As the internet expands in terms of its user base, so do businesses, and that means higher IP demand. A greater number of addresses increase the risk of attack, and that’s true even for the biggest of entities – The Washington Post recently reported that the Pentagon had handed control of their IPs over to a cybersecurity expert in Florida to fish for security issues.
It’s a somewhat sobering thought that even the department of defense is vulnerable to attack, but a useful one, too, in terms of how businesses manage their own cybersecurity.
Mapping the system
As digital networks become ever larger and more expansive, there’s an inherent risk of losing track of what is held on it. While a small digital presence with just a handful of IPs may be easy enough to track, it can soon become too large and unwieldy to properly manage; this is why using basic software and IPAM solutions are required to better manage them.
This increases the ability of a network to shield itself, too. Cybersecurity attacks like the REvil ransomware will use any IP address to find an ‘in’ within a network before administering their attacks, according to CNBC – a well-structured IPAM can help to improve network assurance across the entire chain of addresses and ensure that everything, and everyone, is covered.
Enhancing security
The challenge of providing security on expanding networks is one currently being faced down by the US federal government. The rapid expansion of 5G has created this problem for them, and necessitated rapid development of cybersecurity measures.
According to the Brookings Institute, one issue that has rapidly been identified is non-unified systems; cybersecurity solutions that act as patchwork rather than one entity. In the current world, where cyberattacks look to find slight vulnerabilities that can crack open an entire network, administrators must look for a unified approach rather than a granular one.
In a similar vein, privacy enhancing computation should become a priority, according to experts at TripleBlind AI. They also state that, “Privacy concerns, operational complexities, and regulations prevent an estimated 43 zettabytes of data stored by enterprises today from being accessed.”
Deploying AI
Using smart tools can help to shore up protections before you’ve even perceived them as being at risk. Increasingly, AI is the tool to achieve this. As CEPS outlines, AI can be used to analyze long-term data and trends and look for key indicators associated with cyber attacks.
It can also be used as an assessment tool, something to quickly scan over your network and look for potential weak spots in your cyber security systems and find ways to patch them up. AI can act as a guard dog and investigator rolled into one, and may be the perfect accompaniment to any digital business scaling up their operations.
The message to take away is one of unification. Protecting an expanding network is a matter of being diligent and taking full responsibility for every piece of data and entity within that network. Accomplishing this can be done through a unified approach to your cybersecurity, and close monitoring of your assets.
