Layered Security: The Key to Cyber Threat Protection

If your business is your castle, layered security creates your fortress, making it more impenetrable to incoming threats. Organizations looking to build resilience and reduce the risk of data breaches can do so by taking a layered approach to their IT security controls.

We’ll cover why layered security is the key to cyber threat protection, including the key components businesses should consider, potential challenges, and best practices.

What is Layered Security?

Layered security combines several IT security mechanisms at different levels to protect an organization’s data and systems. You may also hear the term “defense in depth,” which describes the reasoning behind a layered security approach. Levels of protection can be applied to physical, administrative, and technical components. Some examples of this can include adding physical security through locked server rooms, network security with virtual private networks (VPNs), and endpoint security with antivirus software.

The Importance of a Layered Security Approach

It’s important for businesses to take a layered security strategy to protecting their systems because this enhances security across different domains, offers redundancy, and diversifies the types of security controls used to address a wider range of threats.

Seven Common Components of Layered Security

To reduce the risks associated with data loss and provide continued protection to systems, organizations can focus on implementing measures within seven common components of layered security.

1. Physical Security Measures: The physical infrastructure of a data center includes anything that prevents physical access to the building itself, server rooms, and other rooms that house critical data and infrastructure. Gates, locks, fences, cameras, and security personnel can all work to prevent unauthorized access. Fire suppression, climate control, and power backups can also be added to protect against environmental threats, such as natural disasters and fires.

2. Network Security Tools: The network also needs to be secured and protected from outside access. Organizations can add firewalls, intrusion protection systems, and virtual private networks to monitor, block, and mitigate malicious activity. Routers and switches can also be configured with security features, and networks can be further secured through segmentation, breaking them down into smaller, more isolated segments.

3. Endpoint Security Solutions: Endpoints include any devices used to connect to your network, like desktops, laptops, and phones. Endpoint security can include anti-malware software, antivirus software, endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, device encryption, and patch management.

4. Application Security Practices: Keeping software secure throughout its lifecycle requires several security practices, including vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, web application firewalls (WAFs), code reviews, and engaging in secure coding practices that minimize vulnerabilities. Organizations should also be mindful of what cloud-native security controls need to be put in place for cloud-based applications.

5. Data Security Techniques: Data needs to be kept secure while in use, at rest, and in transit. Data can be encrypted or masked to make it useless for unauthorized users. It can also be restricted using access control lists by job roles and functions. Data loss prevention (DLP) services and data backup and recovery measures keep the data within an organization’s control and enable businesses to restore data if there is a disaster.

6. Employee Security Awareness: Humans can frequently be the weakest link in an organization’s security plan. Creating clear policies around security practices, implementing an incident response plan, conducting regular security audits, and training employees on how to spot and handle common threats can strengthen this link considerably.

7. Identity and Access Management (IAM): Controlling who has access to sensitive data and systems is a fundamental aspect of security. IAM strategies include enforcing strong authentication methods, like multi-factor authentication (MFA), and applying role-based access controls to grant users only the permissions they need for their tasks. Regular reviews and updates of access rights, along with identity governance and privileged access management, help prevent unauthorized access and support regulatory compliance.

Benefits of Layered Security for Your Business

A layered security approach allows businesses to be more resilient and reap the following key benefits:

• Enhanced Threat Detection and Prevention: Think of layered security like layered clothing in the cold. The more you add, the more you are protected from the harsh elements, preventing the cold from reaching you. In a similar way, layered security prevents harsh cyberattacks from reaching critical business systems. If one layer fails, others are ready to find and address malicious activity.
• Reduced Risk of Data Breaches: Layering your security approach strengthens your security posture and decreases risks associated with breaches. If a cybercriminal faces too many obstacles, it’s likely they will give up and seek an easier target, looking for a simpler path to success.
• Greater Flexibility and Scalability: Taking multiple approaches to security also allows businesses to adapt and shift their methods as needs grow and change. More layers of defense can be added or altered without making comprehensive changes to the system. AI and machine learning can also help businesses adapt more quickly to emerging threats.

Potential Challenges with Layered Security

On the other hand, bringing in several security approaches together can create additional challenges for businesses that are not ready to handle that level of complexity.

• Balancing Security with Usability: Security controls need to strike the balance between meaningfully reducing the risks of cyber threats and hindering productivity. For example, if authentication measures are too stringent, locking users out of devices too quickly after the machines go idle, this can waste time and slow down daily processes. Security should not come at the expense of usability, if at all possible.
• Managing Complexity and Cost: Bringing multiple security tools into the mix can make managing them complex, quickly. Organizations need to make plans for how tools will be managed, updated, and integrated to maximize their effectiveness.
• Staying Updated with Evolving Threats: The threat landscape is ever-changing, and keeping up with it is a full-time job. Businesses must have a plan in place for how to stay informed about the latest threats and vulnerabilities that are most likely to impact their systems. This also extends to the need for regular employee training, and may necessitate help from external experts.

Implementing a Layered Security Framework

Implementation of a layered security framework starts with an assessment of your environment, followed by strategy design, compliance checks, and integration to improve the performance and breadth of any security measures.

• Perform a security assessment. Before you develop a framework for protection, you need to understand what you’re safeguarding. Identify the assets that need securing, such as systems, data, and specific intellectual property. Then determine the potential threats and vulnerabilities these assets could be subject to, including how likely they are to occur. Run security audits that analyze the current policies and controls in place. Finally, conduct penetration testing and do vulnerability scanning to unearth potential issues and simulate attacks.
• Design a multi-layered security approach. After you’ve identified the assets you need to protect and conducted a security assessment, it’s time to develop a strategy that aligns with what you’re trying to achieve. This could be recovering data in a certain amount of time (recovery time objective), keeping the loss of data to a minimum (recovery point objective), or sufficiently reducing risks to satisfy compliance or cyber insurance requirements. Select security measures that work with each layer and prioritize the most critical assets and risks.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations. If you need to meet certain industry regulations, your business will want to properly document the initiatives you implement. You should also revisit your security controls regularly to ensure they still meet the required standards, such as NIST, GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS.
• Integrate with existing infrastructure. The more security tools can integrate with existing software, the more you will be able to protect your systems. However, this can be a complicated process. APIs can help simplify things but may require small teams to bring in external help.

Best Practices for Maintaining Layered Security

Implementation is the start, but the real work happens during maintenance. In this ongoing exercise, businesses must:

• Run regular security audits. Running regular audits means that organizations can quickly find gaps and other vulnerabilities in their security posture. These audits should address all components in all layers of security added to the strategy.
• Implement continuous monitoring. Businesses can find threats in real time through continuous monitoring tools, such as security information and event management (SIEM) systems, which collect and analyze security data.
• Educate and train employees on cybersecurity measures. Security awareness training can cut down on incidents of human error that can sometimes lead to breaches. Employees should know how to keep passwords strong, spot phishing emails, report social engineering schemes, and browse the internet securely.

Safeguard Your IT Environment Against Cyber Threats

If your current IT environment could use reinforcement, it’s time to take a proactive and comprehensive approach to cyber threats. Protect your sensitive data and partner with TierPoint to augment your IT security services. We can help you develop a multilayered IT security solution to safeguard against next-generation threats.