Defensible Security Architecture and Engineering: Designing and Building Defenses for the Future
As I usually say: 'attackers are lazy'. In other words, they always follow the path of least resistance. As defenders catch up with their tactics, techniques, and procedures, the asymmetric gap between offensive and defensive capability shrinks, pushing attackers to shift their battlefield strategy, perpetuating a game that repeats over and over again. Take, for example, endpoint protection. For the last few years, endpoint protection, detection, and response have been the centerpiece of security strategies. As modern endpoint security products get better at anticipating threats based on AI-based engines, providing richer visibility and more contextual detection capabilities, attackers are pivoting away from them, looking for 'blind spots' in your architecture, leveraging vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in network devices, supply chains, and even firmware embedded deep within devices, areas where security visibility is limited. This trend is particularly significant due to the frequent discovery and exploitation of critical vulnerabilities in software used in public-facing systems. These vulnerabilities allow attackers to perform remote code execution and unauthorized access, opening doors for further attacks, such as ransomware or lateral movement within the network. The 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) confirms the tides are turning. While the primary vector for initial access in 2024 was phishing, accounting for 36% of breaches, it was followed very closely by vulnerability exploitation (21%) and the use of stolen credentials (20%). This reflects an increase in the exploitation of vulnerabilities as an entry point, which grew by 180% from the previous year. At the same time, the exploitation of vulnerabilities on Internet-facing devices as an initial access point nearly tripled from the previous year, now accounting for 14% of all breaches. What does this new shift mean to us? We, all-around defenders, need to think beyond individual systems and endpoints, taking a holistic view of the attack surface. This is where a defensible security architecture based on zero trust principles shines, a truly effective approach to cybersecurity infrastructure that is designed to be resilient, adaptive, and aligned with modern threat landscapes. Think Red, Act Blue: Turning Attack Chains into Defensive Chains# Thinking in terms of defensive chains is a fundamental step in designing and building a defensible security architecture. We're all familiar with the concept of attack chains—the step-by-step methodologies adversaries use to achieve their objectives. But what if we flipped that concept around? Using the knowledge of how attackers break in (or thinking 'red'), we can design defensive chains—layered defenses that block, detect, and respond at every step of the chain (that is, acting 'blue'). Think about it as an evolution of the traditional 'defense in-depth' philosophy, one that has expanded beyond 'protection' to include other key capabilities: Visibility in Depth: Knowing what's happening across your entire environment, in real-time. This includes endpoints, network traffic, cloud workloads, understanding how data flows across your environment, and who has access to what. Detection in Depth: Using advanced threat detection tools, powered by AI and machine learning, to identify anomalies that might otherwise go unnoticed. Response in Depth: Building robust incident response plans that are agile and adaptive, ensuring rapid containment and recovery from any incident. Designing and building defensive chains that incorporate defense (or protection), visibility, detection, and response in depth ensures that no matter where an attacker strikes —whether at the perimeter, in the cloud, or within the supply chain—there's a layer of defense ready to counteract. This approach not only limits the attacker's ability to maneuver, but also extends the defender's ability to respond effectively, transforming isolated defenses into a cohesive, interlinked system. A truly Defensible Security Architecture..