As businesses grapple with the escalating risks posed by advanced cyberthreats, cybersecurity budgets are expanding to accommodate innovation and business growth.
In Singapore, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) has initiated the Cybersecurity Talent, Innovation & Growth (Cyber TIG) Plan, injecting SG$50 million to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity sector. This includes programmes like CyberBoost. However, implementing these enhanced security measures can be daunting for many organisations, especially given the current shortage of security talent in the region.
As we explore new and inventive ways to bolster security, it’s clear that a collaborative, cross-border approach is essential for effectively safeguarding organisations against the growing complexity of cybercrime in our AI-driven world.
Security investments and mindset shift must go hand in hand
To stay ahead of cybercriminals increasingly using AI, organisations must adopt a proactive stance towards detection and prevention. Gartner reports that 58% of organisations plan to boost their cyber investment this year, with 54% of those organisations with revenues exceeding US$5 billion projected to spend over US$250 million annually on cybersecurity.
However, it’s not just about technology investments. As security breaches become more frequent, a shift in organisational mindset is also a critical piece of the puzzle. In today’s threat landscape, it’s not a question of if an organisation will be breached, but rather when, and this means ensuring your team is prepared for whatever form a potential breach might take.
To combat today’s sophisticated cyberthreats, many of which are weaponising technologies like AI, detection measures must also account for how tools like AI-enhanced attack signal intelligence can improve the organisation’s resilience.
While integrating AI into a cybersecurity strategy is a logical step, it’s not enough on its own to declare the ‘job done.’ It’s crucial to recognise that the most robust cybersecurity investments also typically blend cutting-edge technology innovations with deep people expertise.
Embracing a hybrid approach to network security for enhanced resilience
In 2023, ransomware tactics shifted from exploiting human error to targeting network infrastructure, presenting a greater challenge for prevention and mitigation solutions. The widespread transition to hybrid and multi-cloud environments means that all enterprises are now hybrid enterprises, and all modern attacks are hybrid attacks. This has rendered legacy threat detection and response solutions ineffective against the new threat landscape, amplifying the need for new threat detection coverage across the expanding hybrid attack surface.
The LockBit case, where the group regrouped swiftly and resumed operations on new infrastructure following a law enforcement response, underscored a harsh reality: Cybercriminals are incredibly adaptable. This event also highlighted the necessity for businesses to constantly review and update their security measures. As LockBit admitted, their failure to update essential software was a significant vulnerability that allowed law enforcement to eventually infiltrate their operations. This serves as a stark reminder that the fundamentals of cybersecurity hygiene, such as regular updates and patches, remain essential in defending against threats.
Attackers often start with the most common systems, like Windows endpoints. As these systems become more secure and harder to exploit, attackers pivot to network infrastructure. When it comes to the network or other attack vectors, traditional controls are failing, leaving business leaders and their IT teams struggling to prevent lateral movement. To tackle new methods, enterprise infrastructure must be viewed as a unified target, just as attackers see it.
Eliminating silos to improve hybrid attack visibility in the digital age
Recognising that organisations have multiple potential vulnerabilities, it is essential to develop solutions that defend against hybrid attacks and eliminate silos to provide visibility across the hybrid attack surface, spanning networks and endpoints. This includes integrations with EDR vendors.
Industry experts emphasise the importance of proactive security measures, noting that cybercrime is a persistent issue. Businesses are encouraged to adopt a proactive approach to secure their infrastructure and enhance organisational resilience. A key part of this strategy is prioritising network defence by maintaining real-time visibility, which allows cyber teams to effectively mitigate risks.
Intelligent threat detection technology is crucial, enabling cyber teams to think like attackers, understand behaviours, and analyse unique detection patterns in their environments. Advanced security AI plays a pivotal role by identifying potential attacks in real time, which helps in prioritising issues and reducing alert noise. This targeted approach allows security teams to focus on addressing the most severe threats.
Balancing innovation and security in a highly competitive world
While many organisations claim to be cloud-first, they still maintain a substantial data centre footprint that also requires protection. The reality is that attackers don’t care where you’re innovating; they will exploit any available avenue. It’s crucial to ensure coverage of lateral movement within an organisation.
Time and again, the best security solutions leverage technologies to amplify security strategies and establish zero-trust parameters, backed by comprehensive support and extensive expertise.
Ultimately, for today’s security decision-makers, the focus should be on addressing what’s urgent by having the most comprehensive view possible of the entire infrastructure and subsequent threats, assessed by severity and impact. This type of attack signal intelligence ensures that security analysts can focus on responding to the most critical threats that will reduce business risk without stifling innovation.
