What Executives Should Know About Security Posture Management
What Does Security Posture Management (Really) Mean?
At its core, security posture management represents the overall security health of an organization’s security ecosystem, encompassing a variety of focus areas such as network security, data security, cloud security (both internal and third-party/SaaS), and the burgeoning AI space. Security posture management brings context to key concerns in these focus areas, including alignment to compliance, misconfigurations from base and company standards, the effects of changes to policy and configuration, and risk and vulnerability management.
How Did It Originate?
The first security posture management tool can be traced back to ~2001 when the increasing complexity of IT environments started impacting firewall policy design so drastically that any change to the firewall was a severe event leading to an excessive number of incidents. This complexity problem has been exacerbated by technological advancements such as cloud computing, AI modeling, and decentralized workloads and data sources. The need for a way to align security policy and resultant rules to handle increasing IT complexity spawned security posture management as an idea that then gets adapted to new modalities of IT offerings when they meet the level of technical complexity and security criticality that companies grow concerned about how to properly mitigate the risks.
Why Is It Important in Cybersecurity?
An organization’s security posture can be likened to a chain, which is only as strong as its weakest link. Without a comprehensive understanding of its security posture, an organization is vulnerable to cyberattacks that can exploit overlooked or undersecured areas. Effective security posture management provides a panoramic view of an organization’s security stance, alignment to compliance and company standards, and control mechanisms or instructions around fixing any findings that do not meet the company’s standards.
What is the Spin Around This Security Posture Management Buzzword?
While “<The latest Technology Innovation> Security Posture Management” seems to be popping up everywhere to tackle the challenges new technologies introduce, having so many different vendors that have different “__SPM” solutions creates its own complexity, which SPM is attempting to solve in the first place. This is especially true when these different security posture management tools do not share data and learnings with each other, forcing the user to try and piece together the full picture. This oversimplifies the intricate web of security management while dangerously leaving large gaps in coverage for relevant risks.
Our Advice: What Executives Should Consider When Adopting Security Posture Management
As executives consider implementing SPM, they should reflect on the multifaceted nature of their current security practices and identify opportunities for enhancement. Pertinent questions include:
- Which business areas generate the most security complexity and how can we effectively manage their posture without adding to the issue?
- How will our security posture management platform automate compliance reporting and issue remediation?
- How do we ensure the risk management inside of our posture management platform leverages top-tier threat intelligence for proactive defense?
- What approach can we take to unify our diverse security posture management efforts, enhancing visibility and simplifying oversight?
- How can we integrate various IT security postures into one platform for clarity and comprehensive business impact analysis?
Embracing a robust security posture management strategy means committing to an ongoing process that covers all focus areas, with regular assessments, adaptive monitoring, comprehensive training, and well-oiled incident response mechanisms. This holistic approach to security posture management will not only shield an organization from existing threats but will also equip it to respond to the unknown challenges of tomorrow.