Research from Aruba and Ponemon Institute Shows Security Teams View Machine Learning and Network Visibility for Users and IoT Devices Essential for Battling Stealthy Threats Inside IT Infrastructures
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As businesses struggle to combat increasingly sophisticated
cybersecurity attacks, the severity of which is exacerbated by both the
vanishing IT perimeters in today’s mobile and IoT era, coupled with an
acute shortage of skilled security professionals, IT security teams need
both a new approach and powerful new tools to protect data and other
high-value assets. Increasingly, they are looking to artificial
intelligence (AI) as a key weapon to win the battle against stealthy
threats inside their IT infrastructures, according to a new global
research study conducted by the Ponemon
Institute on behalf of Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
(NYSE:HPE).
The Ponemon Institute study, entitled “Closing
the IT Security Gap with Automation & AI in the Era of IoT,”
surveyed 4,000 security and IT professionals across the Americas, Europe
and Asia to understand what makes security deficiencies so hard to fix,
and what types of technologies and processes are needed to stay a step
ahead of bad actors within the new threat landscape.
The research revealed that in the quest to protect data and other
high-value assets, security systems incorporating machine learning and
other AI-based technologies are essential for detecting and stopping
attacks that target users and IoT devices. The majority of respondents
agree that security products with AI functionality will help to:
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Reduce false alerts (68 percent)
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Increase their team’s effectiveness (63 percent)
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Provide greater investigation efficiencies (60 percent)
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Advance their ability to more quickly discover and respond to stealthy
attacks that have evaded perimeter defense systems (56 percent)
Twenty-five percent of respondents said they currently use some form of
an AI-based security solution, with another 26 percent stating they plan
on deploying these types of products within the next 12 months.
Current Security Tools are not Enough
“Despite massive investments in cybersecurity programs, our research
found most businesses are still unable to stop advanced, targeted
attacks – with 45 percent believing they are not realizing the full
value of their defense arsenal, which ranges from 10 to 75 security
solutions,” said Larry Ponemon, chairman, Ponemon Institute. “The
situation has become a ‘perfect storm,’ with nearly half of respondents
saying it’s very difficult to protect complex and dynamically changing
attack surfaces, especially given the current lack of security staff
with the necessary skills and expertise to battle today’s persistent,
sophisticated, highly trained, and well-financed attackers. Against this
backdrop, AI-based security tools, which can automate tasks and free up
IT personnel to manage other aspects of a security program, were viewed
as critical for helping businesses keep up with increasing threat
levels.”
IoT and Cloud Adds Significant Risk
Ponemon researchers found that the majority of IT security teams believe
that a key gap in their company’s overall security strategy is their
inability to identify attacks that use IoT devices as the point of
entry. In fact, more than three-quarters of respondents believe their
IoT devices are not secure, with 60 percent stating even simple IoT
devices pose a threat. Two-thirds of respondents admitted they have
little or no ability to protect their “things” from attacks. Continuous
monitoring of network traffic, closed-loop detection and response
systems, and detecting behavioral anomalies among peer groups of IoT
devices, were cited as the most effective approaches to better protect
their environments.
Even the ownership model for IoT security presents potential risk. When
asked who inside their organization was responsible for IoT security,
responses ranged from the CIO, CISO, CTO, and line-of-business leaders,
with no majority consensus. Only 33 percent identified the CIO, with no
other executive or functional group achieving response totals above 20
percent. Surprisingly, “No Function” was the third-highest answer (15
percent).
Survey results also highlighted the importance of visibility and the
ability to define which resources that people and IoT devices can
access, with 63 percent of respondents stating network access control is
an important element of their company’s overall security strategy and
critical for reducing the reach of inside exploits. Also cited as
important was having detailed information about applications (71
percent), endpoints (69 percent), cloud (64 percent), and networks (63
percent), with more than half saying they currently deploy network
access control solutions for enabling visibility and control across both
wired and wireless networks.
Additionally, more than half of respondents said it’s hard to protect
expanding and blurring IT perimeters resulting from requirements to
concurrently support IoT, BYOD, mobile, and cloud initiatives (55%).
“Partnering with the Ponemon Institute helps us to improve customer
experiences by better understanding security teams’ challenges, and then
arming them with advanced solutions that enable quick identification and
responses to an ever-changing threat landscape,” said Larry Lunetta,
vice president of security solutions marketing for Aruba. “The insight
gained from this study enables us to continually improve our ability to
provide an enterprise wired and wireless network security framework with
an integrated and more comprehensive approach for gaining back
visibility and control.”
Ponemon Findings Parallel other Aruba Research
The Ponemon Institute study parallels findings from an Aruba
global study conducted in June 2018 of 7,000 employees across 15
countries. That study revealed that cybersecurity is a challenge for
employers, especially for those working in smart buildings.
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The report found that although employees reported higher levels of
cybersecurity awareness, with 52 percent thinking about security often
or daily, they also admitted to taking more risks with company data
and devices. 70 percent admitted to risky behaviors such as sharing
passwords and devices.
-
It also showed that 25 percent of employees have connected to
potentially unsafe open Wi-Fi networks in the past 12 months.
Additionally, 20 percent said they use the same password across
multiple applications and accounts, and 17 percent admitted to writing
down passwords in order to remember them.
Additional Asset
About Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is a leading provider of
next-generation networking solutions for enterprises of all sizes
worldwide. The company delivers IT solutions that empower organizations
to serve the latest generation of mobile-savvy users who rely on
cloud-based business apps for every aspect of their work and personal
lives.
To learn more, visit Aruba at
http://www.arubanetworks.com
.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at
http://community.arubanetworks.com
.
About Ponemon Institute
Ponemon Institute is dedicated to advancing responsible information and
privacy management practices in business and government. To achieve this
objective, the Institute conducts independent research, educates leaders
from the private and public sectors and verifies the privacy and data
protection practices of organizations in a variety of industries. For
more information, please visit
https://www.ponemon.org/
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
Emory Epperson, +1-408-419-0294
emory.epperson@hpe.com
OR
Interfuse
Jonathan Stone, +1-214-259-3446
jonathan.stone@interfusecomms.com