How do you assess risk for complex networks?

Start by identifying the critical assets within the network. These could be data, hardware, software, or physical components. Identify potential threats and vulnerabilities that the network may face. This includes both internal and external threats. analyzing the network's configuration, security controls, and practices. Evaluate the potential impact of each threat event on the network Prioritize risks based on their scores to focus on the most critical ones. Conduct regular security audits and testing to validate the effectiveness of your risk mitigation measures. Maintain detailed records of your risk assessment activities, mitigation efforts, and incident response plans.

There is a high importance of maintaining coherence between the various silos. Sensitive applications should run on servers flagged as sensitive, storing their data in databases flagged as sensitive, and all this located in subnets also identified as being subject to the transmission of sensitive data. Problems arise when those inventories are desynchonized. Then establish the golden rules: what is allowed from where - and what are the documented exceptions (because there are always exceptions). Then use tools to maintain this coherence, that will ensure that both the inventories stay coherent, and that your golden rules are and keep applied everywhere. Platform like ours at Cognitechs will help you reach this goal of continuous compliance.

A 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲-𝗶𝗻-𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 strategy combines multiple security measures to protect a Company's assets. In the event that one line of defense is compromised, additional layers serve as a backup to prevent threats from spreading further. It allows administrators time to countermeasure a hacker's intrusion into a network. Defense-in-depth systems integrate elements from the following areas to provide multi-tiered security: 1.𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀: E.g. Gates, key cards 2. 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀: E.g. IDS, IPS 3. 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀: E.g. Policies, Trainings 4. 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀: E.g. Antivirus, Disabled ports

Enhancing network security is crucial in today's digital landscape. Start with a foundational firewall and IPS infrastructure to safeguard against threats. Next, manage assets by defining a network's zoning concept, establishing communication rules, and translating this into the physical environment. This provides clarity on network devices and their interactions. Manage the software lifecycle from the virtualization layer to the OS and applications, ensuring regular updates and patches. Lastly, proactively handle vulnerabilities by scanning and prioritizing them, followed by timely remediation. Embrace this four-step approach to fortify your organization's defense against evolving cyber threats.

As part of my Doctoral dissertation, I am looking at developing a holistic system risk assessment of an entire IT/OT system by ingesting and fusing the hardware and software BOMs, Common Vulnerability Exposures (CVEs), Threat Intelligence feeds, system technical information, and known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Now, imagine what interesting information we can find about an entire system, using automation (not just a cliche), NLP, and Large Language Models (LLMs). I find that we often give up on pursuing this level of analysis because it is "too hard." However, I argue that this is exactly why we need to solve this fundamental issue from the very start. Let the computer do the hard work for us.

DevSecOps should be a very good approach ! this include: threat model secure coding SAST SCA DAST Pentest Security Analysis Security Monitor Security Audit Security patch Security Scan Security config Secure transfer

Vulnerabilities scanners, network analysis tools, IDS or configurations hardening are essential, but they are not sufficient if they are evaluated in silos, independently from each other. Several initiatives exist to try to match two or three of those knowledge sources, but a complete holistic approach is rare. This is exactly what our platform proposes: evaluate every element within its whole context, and discover misconfigurations, missing controls or attack paths - especially when changes are made to the network, or configurations.

In order to assess risk in complex networks, you can use Vulnerabilities scanners, network analysis tools, IDS, honeypots, internal and third parties pentests, Red & Blue teams, etc, etc. But in order to find out threats and vulnerabilities that could be affecting your organization in deeply, proactive and directed towards ways, I strongly recommend you do threat intelligence too. It's not cheap, it's not easy but is a very professional way to get assess risk for complex networks.

To assess risk for complex networks, it's crucial to analyze threats and vulnerabilities, prioritize them based on impact and likelihood, conduct penetration testing, implement mitigation strategies, and continually monitor and adapt to evolving threats.

A pivotal step in assessing risk for intricate networks is leveraging recognized cybersecurity frameworks. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework offers a structured approach, emphasizing continuous understanding and improvement. Meanwhile, the ISO/IEC 27001 emphasizes a systematic approach to managing sensitive company information. By integrating these frameworks, you'll harness the benefits of continual assessment and feedback loops. Regularly benchmarking against industry standards ensures you're proactive and resilient. Ultimately, a multi-faceted approach, grounded in globally recognized standards, ensures the integrity of complex networks against emerging threats.

In simpler terms, when you're dealing with complex networks, you can't just set up security measures and forget about them. Things change all the time, so you need tools that can adapt on the fly. That's where machine learning and AI come in handy—they can help you spot weak points in real-time, so you can fix them before they become a problem.