Electricity + Control May 2018

CYBER SECURITY

Deception Technology Comes of Age

Information provided by Attivo Networks at Networks Unlimited

Deception is usually frowned on by most societies and can carry negative conno- tations. But can deception ever be a positive? Cybersecurity Company Attivo Net- works believes that it certainly can be.

Take Note!

A newapproach is need- ed in today’s cybersecu- rity defence strategies. Deception technology is a force to be reckoned with in the cybersecurity field. The solution described is designed to make the entire network a trap and to force the attacker to have to be right 100% of the time or risk being discovered.

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A nton Jacobsz, managing director at Net- works Unlimited, an African value-added technology distributor of Attivo Networks, says, “Companies are recognising more and more that a new approach is needed in today’s cyber- security defence strategies. During the past few years, the pace and intensity of malware, ransom- ware and phishing attacks from those looking to steal information have increased significantly. Our vendor partner, Attivo Networks, offers another, completely different layer of protection in the form of ‘deception technology’. It’s an excellent and complementary addition to any company’s layers of cyber protection strategies.” Advanced deception technology platforms offer the capability to exercise deception-based detec- tion throughout every layer of the network stack, enabling efficient exposure for every threat vector. Using high-interaction decoys and lures, deception solutions effectively deceive attackers into reveal- ing themselves, thereby closing the ‘detection deficit’. With early visibility into threats and the evidence-based alerts required to accelerate inci- dent response, deception technologies are rapidly becoming the solution of choice for organisations looking to implement an active defence strategy and accelerate incident response. As a result of the effectiveness of advanced deception technology, organisations across all major industries in North America, including retail, energy, and healthcare, are aggressively adopting these solutions. FBR Capital Markets forecasts that the deception technology market as a detec- tion security control will grow to US$3 billion by 2019, three times its size in 2016. Jacobsz clarifies, “TheThreatDefend Deception and Response Platform from Attivo Networks is designed to make the entire network a trap and to force the attacker to have to be right 100% of the

time or risk being discovered.The solution is based on six pillars, which include visibility, real-time de- tection, malware and phishing analysis, forensic reporting, incident handling, and response.” The solution combines distributed, high inter- action deception decoys and lures designed to provide early visibility into in-network threats, ef- ficient continuous threat management, and accel- erated incident response. The platform provides a ‘hall of mirrors’ environment that is baited with lures and traps, while making deception decoys completely indistinguishable from company as- sets. The decoys attract and detect attackers in re- al-time, actively engaging with them so that their movements and actions can be safely analysed, and evidence-based alerts raised. Conclusion “Deception technology is now coming into its own. Early adopters of intrusion detection tech- nology faced challenges with accurate detection, because these solutions were either based on known signatures, attempting to pattern match, or looking for anomalous behaviour. In the early days, the results were unreliable and generated high volumes of logs and false positives. With limita- tions such as staffing and time constraints, many of these alerts were simply ignored, and attackers then took advantage of inefficiency, sometimes going undetected for an average of 200+ days. Today, however, advanced deception technology is a force to be reckoned with in the cybersecurity field. You could think of it as the ‘smoke and mir- rors’ arm of your cybersecurity arsenal, ultimate- ly using the art of deception in the ongoing fight against those who aim to hold others to ransom,” Jacobsz concludes.

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‘Using the art of deception to foil those who hold others to ransom’.

Enquiries: Duncan Moodley,

Attivo Networks at Net- works Unlimited. Email duncan@nu.co.za.

18 Electricity + Control

MAY 2018