The typical approach to detection used by organizations is to employ a variety of methods, such as antivirus software, sandbox engines, extensive data analysis, and anomaly detection, among others. This depends on the organization. Through monitoring and spotting, these technologies seek to discover and eliminate any malicious code or malware that might reach an endpoint and be executed by it.
The only way to believe in the effectiveness of detection solutions is to see them in action. In the absence of detecting a threat, how are you supposed to know whether it is a threat or not? This is a fundamental principle that defines the foundation of such technologies. After the detection of a threat on the network, this involves searching for it, taking action against it, and moving to isolate and neutralize it. This is done as soon as the threat is confirmed. There are several problems associated with this approach.
A detection solution is generally focused on identifying what is malicious and benign, which results in them having similar limitations as viruses. These methodologies can indeed produce false positives and negatives. Layering these technologies on top of each other can be very expensive.
It is also imperative to note that relying solely on detection puts you at a disadvantage. It is this situation that forces you to respond to threat actors once they are already on the network - by the time you can react, the damage has already been done and it is nearly too late.
Taking a Multifaceted Approach to Security
Several typical defense mechanisms form the pillars of many organizations' security strategies. These include file inspections performed by SWGs and sandboxes to network and HTTP inspections, indicators of compromise feeds, and malicious link analysis. When confronted with HEAT, many of these defense mechanisms become virtually useless when confronted.
The most effective way for organizations to be prepared to combat modern threats is to move beyond sole reliance on detection solutions. Instead, they should develop a multifaceted approach to security that brings multiple levels of protection. Even though these solutions still serve a purpose today, to ensure that attackers are prevented from even reaching networks in the first place, these solutions must be coupled with a proactive approach that focuses on prevention.
Contrary to a detection solution, a prevention solution does not diagnose the quality of traffic. In other words, these companies take a zero-trust approach, that is to say, they assume that all traffic carries at least some level of risk in it. In this case, all traffic, up until it is proven to be innocent, is treated as guilty.
Remote browser isolation (RBI) is an innovative method that prevents code from entering users' browsers without determining whether it is infected.
This creates a digital air gap and allows users to browse the internet safely as RBI moves the execution point to a cloud-based container, preventing any malicious content from executing successfully.
All traffic is executed in the cloud, so it never needs to be analyzed or remediated at the endpoint. This dramatically reduces the cost and time associated with managing your SOC.
With HEAT techniques, attackers are not restricted to exploiting or bypassing vulnerabilities on the endpoint. The network is protected by preventing content from reaching it.
