The cyber threat landscape is vast and always changing. It can seem like each new security solution brings new ways attackers can bypass your defenses. Security hardening tools, as well as the methods bad actors use to get around them, are part of a dynamic landscape that can be frustrating to navigate.
Introduction
The cyber threat landscape is vast and always changing. It can seem like each new security solution brings new ways attackers can bypass your defenses. Security hardening tools, as well as the methods bad actors use to get around them, are part of a dynamic landscape that can be frustrating to navigate.
If there is one thing you take away from this book, it should be that a strong security posture today requires integration of and collaboration between the many deployed security solutions and tools. Modern technology stacks are widely distributed and hard to manage when separated into individual siloes, so integration, aggregation, and coordination are crucial to a successful security strategy.
Cybersecurity mesh architecture (CSMA) can be a great asset to large organizations. CSMA is a security architecture philosophy that champions tool integration and data aggregation to do just that. It also provides unified threat intelligence and AI-supported automation to achieve a dynamic security posture that can respond faster than attackers.
Foolish Assumptions
It’s been said that most assumptions have outlived their uselessness, but this book assumes a few things nonetheless! Mainly, that you’re a chief information officer (CIO), chief information security officer (CISO), vice president, architect, engineer, SOC professional, threat hunter, endpoint security manager, or administrator working on an enterprise security, networking, or infrastructure team. As such, this book is written primarily for technical readers with at least a basic understanding of security and networking technologies and challenges.
If any of these assumptions describe you, then this is the book for you! If none of these assumptions describe you, keep reading anyway! It’s a great book and when you finish reading it, you’ll have more trust in your knowledge of CSMA.
Cybersecurity Mesh for Dummies
Chapter 1 - The Dynamic Challenges of Cybersecurity
This chapter looks at the primary concerns of cybersecurity overall, and how they have shaped common security philosophies seen in organizations today.
Chapter 2 - Understanding Today’s Security Challenges
This chapter discusses the nature of widely distributed systems, how their expansiveness impacts cybersecurity, and even covers how humans can contribute to today’s security challenges.
Chapter 3 - The Need for Cybersecurity Meshes
This chapter discusses specific challenges that have brought about new cybersecurity mesh architecture (CSMA) platforms, what those platforms actually do, and explains the primary benefits of using CSMAs.
Chapter 4 - Critical Elements of a Cybersecurity Mesh Platform
This chapter discusses the three layers of any CSMA, how each of those layers interacts with the others, how this architecture contributes to a strong security posture, and how CSMAs try to bring these elements together.
Chapter 5 - Putting a Cybersecurity Mesh Platform into Practice
This chapter discusses that despite the variation among use cases, cybersecurity mesh can significantly contribute to the improved security of each of these environments.
Chapter 6 - Putting It All Together
This chapter discusses what to expect when adopting a mesh architecture and how to prepare for the future of cybersecurity.