To have a fighting chance against these dynamic adversaries, agencies must understand exactly who in their organization has access to sensitive information, how that access has changed over time and its exposure risk. Without this knowledge, user accounts can easily be compromised. In a worst-case scenario, hackers could disrupt operations because cybersecurity teams can't determine where to focus their monitoring and analysis.
Agencies must take steps to ensure access is granted only to those that need it, increasing visibility to align with critical zero-trust security legislation.
Using Backup Data for Analysis To Avoid Breaches
While user intelligence technology is vital in today’s digital landscape, analyzing data on production systems to generate insights can be resource-intensive and cause negative user experiences.
A solid alternative is using backup data for insight and intelligence generation. By using copies of live data, agencies can conduct more granular analysis while avoiding impacting day-to-day operations. Additionally, backup data is usable regardless of whether a production environment is compromised or disrupted.
Agencies may be unaware of the advantages user intelligence can provide them. With data backup already completed, a wealth of metadata is sitting on reserve, ready for analysis.
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Without user intelligence, agencies put themselves at higher risk for detrimental data breaches. A lack of visibility into unqualified access can lead to slower identification times for fast-moving cyberattacks. The emerging technology can be used to sound the alarm on an account compromised by a sophisticated threat actor, helping to identify malicious activity that may otherwise go undetected until it is too late.
When they integrate user intelligence within their security operations, agencies glean actionable insights into access control data on users who pose an increased risk.
With such protocols in place, investigations accelerate and secure vital data without affecting production systems.
Zero Trust and Continuous User Monitoring Improve Cyber Posture
Zero-trust security is based on the principle “never trust, always verify” and aims to minimize uncertainty and bolster agencies’ security postures. The Zero Trust Maturity Model (ZTMM) from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is a roadmap available for agencies to reference as they transition to a zero-trust architecture, a necessary action given today’s threat landscape.
The detailed visibility enabled by user intelligence, combined with the valuable insights it produces, empowers agency security teams to cultivate a deep understanding of typical user behavior when correlated with other information such as security posture and network metadata within their environments. This capability allows for more informed decision-making and effective management of user interactions essential to zero trust.
DISCOVER: Are your agency’s zero-trust tools interoperable?
If sudden behavior shifts or slower pattern changes over time occur in users that seem indicative of risk exposure, security teams can limit or restrict access without notifying potential threat actors until these actions are confirmed as legitimate. By integrating the data and identity pillars of the ZTMM, user intelligence can enhance visibility, streamline validation processes and expedite informed decision-making to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive agency data. That way, agencies can focus on advancing their core missions.
This continuous monitoring of user behavior goes above and beyond typical agency security requirements and eases the burden of rejecting implicit trust and requiring verification for network users. When fully integrated within security operations, this technology can ensure stronger cyber resiliency and aid agencies in complying with federal mandates.
CISA’s ZTMM Depends on User Intelligence
User intelligence empowers agencies to strengthen their defenses against both internal and external threats in an efficient and automated manner. The measures transform how agencies address compliance requirements as they aim to keep pace with evolving legislation and zero-trust guidance.
Technology that curates risk scores to regularly identify which users have access to an agency’s most critical information — and communicates that with systems to take charge of access permissions in real time — is one way to help ensure complete cyber resilience while remaining compliant.
Automated user intelligence is also valuable in the insider threat arena, where nefarious activities often resemble compromised user accounts and pursue similar data access. With increased visibility over unqualified access, agencies will be empowered with the knowledge to mitigate the risks and costs associated with the exposure of sensitive information, taking back control of their data before a breach occurs.
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