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Data breaches, malware, phishing attacks, weak passwords, insider threats, and lack of security policies are some of the most concerning aspects of network security for small and medium-sized enterprises since they may not have the same level of security measures and IT staff as larger corporations. It's important for SMEs to identify and prioritize these risks and take steps to mitigate them to protect their business and customers' data.This could include implementing strong password policies, providing security awareness training for employees, implementing firewalls and antivirus software, and regularly backing up data. In addition, SMEs should develop formalized security policies and ensure that all employees understand and follow them to maintain a secure network environment.

If we are talking strictly about the network, the issue almost all SMEs suffer from is a lack of risk visibility. Consider the risks and vulnerabilities that exist in the network from ports that are unsecured to firewall rules that are no longer effective to rogue devices that are connected and no one in IT is aware. If SMEs simply closed all of these gaps effectively, they would greatly reduce the chances that they are compromised. The second area is threat visibility - meaning an actual attack unfolding.  Once an attacker - say ransomware - bypasses an endpoint, they are free to waltz around the network for weeks. I think that the latest dwell time number is over 4 weeks. Four weeks of recon, command calls, lateral movement, credential compromise, data location, etc. That is enough time to make the ransomware attack really hurt and find all the partner companies that the attacker can move to next. Most large companies have NDR in place to detect and stop attacks - greatly lowering that dwell time and damage - but SMEs cannot afford most of those tools. There are new cloud-based NDR tools that are a lot less (CyGlass), and there are great options with Managed Detection and Response (MDR) companies like Stratejm. Either path, SMEs need to deploy tools or services that watch the network for risks, vulnerabilities, and threats.

When it comes to security and automation, there's no such thing as too much. That's why it makes sense to take steps to automate security for your CI/CD pipeline. Automation can help reduce the time spent on manual tasks and ensure that your code is secure before it makes its way into production. Here are some tips for automating security for your CI/CD pipeline: 1. Use a static application security testing (SAST) solution to scan code for vulnerabilities. SAST solutions can help identify and fix known issues quickly and efficiently. 2. Run regular scans of your codebase using a dynamic application security testing (DAST) tool. This will help identify any new security issues in real time. 3. Use a container scanning tool to check all your images and containers for vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. This will help ensure that no malicious code can enter the pipeline. 4. Utilize an API scanner to detect potential API vulnerabilities in your applications, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and parameter tampering. 5. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect your applications from attacks like DDoS or brute force attacks. This can help prevent attackers from accessing sensitive information.

Thanks for this informative article.

OWASP is nice, but very specific and currently limited. How about trying ISO-24772 for all?

Very good insights about correlation for security with performance.

Interesting positioning and way of thinking, thank you very much for the article!

There are a number of discovery tools and security applications on the market today. Some of the more popular ones include: - App discovery: Appthority, FindMyApp - Email discovery: Code Factors, Microsoft Exchange Reporter, ProDiscover TX, SolarWinds MSP Mail Security - Network discovery: BeyondTrust PowerBroker Auditor for Networks, Lancope StealthWatch Enterprise, NetFort LANGuardian - Security information and event management (SIEM): AlienVault USM Anywhere, ArcSight ESM, IBM QRadar SIEM