IT security has become one of the most complex elements of a modern IT environment, requiring layers of protection, along with advanced analytics to block attacks, halt intruders and secure data. None the less, the current layers of security fail at times, often due to a single vendor approach to creating those layers of security.
Naturally, vendors are not all to blame, except for the fact that a lack of collaboration and technology transfer among those security vendors effectively creates silos of protection, regardless of the number of layers installed. For example, a single vendor solution that incorporates firewall, AV, IDP, Malware detection, and other elements into a singular platform using multiple detection layers may allow attacks to slip by simply because the threat has been designed to bypass the protection offered by that single vendor solution.
Simply put, the threats of today are larger than any one vendor, meaning that the isolation of security technology must become a thing of the past. In other words, it may “take a village” to raise security standards to combat the threats of today and tomorrow.
However, the winds of change are blowing and many security vendors are coming to the realization that sharing security practices and the associated technology can benefit all, except for the cybercriminals. Case in point is DB Networks, a vendor whose products I have reviewed in the past. DB Networks is now turning their competitors into partners by licensing the company’s Layer 7 Database Sensor, so that other security vendors can include advanced machine learning into their own security products.
By allowing what were once competitors to incorporate DB Network’s proprietary security technologies, DB Networks has helped to create a collaborative security environment, where multi-vendor security products can work in unison, yet still provide specific layers of protection. This differs vastly from the licensing schemes used by AV vendors in the past, simply because those AV vendors were not offering full integration into another vendor’s security product, but were acting as an independent layer as part of the overall security process.
The Layer 7 Database Sensor differs greatly in both concept and execution. From the outset, the DB Networks Layer 7 Database Sensor was designed to be integrated into partners’ security products, which then allowed the partner to provide their end customers with full-spectrum visibility across all attack surfaces. For the most part, the product integration brings with it the ability to discover databases and connected applications, while also identifying traffic to/from restricted segments, which allows the product to pinpoint compromised credentials.
What’s more, the Layer 7 Database Sensor brings with it the ability to immediately identify database attacks using machine learning and behavioral analysis. Ultimately, the integration of the capabilities offered allows security vendors to create more robust security products, which are able to use multiple layers of threat identification to leverage numerous technologies in the fight to block even the most advanced attacks.
