Vectra AI tells the evolution of cyberminaccehighlighting the benefits obtained from the implementation of the Vectra platform at the customer Maire.
The picture of the situation has been precisely defined by Massimiliano Galvagna, Country Manager Italy of Vectra AI, supported by Andrea Licciardi, Cybersecurity Manager of Maire, who offered his vision in relation to security activities within the company, active in the development of solutions for complex systems and innovative technologies for the energy transition.
Cybersecurity scenarios
Cybersecurity has evolved considerably in recent years, registering a real revolution compared to a decade or two ago. Much has been done and much still needs to be done.
Investments in cyber resilience remained a top priority for organizations in the second quarter of 2023, as threat levels continued to increase.
Second Canalys, the global cybersecurity technology market grew 11.6% year-over-year to $19 billion, despite continued macroeconomic uncertainty and limited IT budgets. Threat levels are at unprecedented levels, with the number of publicly reported ransomware attacks increasing by more than 50% and records of data breaches more than doubling in the first eight months of this year. At current rates, 2023 will be the worst year on record, far exceeding the levels of 2021, when ransomware came to prominence after a series of high-profile events. In the second quarter of 2023, Total cybersecurity technology spending across the channel accounted for 91.5%, up from 90.5% in the same quarter a year ago.
Massimiliano Galvagna, Country Manager Italy of Vectra AI
Corporate digital environments are growing and with them also potential security risks. Thanks to the spread of remote working and the high mobility of employees in every sector, the company perimeter today no longer coincides with the office walls. Security experts find themselves having to protect an attack surface that has grown dramatically, making it urgent to adopt advanced solutions for data management and protection and the definition of more rigorous security strategies, from the individual workstation to monitoring the network and the environment in general.
Vectra AI, vision ed expertise
Vectra, born in 2011, is synonymous with Artificial Intelligence. The company has always maintained that the joint and efficient use of data science and Artificial Intelligence is capable of transforming the fight against cyber attacks, because it makes the actions of those who have to respond to an attack more incisive and accurate.
Vectra, in fact, focuses on creating countermeasures aimed at detecting, through AI, attack methods and related tactics, techniques and procedures. Regardless of how quickly attackers change their tools, attack methods evolve slowly and the progression of the attack itself is fundamentally always the same. The moment an attacker then breaches an infrastructure, he will have to speak the common language of the systems he wants to attack, i.e. his protocols, leaving clearly visible signals that can be intercepted. It is Vectra’s job to intercept these signals, correlate them, understand their severity and block the ongoing attack as quickly as possible.
Security analysts need technology that can provide immediately actionable intelligence that monitors network activity. Having a lot of data available is essential, but if analysts are not able to obtain useful information on attack signals, the movements of cyber criminals will go unnoticed. Having good intelligence means gaining greater visibility and this can help spot early signs of an attack, which is the best way to build cyber resilience.
Vectra AI per Mayor
Andrea Licciardi is Cybersecurity Manager at the Cyber Fusion Center in Maire and has over 20 years of experience in the field. The manager is responsible for the company’s security and data protection initiatives and is dedicated to managing digital threats and protecting company information on a daily basis.
Andrea Licciardi is Cybersecurity Manager at the Cyber Fusion Center in Maire
The company has strengthened its cybersecurity by integrating the versatile Vectra AI solutions, essential for responding to modern cybercriminal attack techniques.
Licciardi highlighted how the cybersecurity market is continually growing but, despite investments, the number of security incidents and data breaches is increasing year after year.
On average, security teams need 277 days to identify and contain a security breach. In fact, cybersecurity fails due to a lack of adequate controls. No organization is 100% secure, and organizations cannot control threats or threat actors.
Maire addresses daily security challenges by continuously enhancing its Cyber Fusion Center: an advanced operations center where cybersecurity data is collected, analyzed and managed.
This architecture has the task of integrating different sources of information, providing a holistic view of cyber threats and coordinating responses to any incidents.
In this scenario, the integration of artificial intelligence represents a crucial element, a real “breath of fresh air” for the monitoring and protection operations that must be implemented every day.
Advanced protection
AI enables Predictive Analysis and Threat Detection. It can analyze large volumes of data in real time, identifying hidden patterns and predicting potential threats before they occur. With AI, incident responses can be partially or fully automated, accelerating attack mitigation and reducing human workload.
Not only that, AI systems can continuously learn from new data, constantly improving their ability to detect and react to new forms of cyber attacks.
Only in this way can true Proactive Prevention be achieved. Continuous data analysis allows you to identify and prevent potential threats before they materialize, shifting cybersecurity from a reactive to a proactive approach.
Thanks to the support of Vectra AI, Maire was able to enhance its Cyber Fusion Center and respond to today’s main challenges. The experts of SOC they can now respond promptly to threats, operating in a coordinated and targeted manner. Adopting a solution Network Detection and Response (NDR) highly integrated has made it possible to enhance the identification and response capabilities to network attacks. All this through seamless operation, harmonious with the pre-existing security stack.