Collaboration between NetOps and SecOps accelerates incident response - Vinay Sharma, Regional Director, India and SAARC, NETSCOUT

As we are aware the cybersecurity landscape is continuously evolving and organizations are constantly in a battle to secure their data against breaches. They have to face the challenges of not only preventing unauthorized access or intrusion and the need to rapidly detect and address breaches in real-time.  A recent IBM report reveals that it takes an average of 204 days to detect a data breach and another 73 days to contain it.  These statistics stress the reality of the ongoing difficulties organizations face in managing such security incidents.  Amidst these challenges, it is noted that a collaborative relationship between the network operations  (NetOps) team and the security operations (SecOps) team offers an opportunity for enhancing organizational resilience against cyber threats.

NetOps and SecOps teams, traditionally have worked in isolation largely due to their different objectives.  NetOps teams have to ensure smooth and efficient access to information and devices, while on the other hand, SecOps teams focus on restricting access to information and devices.  This divergence often leads to the usage of different tools creating blind spots within the network that threat actors can exploit.  Additionally, when threats are identified, the investigation and remediation can be delayed by days, weeks, or even months due to poor communication and collaboration between these two teams.

With digital transformation picking up pace and cyber threats becoming more complex, the need for seamless collaboration between NetOps and SecOps is more vital than ever before.  The traditional model of operating in silos is proving to be unsustainable in today’s dynamic and challenging threat landscape.  Organizations must now leverage the combined expertise of both teams to rapidly and effectively detect and respond to security incidents.  This integrated approach is necessary for maintaining robust cybersecurity in the face of increasingly sophisticated threats.

Here are a few real-world use cases of how the collaboration between NetOps and SecOps can enhance the organizations’ defense mechanisms, safeguard their digital assets, and stay a step ahead.

•        Anomalous Traffic Patterns (use case 1)

The NetOps team notices unexpected spikes in network traffic during non-business hours, which could cause performance issues and possible service disruptions.  Despite putting in efforts to investigate further, they are unable to determine the source of the anomaly.

The SecOps team however examines the same network data and discovers that these anomalous traffic patterns align with the unauthorized attempts to access the servers.  It becomes all the more evident that the network is experiencing an attack, which could lead to a data breach or compromise of the system.

NetOps provides detailed contextual information on network infrastructure and its performance, while SecOps leverages its knowledge of threat intelligence and security measures. By sharing insights and pooling their knowledge and resources, they can together implement several defenses such as updating firewall rules, enhancing intrusion detection capabilities, and tightening user access controls to stop threats and secure the network.

•      Suspicious Application Behavior (use case 2)

NetOps team is able to identify unusual activity from a critical business application, which includes unexpected data transfers and unauthorized access attempts.  This leads to application performance issues adversely impacting both user experience and business operations. 

By closely examining the network data, the SecOps team identifies the abnormal behavior of the application matches the indicators of compromise that are associated with a known malware variant.  This indicates the application has been compromised presenting a serious security threat to the organization’s data as well as systems.

Accepting the urgency of the situation, both NetOps and SecOps teams work together to address the threat and restore normal operations. NetOps offers knowledge on application dependencies and network traffic patterns, which then helps SecOps to isolate the compromised systems and implement antivirus as well as intrusion prevention solutions. By collaborating, they reduce the disruption to business continuity and prevent extensive data loss.

•        Insider threat detection (use case 3)

The NetOps team notices a suspicious access pattern from a specific user account, including unauthorized attempts to access restricted network resources and sensitive data areas. Such patterns prompt apprehensions about insider threats and possible data infiltration.

The SecOps team confirms suspicious insider threat activity after analyzing the network data and associating it with user behavior analytics. The team finds evidence of malicious intent, such as unauthorized file transfers and attempts to evade security measures, signifying a serious security breach.

Aware of the gravity of the insider threat, NetOps and SecOps work together, to alleviate the risk and put a stop to further unauthorized activities.  NetOps monitors network traffic patterns, while SecOps examines server access logs and enforces stringent authentication protocols, data loss prevention strategies, and employee monitoring protocols. Jointly, both teams conduct a thorough investigation, determine the underlying causes, and take corrective measures to enhance the organization’s security framework and safeguard against future insider threats.