Network Security a Top Priority for CISOs

Think about when a company faces a cyberattack – it’s a moment every security leader dreads. Often, the network becomes the center of attention. But waiting for a crisis to focus on network security is too late in today’s world, where attackers move quickly and cleverly. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are now realizing that making sure they can see what’s happening on their networks and that their networks are strong is not just a job for the tech team. It’s a key part of the company’s overall security plan.

The Network: A Security Layer That’s Both Basic and Important

Today’s attackers don’t just use viruses or trick people with fake emails. They also move around inside computer networks, take advantage of weak spots in how networks are set up, and get around regular security on computers and at the edges of the network. This means the network does two important things: it connects everything, but it also gives us a lot of information to find threats, understand what happened after an attack, and stop it from spreading.

Because of this, CISOs want to know more about the traffic moving within their networks (east-west traffic), how encrypted information is flowing, and how different services are talking to each other, especially in complex setups that use both their own systems and cloud services. This has changed how companies collect, look at, and use network information as part of their bigger security systems.

NetSecOps: Bringing Network and Security Teams Together

In the past, the teams that manage the network and the teams that handle security often worked separately. They had their own tools, ways of measuring success, and goals. But this separation doesn’t work anymore. Security teams now depend on the network team for information to hunt for threats, spot unusual activity, and enforce security rules.

This teamwork – often called NetSecOps – means that network information, how the network is set up, and how traffic flows need to be easily available through computer connections (APIs), dashboards, and combined security systems (SIEM/XDR). CISOs are investing more in tools that help the network and security teams work together better. Some of these tools include:

• Network Detection and Response (NDR): Systems that watch network behavior and find unusual activity as it happens.
• Microsegmentation: Ways to set detailed security rules for different parts of the network in company data centers and cloud services.
• Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) & Zero Trust Architectures: New ways to control who can access the network based on who they are and how secure their devices are, not just where they are connecting from.

Smarter Defenses Needed for AI-Powered Threats

Attackers are now using artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically find weak spots, learn about networks, and move around inside them. This makes it even more important to have network security that can see threats in real-time and adapt to them. CISOs need to make sure their security systems are also smart, able to connect the dots between what’s happening on the network, on individual computers, with user accounts, and in the cloud.

This means using AI and machine learning (ML) tools that learn what normal network activity looks like and can flag even small changes that might be a threat. This is especially important because most network traffic is now encrypted, making it harder to see what’s going on.

How CISOs Can Make Network Security a Priority: A Checklist

To make network security a key part of their overall strategy, CISOs should:

• Create Plans for Teams to Work Together: Make sure the security team, the network team, and the cloud team know how to work together when there’s a security problem or when new security rules need to be put in place.
• Demand a Single View of Everything: Use systems that bring together information from the network, individual computers, and cloud services into one place.
• Focus on Traffic Inside the Network: Use tools that can see what’s happening within the network, not just at the edges.
• Promote Zero Trust: Use the network as a basic layer for always checking who is trying to access what and making sure everyone only has the access they truly need.
• Include Network Information in Risk Assessments: Use what they know about the network to help understand overall risks, track how well they’re meeting security rules, and show important information to company leaders.

Conclusion

In a world where attackers use AI and companies have complex networks that include their own systems and the cloud, the network is more than just the infrastructure that connects things. It’s a key tool for staying secure, finding threats, and responding quickly. CISOs who understand this change and encourage strong teamwork between network and security teams will be in a much better position to protect their organizations from the threats of today and the challenges of tomorrow.

The insights presented underscore the network’s transformation from mere infrastructure to a cornerstone of enterprise security. What concrete actions will your organization undertake in the coming months to elevate network security within its strategic priorities and operational frameworks?

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