{"id":44004,"date":"2021-11-18T17:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T17:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/security\/blog\/?p=101781"},"modified":"2021-11-18T17:00:38","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T17:00:38","slug":"microsoft-unpacks-comprehensive-security-at-gartner-and-forrester-virtual-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/microsoft-unpacks-comprehensive-security-at-gartner-and-forrester-virtual-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft unpacks comprehensive security at Gartner and Forrester virtual events"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every day, Microsoft is committed to maintaining comprehensive security for all<\/a> across our interconnected global community. With that purpose in mind, we recently sponsored the 2021 Gartner Security and Risk Summit<\/a> and 2021 Forester Security and Risk Forum<\/a>, where we discussed ongoing changes in the security landscape. As a Leader in five Gartner\u00ae Magic Quadrant\u2122 reports<\/a> and eight Forrester Wave\u2122 categories<\/a>, our team was keen to share insights about new threats, the evolution of Zero Trust security, managing compliance, risk, and privacy, and building tomorrow\u2019s talent.<\/p>\n

Comprehensive security<\/h2>\n

\"Vasu<\/p>\n

Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President (CVP) of Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity, sat down with Phil Montgomery, General Manager for Security Product Marketing GTM, at the 2021 Gartner Security and Risk Summit<\/strong> for a wide-ranging fireside chat on the evolving state of cybersecurity. Phil started by addressing the elephant in the room\u2014how the past 18 months have altered the security landscape in ways we\u2019re still trying to understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the pandemic started, businesses had to become digital overnight,\u201d Vasu points out. \u201cWith employees turning to personal devices to get the job done, that meant we had an exponential increase in the amount of digital attack surfaces. We saw an incredible increase in the sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks.\u201d Vasu cites the attack on Colonial Pipeline<\/a> as an example of how attacks have become more sophisticated and relentless in 2021. She also cites the phenomenon of cybercriminals expanding their operations by offering ransomware as a service<\/a>. \u201cOrganizations are facing new economic challenges along with those brought by hybrid environments\u2014multi-cloud and multi-platform,\u201d she reiterates. \u201cAll these factors have come together to increase the complexity we face in cybersecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou can\u2019t secure a door and leave a window open. You have to think about your security posture as an interdependent whole\u2014both external and internal threats.\u201d<\/em>\u2014Vasu Jakkal, CVP of Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Eliminating complexity is one reason why Microsoft chose to integrate Microsoft Sentinel<\/a>, our cloud-native SIEM + SOAR solution, and Microsoft Defender<\/a>, our extended detection and response (XDR) tool. Integrating the two solutions simplifies detection and response by providing a bird\u2019s-eye view of your digital estate, as well as enabling your security operations center (SOC) to investigate and resolve incidents at a granular level. \u201cThat kind of visibility and rapid response can really make a difference in the early stages of a ransomware attack,\u201d Vasu stresses. \u201cThe reality today is if you\u2019re connected; you\u2019re vulnerable. The only way to protect a remote workforce is to have left-to-right and top-to-bottom security. That means security, compliance, identity, device management, and privacy are all interdependent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the technology, Vasu also points out: \u201cThe number one thing every security leader should be doing right now is building and practicing a plan with all essential members of your team. Do you have a great communications plan? Do you have a great response plan?\u201d She also stressed the importance of training and empowering employees at every level of the organization to identify suspicious activity and escalate it.<\/p>\n

Zero Trust comes of age in 2021<\/h2>\n

\"Nupur<\/p>\n

Earlier this month at the 2021 Forrester Security and Risk Forum<\/strong>, Microsoft CVP of Program Management Alex Simons also sat down for another fireside chat with Nupur Goyal, Microsoft Group Product Marketing Manager for Identity Security and Zero Trust. Alex also was struck by the rapid changes in enterprise security over the past 18 months. \u201cIf you think about the world we were in before [the pandemic],\u201d he explains, \u201cyou were mostly protecting desktop PCs and laptops; most of your apps were on-premise. You didn\u2019t have to worry about nation-state attackers. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important for enterprises to move away from the old perimeter-based security model to a Zero Trust approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe thing to remember about a Zero Trust approach, as the saying goes: you don\u2019t have to eat the whole elephant at once. Just gradually expand multifactor authentication across your employees, beginning with those that have the access to the most important applications.\u201d<\/em>\u2014Alex Simons, Microsoft CVP of Program Management<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For some organizations, Zero Trust requires a big shift in thinking<\/a>. It\u2019s a mindset that assumes all activity, even by known users, could be an attempt to breach your systems. Alex cites attackers who are now targeting identities\u2014both through users and the software itself\u2014as a new threat to consider. \u201cYou really need a system that can look at what your users and their devices are doing,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat includes all the software services that can access your resources. It really has to be a comprehensive approach. The workload identities, the ones that are your software, that\u2019s a new thing. And you want to make sure you have a good plan in place for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex recommends organizations begin by applying multifactor authentication<\/a> to all privileged admin accounts. He also pointed out the importance of making sure that every device accessing your resources is well-managed. \u201cMicrosoft Endpoint Manager<\/a> and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint<\/a> help achieve that. You want to be sure every device is encrypted and protected with a PIN, but also you want each to be in a clean state from an antivirus standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roughly 76 percent of Microsoft customers have already begun Zero Trust implementation<\/a>. Because we\u2019re now in a boundary-less world of hybrid work, Zero Trust<\/a> is exactly the security approach that\u2019s needed. The foundation of Zero Trust is based on the three guiding principles: verify explicitly, use least-privilege access, and assume breach. <\/strong>Microsoft is building an identity platform to simplify and secure all relationships among employees, partners, customers, workloads, and smart devices\u2014whether you\u2019re a developer, an IT administrator, or a user. \u201cThere are 579 attacks happening every second,\u201d Vasu adds. \u201cSo, effective security has to start with a strong identity foundation. We see identity as the \u2018trust fabric\u2019 of this new boundaryless collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Managing compliance, risk, and privacy<\/h2>\n

For organizations across every sector, a tremendous amount of data is accessed, processed, and stored every day. This, along with an ever-growing universe of data regulations, is creating complexity and compliance risk. \u201cWe have personal data, which is in movement and in flux all the time,\u201d Vasu explains. \u201cThe lines between work and home networks are all blurring. So that creates a lot of pressure about how to protect data, and how to ensure that all regulations are being followed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many organizations use manual processes to discover how much personal data they have stored. There\u2019s often a lack of actionable insights to help mitigate security and privacy risks. That\u2019s why Microsoft recently announced privacy management for Microsoft 365<\/a>. This new solution helps organizations identify critical privacy risks, automate privacy operations, and empower employees to be smart when they\u2019re handling sensitive data.<\/p>\n

For chief information security officers (CISOs) and risk officers, Vasu proposes a four-fold solution for balancing compliance and privacy: First, know your data. \u201cWho\u2019s accessing your data?\u201d she asks. \u201cHow is your data moving? Do you have the right label? Do you have the right sensitivities? How are you protecting against insider risk? Do you have the right permissions level?\u201d Second, establish a baseline of activity and measure anomalies to that baseline. You can\u2019t just look at the world through the auditors\u2019 eyes\u2014pass or fail. You need to help your team see how they\u2019re making progress. Third, partner with providers who can help you stay on top of changes in laws and regulations in all markets where you operate. Fourth, establish a collaborative process internally to address the risks when they arise. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a security problem; it\u2019s an organizational problem,\u201d she stresses. That means ensuring that HR, legal, compliance, and risk teams are all working with your security operations center.<\/p>\n

Zero Trust is not just about outside-in protection; it\u2019s also inside-out. Organizations need to build compliance protections into processes to defend against insider threats. \u201cYou can\u2019t secure a door and leave a window open,\u201d is how Vasu sums it up. \u201cYou have to think about your security posture as an interdependent whole\u2014both external and internal threats.\u201d Organizations can take an easy first step just by implementing passwordless technologies<\/a> like Windows Hello<\/a> for desktops or the Microsoft Authenticator<\/a> app for mobile devices.<\/p>\n

Building tomorrow\u2019s talent<\/h2>\n

For almost every two cybersecurity jobs in the United States today, a third job is sitting empty<\/a> because of a shortage of skilled people. That\u2019s why Microsoft is launching a national campaign with United States community colleges to help skill and recruit 250,000 people into the cybersecurity workforce by 2025:<\/p>\n