As you might have read, Illumio and ACEN have partnered up. Cyberattacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and advanced, while traditional security measures often fail to keep up. Despite increasing investments in cybersecurity, the number of successful breaches continues to rise. Why does this keep happening? Spoiler alert: the problem lies in how organizations secure their networks.
According to MITRE’s ATT&CK framework, lateral movement is one of the most critical phases of an attack, allowing adversaries to move deeper into networks and compromise sensitive systems.
Securing the entire house with Illumio
Traditional network security often revolves around perimeter security. Perimeter security is the process of protecting a company’s network boundaries from hackers and intruders. An example of perimeter security is traditional network security, like firewalls. This is not always sufficient, especially in modern data centers and cloud environments.
Traditional perimeter security focuses on traffic that crosses the network boundaries (‘perimeters’), such as north-south traffic, also known as client to server traffic. Perimeter security will stop any bad traffic but… Inside the perimeter, everything is often trusted by default. Most traffic in data centers and cloud environments happens between systems (east-west traffic). This traffic often goes unmonitored, giving hackers the opportunity to move from one system to another if they gain access.
The solution? Microsegmentation. Microsegmentation is the process and result of dividing your whole network into smaller, isolated zones. You can define which systems are allowed to communicate with each other and only each other. This makes it harder for hackers to move around. It also limits the impact of a potential data breach.
What you need to remember from all of this? You need to secure your system beyond the perimeter of your network. It’s essential to monitor and restrict traffic within your network. How you can achieve this? Microsegmentation.
Think about it like this:
If there’s a high risk of burglars in your neighbourhood, you’ll lock the front door of your house to keep them out. But, what happens if they still manage to break in? Without any locks on the doors inside your house, they’ll have access to every room, taking whatever they want. Micro-segmentation is like locking every room in your house – it ensures that even if an intruder gets inside, they’re contained. They can’t roam freely.
Microsegmentation: lock every door inside the house
Illumio’s approach fundamentally changes the game. Through microsegmentation, it ensures that every application and workload within the network has its own layer of protection. Meaning: if a hacker breaches one system, they cannot spread their ransomware any further. They’re obliged to stay within that one system. This dramatically reduces the risk and damage.
Why Illumio? Never trust, always verify!
Illumio stands out by addressing modern cybersecurity challenges in a way traditional solutions cannot. Let’s take a look at these points:
- Enhanced visibility: Illumio maps all communication flows within your network, giving you a clear picture of how applications interact. This level of insight is invaluable for understanding vulnerabilities and optimizing defenses. This is also very important for the NIS2 guidelines.
- Illumio helps stop the spread of breaches by preventing lateral movement, no matter the architecture, size or complexity of your business. By automatically blocking unnecessary connections, it eliminates the need for writing cumbersome firewall rules or making changes to your network infrastructure.
Impact without infrastructure changes: unlike other solutions, Illumio requires no fundamental changes to your existing network structure. It integrates seamlessly, making it a practical choice for businesses with complex or hybrid IT environments.
“At ACEN, we don’t just embrace innovation, we make it accessible. Illumio empowers businesses to go “beyond regulation” by not only meeting security standards but exceeding them. With tools that provide visibility, control, and unmatched segmentation capabilities, we’re helping organizations secure their most valuable assets while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.”
Toon Vandendriessche, Illumio Expert
A partnership with purpose
Our partnership with Illumio marks an exciting new chapter for ACEN. By combining Illumio’s cutting-edge technology with our expertise in infrastructure and network security, we’re positioned to help organizations of all sizes strengthen their security. Whether it’s ensuring compliance with NIS2 regulations, tackling ransomware threats, or simplifying network segmentation, this collaboration enables us to deliver powerful solutions tailored to our clients’ needs.
In the coming weeks, we’ll dive deeper into Illumio’s unique benefits, exploring how it helps businesses tackle modern threats like ransomware and comply with evolving regulations such as NIS2.
Stay tuned for our next insights, where we’ll explore these topics in detail and highlight how Illumio is redefining cybersecurity. Want to explore these topics together with our expert, Toon? Get in contact!
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