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In today’s interconnected world, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be overstated. Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their attack techniques, posing significant risks to governments, businesses and individuals alike. Cybercrime is estimated to become an $8 trillion ‘industry’ in 2023, going up to $10.5 trillion by 2025. To effectively mitigate these rising risks, it is important to enhance your security strategy and proactively prepare for the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats.

One powerful solution that organizations can rely on is managed detection and response (MDR). This approach offers a comprehensive suite of proactive threat hunting, detection and response capabilities, providing a robust defense against emerging cyber threats. Managed detection and response services go beyond traditional security measures by leveraging advanced tools, technologies and expert analysis to detect and mitigate threats in real-time.

However, not all managed detection and response service providers are created equal as there’s a huge disparity in the MDR offerings. While some MDR services stop at reactively investigating automated alerts, others provide a full range of AI-based predictive tools. Some MDR services only alert their customers to detected threats while others respond to them without the need for customer intervention.

Given the disparity in the offerings, choosing the right MDR solution provide is of utmost importance. Decision-makers must embark on thorough research to find managed detection and response services that precisely align with their unique needs and delivers end-to-end protection.

This blog post will delve into the essential aspects every organization should ask before hiring an MDR partner. By asking these questions and carefully evaluating the responses, businesses can ensure they make an informed decision and forge a partnership that effectively safeguards their profitability, assets and reputation in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats.

In the following sections, we will present a series of crucial questions that organizations should consider when selecting an MDR solution provider. These questions will help you assess the capabilities, expertise and suitability of potential partners, ensuring that you make an informed decision in protecting your business from cyber threats.

So, here’s how to crack the MDR code!

How well does it understand your needs?

To begin with, it is important to first understand that a template-based solution isn’t always the best and not one size fits all. A template can be a good framework, to begin with, but not necessarily the appropriate solution for every problem. A crucial benchmark for a managed detection and response services partner is their ability to comprehend your organization’s unique requirements. Look for a vendor that can offer a customized approach. Additionally, ensure they have a deep understanding of your industry and offer enhancements and modules that cater to your specific needs. This is a huge issue since many MDR services do not understand that small and medium business require a tailored solution as much as an industry behemoth.

What tools does it employ?

Evaluate the tools employed by the managed detection and response services. A capable provider should go beyond endpoint security and possess a set of best practices that extend to threat hunting and detection. Look for the presence of tools that it can mix and match to make it a perfect fit for customers’ needs. The tools may include extended detection and response (XDR), security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR). The quality and number of OEM partners of the MDR service collaborate with and its partnership ecosystem can indicate their ability to respond effectively to emerging threats.

How much does it research?

Managed detection and response is an ever-evolving ecosystem that requires continuous research and staying abreast of the latest developments. A reliable MDR service should have a strong research team with access to global cyber threat intelligence networks. Their commitment to assessing adversaries’ techniques, conducting breach investigations and understanding malware functionalities will keep both the service provider and their clients one step ahead of potential threats.

How proactive are its detection capabilities?

Threat hunting is the aspect of MDR services and the approaches taken by service providers can be significantly different from one another. While automated processes are common, true threat detection requires human intervention and a hypothesis-based approach. An effective MDR solution provider should combine artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools with round-the-clock monitoring, analysis and investigations to ensure comprehensive security for your organization’s assets.

Is it a turnkey service?

The scope of managed detection and response services deliverables differs widely. While some services limit themselves to alerting customers and recommending actions, a true MDR solution provider goes beyond that. Look for a service that assumes the entire burden of your cybersecurity needs, managing detection, response and analysis remotely without requiring constant authorization. They should have the capability to access your technology ecosystem, isolate threatened systems and prevent the spread of attacks in real-time, all without significant capital investment from your end.

Does it field-test its incident responses?

An impulsive response to cyber threats can lead organizations to shut down business processes, which will cost them hours of downtime and also cut into the company’s profits. The experience of an MDR service plays a critical role in its ability to respond effectively to threats. The MDR service provider should have a set of incident responses ready that have been previously tested in real-life situations. This type of testing guarantees the appropriate deployment of responses and is required especially in cloud-based ecosystems, where false positives are common. The incident responses can therefore help conserve valuable resources as well.

How easy is it to work with?

The compatibility between your organization and the managed detection and response services is vital for a successful partnership. A cultural fit is essential since the service will be a virtual adjunct to your business. Look for an MDR partner that dedicates adequate human resources to your organization. This is particularly necessary as it is an important consideration, given that trained security specialists are scarce and high in demand. The partner should offer easy collaboration, proactive support and a simple escalation mechanism. Additionally, long-term stability is crucial to ensure continuity in the partnership.

Traversing through the cybersecurity journey with MDR

As the threat landscape continues to evolve and cyber crimes become increasingly sophisticated, organizations must prioritize their cybersecurity strategies. MDR offers a powerful solution that goes beyond traditional security measures by providing proactive threat-hunting, detection and response capabilities. However, not all MDR solution providers will be suitable for you and before choosing an MDR partner, it should be recognized that MDR is often used as a catch phrase. Organizations should conduct thorough research and ask essential questions to assess the capabilities, expertise and compatibility of potential MDR solution providers.

Organizations can then make an informed decision and forge a partnership that effectively safeguards their company data, assets and reputation. Also important to remember is that cybersecurity is not a one-size-fits-all approach and finding an MDR partner that aligns with your organization’s unique needs is crucial. So, crack the MDR code by asking the right questions and selecting a partner who will guide you through the cybersecurity journey.

With the wide range of managed detection and response offerings available, selecting the right partner becomes of utmost importance. Decision-makers must do due diligence and undertake research to identify an MDR service that precisely caters to their unique requirements. For a more comprehensive understanding and in-depth coverage of MDR, we invite decision-makers to explore our white paper. Our white paper goes beyond the surface and offers a bank of knowledge on MDR, expert analysis and actionable recommendations. You can also contact our security expert, Sai Surapaneni, to get answers to your questions on strengthening your cybersecurity measures and gain valuable insights.

Download our whitepaper to unlock the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions and navigate the MDR landscape.

With the global cost of a data breach skyrocketing to an average of US$4.35 million in 2022, businesses are turning to technology advancements to safeguard their information and unlock new commercial opportunities. And, as companies ramp up their security efforts, a myriad of cutting-edge services and standards are emerging to help them stay ahead of the curve. Insurers are taking notice – and so should businesses!

To proactively tackle security threats, businesses often conduct vulnerability analysis of their internal networks or perform penetration tests on live websites, which can uncover security flaws with ease. But these measures alone are not enough.  Data proves that businesses continue to fall victim to cyber-attacks, leaving sensitive data of customers, workers, or business partners vulnerable to theft or sale to competitors.

Enter Red Teaming- a comprehensive approach to security that not only combats vulnerabilities but also creates robust fences.  In this blog, we will explore the power of red teaming and learn how it goes beyond technical aspects by additionally taking into account human factors such as social engineering, physical security, and other parameters that attackers may use to gain access.

Not reactive, but proactive

The evolution of red teaming as a security technique can be traced back to the military, where it was used to simulate attacks and test defenses during training exercises. Over time, businesses and government agencies began to adopt this approach to assess their own security posture and identify weaknesses in their defenses, before real attacks occur.  Red teaming pretty much adopts the same premise as ethical hacking.  The objective is two-fold: firstly, to assess the preparedness levels and secondly, to identify real-time gaps.

One specific business need that red teaming addresses is the need to be proactive in the face of an ever-evolving threat landscape. Traditional security measures such as vulnerability scanning and penetration testing are reactive in nature, meaning they are designed to detect and respond to existing threats. Red teaming, on the other hand, takes a proactive approach that simulates attacks from multiple angles, allowing organizations to identify gaps in their defenses and strengthen them before an actual attack occurs.

Red teaming Vs Penetration testing

Although red teaming and penetration testing share the objective of detecting and addressing vulnerabilities, their approaches differ in achieving robust security and creating a safer business environment. Red teaming is a comprehensive and methodical approach that involves a full scope cyberattack simulation to identify vulnerabilities and prevent attacks in any environment. In contrast, while penetration testing is essential, it is only a small part of what a red team exercise accomplishes. Penetration testers typically aim to gain access to a network, whereas red team operations have more ambitious goals.

Red team exercises evaluate defensive tactics and produce thorough risk analysis to simulate a more realistic advanced persistent threat (APT) scenario. Red teaming is a larger concept than penetration testing. Red teaming includes evasion and persistence, privilege escalation, and exfiltration, whereas penetration testing just simulates the first step in the cyber kill chain.

As Cybersecurity Ventures predicts, the global annual cost of cybercrime will reach $8 trillion USD in 2023.  This and many more such data points drive home the message that cybersecurity experts must continuously innovate and develop more advanced solutions to combat cybercriminals and respond to emerging threats.

In the above context, implementing red teaming within an organization can provide numerous benefits, such as:

• Assessing the organization’s defense system through simulated cyberattacks to determine the security level of policies
• Categorizing related assets according to risk level
• Detecting and exposing security vulnerabilities and loopholes
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the organization’s security system during an attack

Typical red teaming approach

1. Foot printing & reconnaissance: 

Foot printing & reconnaissance is one of the pre-attack phases, which refers to the actions taken before the attack itself. In other words, the examination of the security posture of the target organization’s IT infrastructure begins with foot printing. A hacker can gather the following data during this stage:

• Domain name
• IP Addresses
• Namespaces
• Employee information
• Phone numbers
• E-mails
• Job Information

2. Network penetration testing and application security testing:

Network penetration testing focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in an organization’s network infrastructure, including routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices. It aims to simulate an attacker’s actions to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or compromise the network.

Application security testing involves assessing the security of software applications, including web applications, mobile apps, and other custom-built software. The objective is to identify vulnerabilities that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access, manipulate data, or disrupt the application’s normal functioning.

3. Social Engineering:

Social engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain private information, access, or valuables. In cybercrime, these “human hacking” scams tend to lure unsuspecting users into exposing data, spreading malware infections, or giving access to restricted systems. Attacks can happen online, in-person, and via other interactions.

Generally, social engineering attackers have two goals:

1. Sabotage: Disrupting or corrupting data to cause harm or inconvenience.
2. Theft: Obtaining valuables like information, access, or money.

4. Reporting and analysis:

After the red team’s simulated attack is complete, you’ll go through a reporting and analysis process to determine the path forward. You’ll see how your blue (defensive security) team performed and which key vulnerabilities need to be addressed.

The red team prepares a comprehensive report detailing their findings, including vulnerabilities exploited, attack paths, and recommendations for improving security. The report is typically shared with the organization’s management and relevant stakeholders.

5. Closure:

Once the attack is over, the final closure stage begins. This stage does not only mean managing the leftover digital remnants of the executed attacks. It also means providing the Blue Team with one or more evaluation sessions where the complete timeline is replayed in a workshop to maximize learning and awareness. The result of this phase is a detailed technical report and a perspective on your overall security maturity in your threat landscape.

Why strategize red teaming for your business?

Investing millions of dollars to protect your network may make it seem unwise to employ a team of bug hunters to intentionally breach it. However, as enumerated above in the article the ever-evolving threat landscape makes it imperative to have adequate guards in place.  

To learn more about an effective red team strategy that can ensure optimal security for your organization, contact the InfoVision Red Team at  info.ecrs@infovision.com.

Enterprises continuously strive to engage in successful business partnerships with third-party companies and vendors to drive growth, expansion and also to speed up operations. This rapid growth strategy however exposes the company to growing risk of being breached by sometimes ‘unreliable third-party entities’. The continuous interactions and exchange of information that such arrangements entail open the possibility of potential data breaches thus putting the organization to great risk.  

One of the critical measures that enterprises must necessitate within themselves at a nascent level is to have stringent metrics while considering engaging with a third-party vendor. Organizations must prioritize an effective third party risk management framework aka TPRM framework to mitigate undue risks and excessive costs incurred due to untoward incidents. While the relationships are important and critical for the businesses to thrive, yet the associated factors such as cyber risks, loss of reputation or even regulatory mishaps need to be factored with utmost priority. The answer therefore lies not in limiting engagement with third parties, but in ensuring effective management of third-party risks so that business is conducted with utmost trust and confidence.

As per a study by Markets and Markets, the size of the global Third-Party Risk management (TPRM) market is expected to grow from USD 3.2 billion in 2019 to USD 6.4 billion by 2024. The CAGR growth rate is 15.9% higher in the forecasted period.  This is a clear indication that organizations dependent on third-party vendors are seriously considering the use of TPRM for their enterprises.

The purpose of this blog is to provide a foundational understanding of the Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) realm and to emphasize the significance of selecting the right security expert to provide adequate measures.  Let us begin with the fundamentals to get a comprehensive grasp of the subject in discussion.

What is TPRM?

Third Party Risk Management, also abbreviated as TPRM, is an ongoing process of discovering, assessing, and controlling third-party risks related to organization’s data, their operations, financial information, or any type of confidential exchange.

Organizations collaborate with third-party vendors for two major reasons. The first is to support their business operations, and the second is to leverage additional benefits from these third-party vendors. This engagement massively contributes to reducing costs, focusing more on core business functions, and enabling best-in-class service from experts of relevant industries.

On the flipside, this kind of arrangement exposes organizations to unwanted data breaches along with cybersecurity & regulatory compliance risks that have the propensity to disrupt your business operations and damage reputation. Verifying third parties’ reliability requires due diligence.

Gartner’s prediction concurs with the above sentiment. By 2025, 60% of organizations will use cybersecurity risk as a significant determinant in conducting third-party transactions and business engagements.  This data insight is an eye opener to why one needs an TPRM program in the first place.

Now that the basis of the TPRM program is set, let us understand how a third-party risk management system works? What is the process and how does the typical workflow function?

Typical TPRM Workflow

To start with, organizations must identify all the vendors and begin categorizing them as per enterprise dependencies for sustainability and on the basis of critical business operations. Once you have identified the potential of the third party you want to associate with, start following these steps.

1. Review contracts with complete due diligence.
2. Identify the required people, process, and the technology controls to be adhered by the vendor.
3. Perform a detailed third-party risk assessment (TPRA) to ensure that the underlying risks are mitigated and are within the acceptable risk levels.
4. Ensure there is a remediation plan in place to timely mitigate vendor risks.

As an example, here is an illustration of a typical TPRM workflow we at InfoVision follow for our TPRM services:

Devising a Cyber Due Diligence Plan:  The  InfoVision Way

It is a daunting task for enterprises to find the best and the right security experts for their TPRM initiative. Other than the process of finding the right fit, there are additional challenges such as,

• efficient fit-for-purpose process and procedures
• identification and mapping of various regulatory compliance/controls with respect to available vendors, and
• Automated TPRM programs

These are some of the major setbacks for security leaders. An effective TPRM program can improve overall visibility & results, easily validate, review third-party artifacts, take measures for potential risks and improve on efficiency.

InfoVision employs a distinctive strategy to strengthen its defense against potential hazards that may arise from third-party companies or vendors. This is achieved by thoroughly screening vendors through TPRA and selecting the appropriate ones. As the process progresses, all issues associated with third-party vendors are documented and evidence is collected. This evidence is then reviewed and analyzed, and a response is provided to the third-party provider, ensuring that they rectify the identified risks within the agreed-upon timeframe. The discrepancies are presented to our client’s leadership in the form of reports and dashboards utilizing automated GRC tools.

Here are the distinguishing factors and added benefits of our TPRM program.:

1. Customed dashboards and various compliance reporting templates help our client CISOs to take better informed decisions.
2. A dedicated security advocate to assist client vendors in redefining their people, process, and technology controls to improve their compliance and security posture.
3. Our approach optimizes the use of security experts and promotes left shifting by employing GRC tools for automation purposes.
4. We create and implement a tailored TPRM program process, procedures, and framework that aligns with the unique needs of our clients.

In this way, InfoVision helps its clients to accelerate their Vendor Risk Management programs, thus limiting human errors, ensuring timely risk identification, providing for scalability with no additional resources, and improved governance & compliance.

How can a TPRM program be a game changer?

As per KPMG, Six out of ten people (61%) think TPRM is undervalued given its crucial function for the organization. Businesses might sustain greater expenditures and gain new efficiencies when it comes to resilient operations, cyber security and fraud detection if they have a strong TPRM program rather than just focusing on its individual components.

Additionally, leveraging automation through third-party risk management frameworks and technologies is a viable alternative when looking for ways to advance third-party security.

InfoVision is proficient with a dedicated team of specialized Enterprise Cybersecurity & Risk Services (ECRS) practitioners and experts who can help you with a ‘fit-to-purpose’ for your business. We can help your security leadership teams manage the TPRM program and devise your overall security strategy. Our unique approach leverages a blend of technology, industry experience, security domain expertise and fine-tuned processes to help you conduct your business with trust and confidence.

Raise your queries and speak to our specialists by writing to us at info.ecrs@infovision.com.