Cybersecurity Insurance Checklist - Meet Insurance Requirements with BeyondTrust PAM Download for Free

  • Partners
  • Support
  • Careers
  • English
    • Deutsch
    • français
    • español
    • 한국어
    • português
BeyondTrust
  • Products

    Privileged Password Management

    Discover, manage, audit, and monitor privileged accounts and credentials.

    • Password Safe
    • DevOps Secrets Safe
    • Privileged Access Discovery Application

    Endpoint Privilege Management

    Enforce least privilege across Windows, Mac, Linux, and Unix endpoints.

    • Windows and Mac
    • Unix and Linux
    • Active Directory Bridge

    Secure Remote Access

    Centrally manage remote access for service desks, vendors, and operators.

    • Remote Support
    • Privileged Remote Access
    • Privileged Access Discovery Application

    Cloud Security Management

    Automate the management of identities and assets across your multicloud footprint.

    • Cloud Privilege Broker

    BeyondInsight

    Experience the industry’s most innovative, comprehensive platform for privileged access management.

  • Solutions

    Use Cases

    • Cloud Security
    • Compliance
    • Cyber Insurance
    • Digital Transformation
    • Endpoint Security
    • Operational Technology
    • Ransomware
    • Service Desk Efficiency
    • Zero Trust

    Industry Applications

    • Financial Services
    • Government Agencies
    • Healthcare
    • Law Enforcement
    • Manufacturing
    • Schools & Universities

    Solutions

    The BeyondTrust Privileged Access Management portfolio is an integrated solution that provides visibility and control over all privileged accounts and users.

  • Resources

    Learn

    • Blog
    • Customer Stories
    • Competitor Comparisons
    • Datasheets
    • Demos
    • Glossary
    • Podcast
    • Whitepapers

    Attend

    • Events
    • Go Beyond
    • Training
    • Webinars

    Support

    • Changelog
    • Professional Services
    • Technical Documentation

    Universal Privilege Management

    Our innovative Universal Privilege Management approach secures every user, asset, and session across your entire enterprise.

  • Company
    • About
    • Leadership
    • Core Values
    • Partners
    • Careers
  • Watch Demo
  • Contact Sales

Prevention is possible

October 20, 2017

  • Blog
  • Archive

This blog is meant as a rallying cry for anyone who has a vested interest in their organization's security. My aim is to spearhead a new era where all companies take a proactive approach to their security. No longer will historic methods of blocking and defense after the event be the only tenets of a security strategy.

Of course, this piece alone will not lead to a complete culture change. But the evidence for a proactive approach is so strong that I am amazed that the message hasn’t got through to every IT department and board in the country.

The message became crystal clear during Neil MacDonald's presentation at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit in June, which Avecto was lucky enough to attend. Neil is a VP and distinguished analyst in Gartner Research. His presentation analyzed new approaches to combatting advanced and insider threats, and made a number of compelling arguments.

Attacks are bypassing our historic defenses - the antivirus, the firewalls, the intrusion detection systems. Once in, a piece of malware typically stays on the systems for almost a year on average, undetected. We're blind too - 67% of attacks are discovered externally. It might be from a third party spotting records for sale on a website and letting the company know. But either way, our detection of breaches just isn't up to scratch.

But what can we do? Let's run through it in Gartner's stages as Neil did at the summit - block, prevent, detect, respond.

Firstly, let's block out what we can of the 'bad stuff' and let's prevent it from executing. Allow listing is an easy way to start. On an application level this means that known apps are good and can be allowed, unknown apps are bad and can be blocked. The Council on Cyber Security lists application control as the most essential strategy for mitigating threats, based on real-world data.

Secondly, prevent the risk of vulnerabilities by taking away admin rights and run all users as standard users. It might sound like an IT helpdesk nightmare but call upon software which can assign privileges to applications - not users - and you'll provide huge protection for the operating system. It's worth remembering that the removal of admin rights would have mitigated 97% of known Microsoft vulnerabilities in 2014.

Many IT managers and CIOs can be defeatist and believe that prevention is not possible. They've been let down too many times by poor anti-virus and firewalls. But the likes of privilege management, application control and sandboxing can genuinely eliminate the vast majority of threats.

While we would always advocate preventing as much as possible and taking a proactive stance, especially on the endpoint, detection and response strategies complement the defense in depth strategy. These technologies focus on remediating and making changes after the attack.

My hope is that more influencers like Neil MacDonald really get behind the proactive approach and convince organizations that this is the only way to approach modern security.

Leave the old, tired technologies behind and embrace more effective, modern and innovative blocking and prevention strategies. I believe it's an achievable goal and more importantly, that prevention is possible.

Paul Kenyon,

Stay Up To Date

Get the latest news, ideas, and tactics from BeyondTrust. You may unsubscribe at any time.

I agree to receive product related communications from BeyondTrust as detailed in the Privacy Policy, and I may manage my preferences or withdraw my consent at any time.

You May Also Be Interested In:

Whitepapers

Cybersecurity Insurance Checklist

Whitepapers

Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report 2021

Whitepapers

Privileged Access Management: PAM Checklist

Keep up with BeyondTrust

I agree to receive product related communications from BeyondTrust as detailed in the Privacy Policy, and I may manage my preferences or withdraw my consent at any time.

Customer Support
Contact Sales

Products

  • Endpoint Privilege Management
  • Password Management
  • Privileged Remote Access
  • DevOps Secrets Safe
  • Remote Support
  • Cloud Privilege Broker

Resources

  • Blog
  • Case Studies
  • Competitor Comparisons
  • Datasheets
  • Glossary
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Webcasts
  • Whitepapers

About

  • Company
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Leadership Team
  • Partner Program
  • Press
BeyondTrust Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Privacy
  • Security
  • Manage Cookies
  • WEEE Compliance

Copyright © 1999 — 2022 BeyondTrust Corporation. All rights reserved. Other trademarks identified on this page are owned by their respective owners. BeyondTrust Corporation is not a chartered bank or trust company, or depository institution. It is not authorized to accept deposits or trust accounts and is not licensed or regulated by any state or federal banking authority.