What is Defense in Depth?

Defense in depth is more important than ever as more employees work from home and organizations rely more on cloud-based services. Organizations must address the security risks associated with employees using their own devices for work and their home Wi-Fi connection to enter the corporate network when they work from home.

 

Even with IT resources in place, vulnerabilities exist in devices used for both work and personal purposes—vulnerabilities that cyber criminals exploit. Furthermore, as more businesses use cloud-hosted, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, many of which are mission-critical, managing the privacy and security of an increasing amount of data entered through websites remains difficult.

 

Also Read | 16 Cybersecurity Tactics to Secure the Cloud

 

What is Defense in Depth?

 

Defense-in-depth is a strategy for information assurance that employs multiple, redundant defensive measures in the event that a security control fails or a vulnerability is exploited. It derives from the same-named military strategy, which seeks to stall an attack rather than defeat it with a single strong line of defense.

 

End-user security, product design, and network security are all examples of defense-in-depth cybersecurity use cases. Defense in depth is opposed by the principle of security simplicity, which assumes that too many security measures may introduce problems or gaps that attackers can exploit.

 

Defense in depth is a security strategy that employs multiple security measures to safeguard an organization's assets. The theory is that if one line of defense is breached, additional layers of defense exist as a backup to ensure that threats are stopped along the way. Defense in depth addresses the security flaws that exist not only in hardware and software but also in people, as negligence or human error are frequently the cause of a security breach.

 

The scale and sophistication of today's cyber threats are rapidly increasing. Defense in depth is a comprehensive approach to protecting an organization's endpoints, data, applications, and networks that employs a combination of advanced security tools.

 

The concept of defense-in-depth was developed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and is named after a common military strategy. (A defense-in-depth cybersecurity strategy is also known as a castle approach because it is similar to the layered defenses of a medieval castle, which includes moats, drawbridges, towers, and so on.)

 

People, technology, and operations are all covered by the NSA's defense-in-depth strategy. It outlines best practices and guidelines for securing physical infrastructure, organizational processes, and IT systems.

 

Also Read | Cyber Security Awareness: Ways to Protect Cyber Attack Vulnerability

 

Security Products Used in Defense in Depth:

 

A defense-in-depth strategy is based on the idea that a single security product cannot fully protect a network from every possible attack. Implementing multiple security products and practices, on the other hand, can aid in the detection and prevention of attacks as they occur, allowing organizations to effectively mitigate a wide range of threats. 

 

As organizations scale their networks, systems, and users, this approach will become increasingly important. While defense-in-depth strategies differ depending on an organization's needs and available resources, they typically include one or more of the following products:

 

1. Physical security controls:

 

Physical Security controls protect information technology systems, corporate buildings, data centers, and other physical assets from threats such as tampering, theft, and unauthorized access. Access control and surveillance methods such as security cameras, alarm systems, ID card scanners, and biometric security may be included (e.g. fingerprint readers, facial recognition systems, etc.).

 

2. Technical security controls:  

 

Technical security controls   Firewalls, secure web gateways (SWG), intrusion detection or prevention systems (IDS/IPS), browser isolation technologies, endpoint detection, and response (EDR) software, data loss prevention software (DLP), web application firewalls (WAF), and anti-malware software are examples of common security products at this layer.

 

3. Administrative security controls:

 

Administrative security controls are policies that system administrators and security teams implement to control access to internal systems, corporate resources, and other sensitive data and applications. It could also include security awareness training to ensure that users practice good security hygiene, keep data secure, and avoid exposing systems, devices, and applications to unnecessary risks.

 

Some of the most common security products at this layer are firewalls, secure web gateways (SWG), intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), browser isolation technologies, endpoint detection and response (EDR) software, web application firewalls (WAF), data loss prevention software (DLP), and anti-malware software.

 

Administrative security controls are policies defined by system administrators and security teams that control access to internal systems, corporate resources, and other sensitive data and applications. It may also include security awareness training to ensure that users maintain good security hygiene, secure data, and avoid endangering systems, devices, and applications.

 

Key Elements in Defense in Depth:

 

Defense in depth is a security strategy that employs a series of multi-layered defense mechanisms to safeguard critical data and systems. If any of the mechanisms fail, a deeper layer is available to protect your data from unknown attacks. 

 

The concept behind this multi-layered approach is that the more layers of security there are, the more difficult it is for an attacker to breach the corporate defense. Key elements of defense in depth are:

 

1. Analyses of Behavior:

 

This contextual analysis aids in the identification of trends, patterns, anomalies, and other useful insights into who, what, how, when, and why a person attempts to access critical resources. It contrasts your current user behavior with previous observations of your typical behavior. 

 

If any anomalies are detected, the security systems automatically switch to the Authentication, Authorization, and Auditing (AAA) framework, which intelligently restricts your access to corporate resources. Meanwhile, it redirects vicious traffic and combats security threats in the background.

 

2. Isolation of Data:

 

The defense-in-depth strategy attempts to limit the storage of critical business information in devices while also determining who has access to the data. For example, sensitive data such as your personal information should be marked with a confidentiality tag and should not be stored in any repository that anyone can easily access. Sandboxing confidential data in an isolated environment leaves no trace on the endpoint and prevents attackers from misusing or leaking sensitive data to the public.

 

3. IT Infrastructure Protection:

 

It is critical to understand the location and priority level of your assets in order to maintain effective system security within your organization. This includes file access and business applications. Having a proper strategy in place to address cybersecurity concerns is critical to ensuring business continuity and the integrity of an organization's technology infrastructure. Adopting a zero-trust security approach is one way for businesses to ensure that all users are authorized to access the resources they require.

 

4. Endpoint Security:

 

Endpoint compliance allows you to secure your endpoint and restrict unauthorized access to the corporate network and workspaces. A deep device posture check (DDPC) can be used to implement the right kind of device access by collecting and thoroughly inspecting security-related data from all connected devices and allowing system administrators to control application access and disconnect hazardous devices.

 

5. Network Security Control at Application Layer:

 

Using a firewall to protect your network and endpoints from online terror attacks is insufficient. To securely access your corporate resources quickly without changing the network or the configuration of your endpoint device, you must use a safe access tunnel, such as zero-trust network access (ZTNA) solution. This type of solution will not only keep endpoint vulnerabilities from entering the internal network, but it will also allow you to explore endless opportunities with maximum agility.

 

The likelihood of a breach is reduced by layering and even duplicating security processes. Most organizations recognize that a single layer of security or a single-point product (for example, a firewall) is insufficient to protect the enterprise from today's increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals.

 

For example, if a hacker successfully infiltrates a company's network, defense in depth allows administrators time to implement countermeasures. Antivirus software and firewalls should be in place to prevent further intrusion and protect the organization's applications and data.

 

At first glance, security redundancy may appear to be wasteful. A defense-in-depth strategy, on the other hand, prevents threats because when one security product fails, another security product is ready to take over.

 

Conclusion:

 

Prior to the rise of cloud computing, most cybersecurity techniques relied on perimeter defense principles, which entailed securing the network's perimeter with data stored behind a perimeter wall. This strategy has inherent flaws that have become more apparent in the cloud era as employees and third-party users have grown more accustomed to remote access.

 

A defense-in-depth strategy broadens the view of how enterprises must manage risks by taking a more holistic look at how diverse cybersecurity solutions may collaborate to mitigate the impact of escalating threats from both within and outside the company.

 

With today's rapidly changing and intelligent cybercrime landscape, a single layer of security simply will not suffice. The Defense in Depth strategy creates a more secure network by layering and even duplicating certain security measures to reduce the likelihood of a breach.

 

Businesses can fill gaps and close loopholes that would otherwise exist if the network relied on only one layer of security by layering a series of different defenses such as firewalls, antivirus, intrusion detection, port scanning, secure gateways, and more. For example, if a hacker compromises the network protection layer, defense in depth allows administrators and engineers more time to deploy updates and countermeasures while the antivirus and firewall layers are in place to prevent further entry.

 

Overnight, the pandemic created a remote workforce. Experts estimate that cybercrime has increased by nearly 300% since the pandemic began. 1 Technology leaders around the world, such as Cloudz Biz, are assisting small businesses in improving their cyber defense.

 

Relying on a single basic security solution will thus be ineffective against sophisticated attack vectors. This is where a strategy like Defense in Depth comes into play.

 

Defense-in-depth is a strategy for information assurance that employs multiple, redundant defensive measures in the event that a security control fails or a vulnerability is exploited. It derives from the same-named military strategy, which seeks to stall an attack rather than defeat it with a single strong line of defense.