What is cybersecurity mesh?

It’s important because research suggests that data breach costs rose from $3.86 million to $4.24 million in 2021. This is the highest it has ever been in 17 years and reaffirms that the stakes are sky-high. One of the primary contributors to this recent rise is remote work.

The explosion of remote access to cloud resources and on-premises data centers has increased the need for highly flexible and composable architectures that integrate extensively distributed and disparate security resources seamlessly.

This scenario is also compounded by the fact that more people are using architectures based on microservices than ever before. They are using trust models like the blockchain to adopt an information-centric security model that supports distributed services.

As such, it has created the need to move perimeters encapsulating data centers and to set up perimeters around identities and objects that aren’t on the same network or on-premises. As such, taking a “mesh” approach helps ensure privacy and security.

The cyber defense strategy cybersecurity mesh concentrates on independently securing each device with its own perimeter. As a building block of the zero-trust security model, the “mesh” can take the form of network protection tools and firewalls.

Cyber security mesh leverages a holistic approach, unlike other security best practices that use a single perimeter to secure the whole enterprise environment. The traditional single parameter model no longer suits the highly distributed enterprise environments we have today.

In other words, cybersecurity mesh is an approach that helps IT teams enforce security policies across the company to secure all endpoints, networks, applications, systems, users, and data. Although this strategy is highly conceptual, it strives to integrate security into the architectural design and builds it into the infrastructure.

Cybersecurity mesh is also popular among security teams as it ensures stability, scalability growth, digital maturity, and optimization of remote work.

The first step to implementing this security model is to remove all siloed and disparate security tools from the environment. When you’re able to integrate various security tools together in a single platform, you’re better placed to take advantage of layered protection provided by cybersecurity mesh across your environment.

However, to get there, you must first incorporate this security concept into your overall IT strategy, starting with a complete reconfiguration. This approach helps enterprises build “walled cities” around their network.

To get it right, cybersecurity mesh must be incorporated during the planning stages to ensure that IT teams take proactive steps to mitigate risk on their own networks. At a basic level, you must also include the following:

• Enforce a policy of least privilege
• Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Secure devices connecting via an application programming interface (API)
• Test for potential vulnerabilities, remediate, and test again
• Hire an ethical hacking service
• Demand cyber hygiene from vendors
• Implement continuous security monitoring for rapid detection and response
• Segment enterprise networks
• Encrypt sensitive data
• Nurture a culture of security across the organization

The key is to prioritize interoperability to ensure the secure delivery of applications and data.

As threat actors rapidly adapt and get increasingly sophisticated, it’s important for businesses to take a multi-pronged proactive approach to security. This strategy will go a long way to help secure your IT infrastructure and keep your digital assets safe.