report suspicious activities to the police or call out unusual activities in the airport – but it has yet to really expand into the realm of cybersecurity. Most would agree that needs to change, and the NCSC shows us why and how.

Whether at the federal level, the individual level, or anywhere in-between, cybersecurity benefits from community and suffers from isolation. The more that people report red flags and share intelligence, the faster we neutralize attacks. And the more that we approach cybersecurity as a shared priority and cooperative endeavor, the more we build an insurmountable advantage against hackers. I know this might sound sentimental. But I firmly believe that cybersecurity only works collectively. The NCSC seems to agree.

Granted, other federal cybersecurity agencies, including those in the US, have mechanisms for reporting possible threats and distributing threat intelligence. The UK isn’t alone in that regard. But through some combination of accessibility and outreach, the NCSC has gotten people onboard with cybersecurity in ways that should make other governments envious. As they say in their own report, active cyber defense is a “team sport.”

I couldn’t agree more.

#cybersecurity #UK #NCSC #CISA #InfoSec

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About VRX
VRX is a consolidated vulnerability management platform that protects assets in real time. Its rich, integrated features efficiently pinpoint and remediate the largest risks to your cyber infrastructure. Resolve the most pressing threats with efficient automation features and precise contextual analysis.

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