Data Security
Oracle | September 20, 2023
Oracle to participate in an industry-wide initiative to design a new open network and data security standard.
Oracle and Applied Invention are assisting to developing and promoting a novel network and data-centric security standard to tackle distributed cloud deployment challenges.
This standard will enable organizations to protect their data throughout its entire lifecycle without requiring modifications to their distributed cloud environments' underlying architecture.
Oracle, one of the world's largest database management companies, announced that it will participate in an industry-wide initiative to design a new open network and data security standards that will assist organizations in protecting their data in distributed IT environments. Oracle will collaborate with Applied Invention, a significant technology provider, and other industry leaders, including Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. (NRI), a global leader in consulting and system solutions. This new standard will enable networks to enforce shared security policies collectively, thereby augmenting the security architecture organizations already employ without requiring modifications to existing applications and networks.
Oracle plans to launch the Oracle Zero-Trust Packet Routing Platform, based on the new standard, to support this new initiative. This platform will assist organizations in preventing illegal access or use of their data without imposing additional obstacles on legitimate activities.
Executive Vice President of Security and Developer Platforms at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Mahesh Thiagarajan, said,
Over the last 20 years, the cybersecurity industry has produced many incremental changes, but we need a fundamentally novel approach to protect our data in the increasingly complex cloud era. Organizations require a way to describe their data security policies in one place where they can be easily understood and audited, and they need a way to make sure those policies are enforced across their entire computing infrastructure, including their clouds.
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
As the adoption of cloud technology rises and IT landscapes become more intricate with distributed cloud deployments, organizations face escalating challenges in safeguarding their data using conventional methods and tools. For example, many existing systems necessitate security teams to orchestrate disparate solutions across various facets, including database, application, network, and identity security.
This complexity is further compounded when applied across diverse environments. Ensuring seamless collaboration among these solutions becomes a formidable task due to the dynamic and independent changes in applications, environments, and user profiles. Additionally, current security systems demand extensive configurations to accurately distinguish between different user categories, such as full-time employees and contractors, without compromising security or restricting access.
Research Vice President of Cloud and Edge Infrastructure Services at IDC, Dave McCarthy, said,
The new standard Oracle develop has the potential to change all of that by adding a unified layer of security on top of existing solutions. Building data protection policies into the network itself will assist users get the access they require while ensuring the data remains secure behind the scenes.
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
Oracle and Applied Invention are assisting in designing and promoting a novel security standard, focusing on network and data-centric security, which aims to tackle these challenges. This innovative standard will empower organizations to safeguard their data across its entire lifecycle, including distributed cloud environments. To accomplish this, the standard will implement an intent-based security policy that is designed to be understandable, auditable, and interpretable by humans. This intent-driven approach will be put into practice at the network layer, ensuring that every data transmission contains authenticated attributes concerning the sender, receiver, and the nature of the data in transit.
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Cloud Security
Cisco | September 15, 2023
Cisco Secure Application, new to the Cisco Full-Stack Observability Platform, brings application and security teams together to secure cloud-native application development and deployment.
The platform integrates Cisco's industry-leading security products' security intelligence with application performance data to provide business context with security findings.
Cisco-exclusive business risk observability enables IT professionals to identify, assess, and prioritize risk and fix application security concerns based on potential business impact.
Cisco, a worldwide technology leader that offers innovative software-defined networking, cloud, and security solutions, has unveiled the availability of the Cisco Secure Application, formerly known as Security Insights for Cloud Native Application Observability, on the Cisco Full-Stack Observability platform. This integration empowers organizations to seamlessly unite their application and security teams, facilitating the secure development and deployment of modern applications. The latest release of Cisco Secure Application extends its capabilities to securely manage both cloud-native and hybrid applications.
In an effort to assist organizations in bolstering their cloud-native applications security, Cisco has introduced the new Cisco Secure Application offering, which is available on Cisco's recently introduced Full-Stack Observability platform. This solution equips customers with enhanced visibility and intelligent insights regarding business risk in various cloud environments.
As a result, businesses gain the ability to more effectively prioritize and respond to security risks that could impact revenue and reputation in real time, leading to a reduction in overall organizational risk profiles.
As organizations strive to provide smooth digital experiences, IT teams have faced growing demands to transition to modern, distributed applications.
According to a recent study by Cisco, 92% of global technologists acknowledge that the urgency to innovate and adapt to evolving customer needs has often resulted in compromised application security during software development.
As a consequence, organizations have become susceptible to security vulnerabilities and threats. They face broader attack surfaces and gaps in their application security layer due to the isolation of teams. These teams face challenges in obtaining adequate visibility and the necessary business context for prioritizing vulnerabilities. Consequently, organizations are witnessing a surge in security incidents within the modern environment, thereby jeopardizing customer data and the reputation of their businesses.
Mark Leary, Research Director, IDC, stated,
Cisco's extensive domain experience across multi-cloud and hybrid environments and comprehensive full tech stack oversight positions the company well to assist customers bring business risk observability, application observability, and security intelligence data together. Combined, they give customers access to the critical information they need to make smarter decisions about their application security
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
Senior VP and General Manager of Cisco Full-Stack Observability and AppDynamics, Ronak Desai, said,
An organization's ability to swiftly assess risks based on potential business impact, align teams and triage threats is entirely dependent on understanding where vulnerabilities exist, the severity of those risks, the likelihood they’ll be exploited, and the risk to the business of each issue. This business risk observability can enable IT professionals understand and prioritize those risks and is uniquely delivered by Cisco. The availability of Cisco Secure Application on the Cisco Full-Stack Observability platform is a crucial next step in our commitment to providing customers with the tools they need to provide unmatched and secure digital experiences across multi-cloud and hybrid environments.
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
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Enterprise Security
VentureBeat | September 27, 2023
Microsoft announced a series of new enterprise security features today that use artificial intelligence (AI) to help defend Windows 11 against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. The tech giant claims its new AI capabilities will reduce security incidents by 60% and firmware attacks by 300% for businesses using the latest version of its software.
Microsoft’s vice president of enterprise and OS security, David Weston, explains in a company blog post that was published today specifically how AI is being used to fortify Windows 11 against sophisticated attacks, ranging from malware to firmware threats, and even nation-state attacks.
At the heart of this AI-focused security upgrade is the integration of Microsoft’s Pluton Security Processor and Secured-core PCs. Both systems leverage AI algorithms to isolate sensitive data and provide defense against potential threats. IT professionals should note that these Secured-core PCs are reported to be 60% more resilient to malware than non-Secured-core PCs, a significant improvement in system defenses.
Microsoft’s AI strategy also appears to be forward-thinking, with the company starting to adopt memory safe languages like Rust for traditional attack targets. Rust’s memory safety features without garbage collection make it an ideal language for building reliable and efficient systems, further multiplying the cybersecurity benefits.
The end of passwords? Microsoft’s groundbreaking move
Perhaps most notable among today’s announcements is Microsoft’s push towards a passwordless future, a move that could fundamentally alter the landscape of cybersecurity.
Microsoft’s AI will now be used to develop and implement passkeys — unique, unguessable cryptographic credentials securely stored on a user’s device, which have the potential to replace traditional multi-factor authentication. This is a substantial leap forward in phishing protection, making it considerably more difficult for hackers to exploit stolen passwords.
Microsoft says that its AI system analyzes more than 65 trillion security signals per day— with more than 4,000 password attacks every second — to identify suspicious login attempts and request additional identity verification when needed in the new system.
The company also revealed a new capability called Config Refresh that relies on AI to detect and revert unwanted changes to device policies in near real-time. This allows IT teams to lock down device settings while leveraging intelligence to accommodate legitimate policy updates.
Microsoft pioneers a new cybersecurity path with AI
The company’s commitment to AI solutions aligns with its longstanding strategy of positioning itself as a leader in enterprise computing. By weaving AI into the fabric of Windows 11, Microsoft is demonstrating its commitment to providing businesses with secure, reliable, and forward-thinking solutions.
Business analysts see this as a clear indicator of Microsoft’s strategy to leverage its AI prowess to drive growth and cement its position in the enterprise data and AI market. Given the increasing importance of cybersecurity in the modern business landscape, Microsoft’s investment in AI could pay significant dividends.
However, the real test of these new AI-powered features will be their effectiveness against real-world threats. As cyber threats continue to evolve, so too must our defenses. If Microsoft’s AI enhancements can live up to their promise, they will represent a significant advance in cybersecurity and a potent tool in the fight against cybercrime.
As AI continues to transform enterprise data and security, it’s clear that companies like Microsoft are leading the charge. By harnessing the power of AI, Microsoft is not just shaping its future but also the future of cybersecurity as a whole. Only time will tell how these developments play out, but one thing is certain: the era of AI-driven cybersecurity is here, and Microsoft is at its helm.
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