Do you have visibility of the top threats affecting your network?

Here’s a disquieting statistic from our recent blog: it takes an average of 197 days to identify that company security was breached^[1].

What’s more, 66% of organisations reported that visibility into their IT performance declined after deploying cloud services^[2].

Given that so many organisations have expedited their move to the cloud in response to the pandemic, security teams undoubtedly find themselves facing unprecedented challenges. As more workers have stepped out of company buildings and started working in kitchens and home offices, their daily IT activities have fallen well and truly into the shadows. Beyond the network edge, it’s harder than ever for security teams to see and to manage users, devices, and the network.

The irony being, this is a time they really need to see those activities more clearly than ever.

New workplaces, new security threats

For one thing, this mass migration to home working has encouraged cyber attackers to step up their game. As workers start to access sensitive data from devices on their home networks, hackers have seen a chink in the armour to attempt a host of malicious activities, from DDoS to data exfiltration to malware installation.

That being said, workers are (often unwittingly) not helping themselves or their businesses – especially if they don’t feel adequately supported with the technology they need. Downloading ‘shadow IT’ apps onto work laptops (video calling apps, document collaboration software, instant messaging platforms, and the like) can also create potential security loopholes, allowing others to listen to conversations or even access sensitive material.

The question remains: what can organisations do to get insight into shadow IT beyond the network edge and to identify and proactively address security threats – before they become service-affecting?

Getting that vital shared view

Part of the answer is to get security and network management teams working together. And to that end, it’s heartening to see the data on this: 63% of enterprises have formal NetSecOps collaboration^[3]. It’s great to have more teams collaborating on network security testing, configuring, provisioning; the whole package. BUT, – and it’s a big ‘but’ – only 26% of network and security operations teams have integrated tools^[4].

And there’s the problem.

Teams may work together, but if they don’t have a single, shared source of insight, they will never have the ability to identify serious issues and stop them in their tracks.

Departments need full fidelity visibility into all aspects of their network with the ability to do forensic analysis and threat hunting. This can often be best accomplished through a combination of flow, packet, and end user data. A bonus is if the tool also detects threats in real-time, such as malware, blacklisted sites, data exfiltrations, and DDoS attacks.

That’s exactly the kind of insight that Visibility-as-a-Service End User Experience (VaaS EUX), powered by Riverbed’s unified network performance management solution, is designed to deliver.

Taking action with BT and Riverbed

Delivered as a managed service by our partner BT, VaaS EUX helps you to deliver an improved customer and user experience by giving you real-time, dashboard-based insight into your network performance, applications, and user devices. It lets you see when workers communicate with blacklisted systems; it baselines traffic and automatically identifies threats. It highlights DDoS and malware attacks, and it automatically identifies the applications in use on the network – allowing you to shut down any shadow IT that may be leaving you vulnerable.

What’s more, it lets you take action before any threats impact your business.

Importantly, you can choose an implementation to fit your precise business requirements and budget. BT’s consultants will ensure you get maximum value with customised configuration, familiarity training, and ongoing support.

At a time when it’s harder than ever to get insight, VaaS EUX really does give you the chance to breathe a sigh of relief.

Find out more about VaaS EUX from BT, and get in touch to discuss how it could give your business unparalleled insight into ever-changing security challenges.

[1] Source: Digital Enterprise Journal

[2] Digital Enterprise Journal: ’19 key areas shaping IT performance markets in 2020’, Apr 22, 2020

[3] Source: EMA: Network Management Megatrends 2020

[4] Source: EMA: Network Management Megatrends 2020