How can you balance system availability with security?

Balancing system availability with security requires a strategic approach that involves implementing layered defense strategies, regular updates and patches during off-peak hours, and designing scalable and resilient infrastructure. Prioritizing security controls based on risk assessments helps ensure flexibility in system usage.

Balancing system availability with security involves implementing layered security measures without hindering accessibility. Use robust firewalls and intrusion detection systems, alongside regular security audits. Employ redundancy and failover mechanisms for uninterrupted service. Educate users on security best practices and ensure timely software updates. Regularly review and adjust security protocols to maintain a balance between tight security and optimal system availability. This approach minimizes risks while ensuring smooth operations.

System availability, from a security perspective, is the continuous, reliable operation of a system, ensuring authorized access and protected functionality for its intended users. Architecting for availability starts with a layered defense, including redundancy and failover mechanisms for critical components, secure access controls, and robust incident response plans. Internal factors like hardware failures and software bugs require proactive maintenance and vulnerability patching. External threats like cyberattacks necessitate intrusion detection and prevention systems, coupled with continuous threat intelligence and mitigation strategies. Detective controls uncover hidden issues while preventive controls stop them before they even start.

La disponibilité d'un système fait référence à son accessibilité quand nécessaire. Un incident peut impacter celle-ci, ce pour quoi il est nécessaire d'élaborer un plan de continuité et de reprise des activités. Ces plans détaillent, à partir des connaissances techniques et humaines, la stratégie à adopter face aux risques de potentiels incidents. Cela inclut : la réunion de cellule de crise, la communication aux acteurs impliqués, la résolution technique et le retour d'expérience des équipes. Le pourcentage souvent évoqué indiquant le taux de disponibilité, fait référence à la mesure des temps de maintenances et incidents, soustrait à celui du bon fonctionnement des systèmes, dans une période et un périmètre donné.

System availability in cybersecurity refers to ensuring systems, networks, and data are consistently operational and accessible to authorized users. It's a crucial aspect of the CIA Triad in cybersecurity, focusing on: 1. Uptime and Reliability: Keeping critical systems operational with minimal downtime. 2. Resilience Against Attacks: Protecting against disruptions like DoS and DDoS attacks. 3. Backup and Recovery: Implementing robust processes to restore systems post-cyber incidents. 4. Redundancy and Failover: Maintaining availability through redundant systems and failover mechanisms. 5. Regular Maintenance 6. Performance Monitoring It's about balancing access for authorized users while defending against cyber threats.

Before we jump to the conclusion that CIA is the basis of operation, most of the connected assets on enterprise networks operated under the premise of AIC or IAC rather than CIA. How these are prioritized for classes of assets determine design, operating, support, and resilience factors.

Security, particularly in the context of information technology and cybersecurity, refers to the measures and practices employed to protect digital systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, theft, damage, or disruption. This encompasses a wide range of activities and controls designed to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information (often summarized as the CIA triad).

Working with small businesses on cybersecurity, a framework I really like to communicate the concept of security is the CIA framework - Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of your data. Can any unauthorized people gain access to your data? That's confidentiality. Can any unauthorized people make changes to your data? That's integrity. Can any unauthorized people take action to make your data unavailable? That's availability. Rather than delving into a lot of technical terms, think about the data you need to run your business and what data do you have that requires compliance to various standards like HIPAA, FTC Rules, CMMC, your State requirements. Evaluate how you could protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

For NIST, security is the persistent shield safeguarding information and its systems from unauthorized access, manipulation, or destruction. This bastion rests on three pillars: confidentiality of secrets, integrity of data, and availability for trusted use. Embracing this proactive stance secures not just information, but the systems that house it, paving the path for unwavering trust. But trust demands a keen awareness of risk. Through risk assessment, we identify, analyze, and prioritize potential threats, wielding tools like threat modeling and penetration testing to map the attack landscape. This continuous vigilance keeps our defenses agile, adapting to the ever-changing threat terrain and solidifying the overall security posture.

Security involves measures to protect systems, networks, and data from cyber threats. It focuses on: 1.Confidentiality: Ensuring sensitive information is accessible only to authorized individuals, using encryption and access controls. 2.Integrity: Protecting data from unauthorized alterations, using checksums and digital signatures. 3.Availability: Guaranteeing reliable access to information for authorized users. Key practices include: - Threat prevention and detection with firewalls, antivirus, and intrusion detection systems. - Effective incident response plans for security breaches. - User education on recognizing threats like phishing. - Compliance with data protection and privacy laws.

System availability and security are more than technical specs – they're strategic imperatives. Reliable access and robust protection build user trust, operational efficiency, and organizational resilience. CISA and NIST offer frameworks: CISA guides threat mitigation, while NIST's SP 800 series outlines best practices. Google's Cybersecurity Framework simplifies security into five core areas, guiding organizations to build defenses, ensure access, and earn trust in our digital world.

Leaving aside technical aspects, security should be deployed in the organization in a way which allows productivity and availability of services and tools. Adding more and more obstacles on the way of employees in their daily work, will inevitably make them try to bypass security controls and make information systems available for them. Hence by adding more security, paradoxically we reduce it.

Contrary to the belief that system availability and security are often at odds, these two aspects can, and indeed should, be designed to complement and enhance each other. In today’s technological landscape, the notion that increased availability inherently leads to decreased security is a false dichotomy. With the right strategies and technologies, it is entirely feasible to achieve a high level of both simultaneously. The idea that system updates and patches invariably lead to significant downtime is outdated. With the advent of microservices architecture and containerization, updates can often be applied with little to no disruption to system availability.

Working with small businesses and cybersecurity we’re often balancing security and convenience. Many of the security protections in place can restrict convenience and availability. Multi factor authentication, restricting administrative access, segmenting a network, and more, can make end users feel like security is getting in the way of productivity and here’s where cybersecurity awareness training comes into the picture. Everyone on the team needs an appreciation of the “why” for cybersecurity - then safeguards won’t seem as much like annoying restrictions.

Balancing system availability with security involves implementing measures like redundancy, regular updates, and monitoring to ensure resilience while also employing strong access controls, encryption, and threat detection to enhance security. Striking the right balance requires a thorough risk assessment and a well-defined strategy that considers both operational continuity and safeguarding against potential threats. Regular audits and testing can help fine-tune this delicate balance.

System availability and security often clash due to inherent trade-offs. Robust security measures like encryption can slow performance, while high availability approaches like redundancy can increase attack surfaces. Resolving these conflicts requires a balanced approach. Security professionals employ techniques like threat modeling to prioritize risks, implement layered security with minimal performance impact (e.g., secure code practices), and leverage vulnerability management to patch critical issues without compromising uptime. Google's Cybersecurity Framework offers a practical solution, prioritizing critical assets and tailoring security controls to minimize impact on availability, ensuring robust defenses without sacrificing uptime.

Depends on organization's risk appetite and what's important to them, availability or confidentiality. Consider a Govt institution vs a weather service. I'd assume availability of data would be more important for the weather service and confidentiality of data for the Govt institution. Once you figure out what's critical for your organization you can develop policies and procedures around it.

Finding the sweet spot between availability and security is a conflict: as more security can reduce availability, and vice versa. My strategy is to consider the sensitivity of data for the minimum possible availability under zero-trust implementations, with constant tuning. This makes the system to be functional and secure. For example, a system under HIPAA regulation that handles personal health information has higher sensitivity than a system with public information. More sensitive data needs more security controls, such as multiple layers of protection, micro-segmentation, etc. This strategy has been proven effective in reducing cyber risks and enhancing business outcomes, as shown by studies from Forrester and MITRE.

Les solutions de déploiements de correctifs, automatisent une partie importante de la phase curative de la gestion des vulnérabilités du système d'information. Ces outils sont paramétrés par un prestataire ou en interne, de telle sorte à refléter au maximum les politiques de l'entreprise. Prenons l'exemple du milieu assurantiel/financier, le risque d'attaque cyber est élevé puisque ces sociétés détiennent un capital financier important. Le processus de gestion des vulnérabilités sera plus conséquent et surtout beaucoup plus récurrent dans le temps, nécessitant du personnel à temps plein.

L'importance de la veille informatique dans les équipes de sécurité. Une partie non négligeable de la sécurité informatique au sens large, s'effectue en amont d'un incident. Ce sont des mesures mis en place, des documentations et procédures, mais aussi de l'intelligence (récolte et analyse de données). Cette intelligence reflète la capacité de l'entreprise à ingérer des données pertinentes et à les traiter pour qu'elles soient profitables à sa pérennité. Par exemple, un collaborateur qui effectue une veille assidue et qui chaque matin regarde son flux RSS, limitera de manière non négligeable le risque d'incident ou d'attaque. Puisqu'il sera informé dès la sortie d'une vulnérabilité, d'un proof-of-concept et du mode opératoire.