If you’re someone with the slightest bit of interest in cybersecurity- chances are, you’re probably familiar with the ever-expanding surface area available to cybercriminals in the present-day IT environment.
Combined with the increasingly sophisticated nature of cybercrimes, the dire need for “better” cybersecurity becomes blatantly apparent.
Not only is the number of cybersecurity attacks increasing, but cybercriminals are also relying on modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning and also modern tactics like phishing to wreak havoc on individuals and enterprises.
Bearing witness to the grandiose scale of cybercrime is the fact that a staggering 4 billion records have been breached in 2019 so far!
As bleak as the current situation of the cybersecurity world might seem- there is still a silver lining to look forward to.
In order to increase the effectiveness of current cybersecurity teams, enterprises need to implement cybersecurity automation within their security infrastructures.
Although the topic of automating certain aspects of cybersecurity has been getting some buzz recently- there’s still a lot of hearsay over how cybersecurity automation offers a modern solution to security problems.
To better our readers’ understanding of cybersecurity automation, we’ve compiled an article that explains everything there is to know about cybersecurity automation, along with the bearing it has on the future of cybersecurity in general.
What exactly is cybersecurity automation?
So far, we’ve only given a vague idea of the true meaning of what cybersecurity automation is. Simply put, (as the name suggests) cybersecurity automation refers to the automatic performance of certain, mundane cybersecurity processes.
As is the case with any sort of automation, machines replace the need for humans to perform repetitive tasks, and produce much better results, at a faster rate, along with getting the task done more efficiently as well.
Although modern cybersecurity infrastructures have already seen the integration of several automation-centric products and services, there is still a high possibility that enterprise owners might still be in the dark about the advantages that cybersecurity automation has to offer.
In order to put things into perspective for our readers, let’s consider a vulnerability management tool.
Instead of investing human labour into scanning and assessing the network for any vulnerabilities or threats- the vulnerability threat scanner does the job, along with the additional perk of remedying any threats within the network.
Typically, the creation of automation software is deeply rooted in an industrial approach to cybersecurity.
Similarly to how software is designed for the large-scale production of goods in factories, the automation of cybersecurity software is created with the intent to minimize the need for manual labour, through the integration of custom-made software that enables enterprises to automate processes that would have otherwise consumed a lot of labour and time investment.
Off the top of our heads, some time and labour-consuming processes include data collection, network scanning, reporting, and threat analysis, amongst many others.
In most conversations surrounding the automation of cybersecurity tools and services, specialists typically refer to the following types of tools:
1. Security automation and orchestration (SOAR)
This subdivision of cybersecurity automation consists of tools and services that are created with the intent to eliminate the need for human involvement and help combat low-level threats.
SOAR works by allowing a stack of programs to communicate with each other. A common example of security automation and orchestration are the vulnerability management tools that we discussed above.
2. Robotic process automation (RPA):
Robotic process automation combines the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to give rise to a subdivision of cybersecurity which performs high-grade tasks and entirely eradicates the need for a person to perform those tasks.
Not only that, RPA ultimately gives rise to a completely virtual workforce that performs repetitive tasks far more efficiently than any human ever could.
Why does cybersecurity automation matter?
Over the course of recent years, although progress in the cybersecurity world has been slow, we’ve seen several advancements in the cybersecurity market, which is also made evident by the fact that the global cybersecurity market is expected to be valued at a whopping $300 billion by 2024!
Although the stat we’ve discussed above points towards increased investment in the cybersecurity sector, the only true advancement that we’ve seen in fighting cybercrime has been through the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
A similar security tool that has the potential to revolutionize the very notion of cybersecurity as we know it today is the integration of the process of automation within cybersecurity infrastructures.
Both the subdivisions of cybersecurity automation have a pretty heavy bearing on the future of cybersecurity in enterprises, since they offer the following unprecedented benefits to users:
- Allows for the more effective collection of intelligence
- Gives rise to the automation of several integral security processes, including but not limited to investigative and reporting services.
- With SOAR, the automation of cybersecurity processes enables enterprises to detect and resolve low-level threats without the need for any human involvement.
- It allows enterprises to conduct a more profound in-depth analysis of their networks since cybersecurity experts aren’t preoccupied with solving routine problems.
In addition to the perks of cybersecurity automation mentioned above, making the transition from a more conventional cybersecurity infrastructure to an automatic-centric approach allows enterprises room to focus on the business aspect of things as well.
Moreover, as more and more companies ride on the wave of digitization, the automation of cybersecurity can make the tedious process of data collection easy for both large and small companies.
Not only does it remove the need for the hiring of more staff to monitor the larger influx of data- it makes the surveillance and remediation of security loopholes more effective and realistic.
So, where do we go from here?
Instead of basing solutions on what’s trending in the cybersecurity market, cybersecurity automation allows enterprises the rare choice to preserve the security of their future, surprisingly by doing less work than they intended to!
With it, the future for cybersecurity is something that we actually look forward to.
As artificial intelligence progresses, there’s no telling where cybersecurity might end up going.
However, when we take into account recent examples of cybersecurity automation- we can’t help but get our hopes up!
