What is a Security Validation Platform and Why It Matters

The pandemic is bringing people to the Internet more than ever. That means more transactions conducted over the Internet these days. While this is an excellent opportunity for both emerging and established organizations to take their operations online, cybercriminals too can take advantage of the trend.

In 2019, there were more than 350,000+ viruses created to target emails alone. And 2020 is bringing even more threats. Between January to April, cloud-based attacks rose to 630% compared to the previous quarter. New threats, such as Eventbrite, are popping up in the wild to target online verification banking services and money transfer apps.

That is why any business must have a robust cybersecurity system in place. Fortunately, these services are available in various forms and types. But how can you be sure that these measures are adequate? Do you wait for an actual cyber attack to prove its effectiveness?

What is a Security Validation Platform?

A security validation platform is a system that simulates an attack within a safe environment. It provides quantifiable evidence on the performance of the company’s security. Testing for security validation also determines whether the system satisfies the requirements of the organization.

For instance, it can mimic a ransomware attack and find holes in the current security system. This ensures that the security measures in place can withstand real-life threats without putting the rest of the company system at risk.

Cybersecurity is a complicated endeavour at best. In reality, these tools develop to protect existing vulnerabilities in a company’s infrastructure. Without deliberately testing these protections, there is no way to be sure about their performance. A security validation platform provides that opportunity to evaluate the system’s strengths and weaknesses without risking the organization’s assets.

Also Read: How Technology and Cybersecurity Change Each Other

Why Security Validation Platforms matter to Businesses

For businesses handling sensitive information and customer data, protection against breaches and leaks is a top priority. These concerns are not limited to multi-national corporations either. Growing organizations will suffer significantly in cases of attacks such as ransomware.

Having the right security system is not enough. You also have to ensure that they can handle the worst threats from the Internet. Here are some of the reasons why a security validation platform is essential.

Protection from improper adoption of technology

Within a decade or so, cloud technology has penetrated most, if not all, industries. For example, years ago, financial services are hesitant to consider a cloud option. After all, an on-premise infrastructure ensures complete control of data, privacy, and protection.

However, companies are now seeing cloud services as a legitimate part of their operation. Even those with initial security concerns, such as financial organizations, are beginning to understand the benefits of using the Cloud.

However, its widespread adoption brings its challenges. Of course, security is always a concern. On top of that, cloud services’ security systems are getting more complicated and require a bit of a learning curve. 

Cloud technology is vastly different from on-premise infrastructures. As such, improper configurations, errors in settings, or mistakes in controls and policies are inevitable. This creates vulnerabilities that are typically invisible, which is an opportunity for an attack. 

A security validation platform can identify these weaknesses in the system. Creating a worst-case scenario seeks out opportunities to disrupt and infiltrate the security measures and penetrate the entire IT infrastructure. Because it recreates real-life threats, testing cloud services before deployment ensures that its protection can withstand attacks from the wild.

Also Read: Cyber Essentials Certification 101 and How it Could Benefit Your Online Retail Enterprise

Full quality evaluation of your Cybersecurity

In cybersecurity, a lot of assumptions made about the effectiveness and the performance of the system. While it is easy to trust the service provider’s words, these are still unsupported assumptions at the end of the day.

Many organizations are now actively preparing for potential attacks in their system. A security validation platform answers their concern using actionable data. Specific tests mimicking specific attacks provide quantifiable information. It tells the company whether their current protection is enough. It also creates a roadmap for future upgrades or modifications.

Additionally, security validation extends beyond the Cloud. It is also applicable to on-premise environments. It is even more extensive than traditional security tools that only seek intrusions, breaches, and malware.

Security validation tests all aspects of the company’s IT system. It evaluates the effectiveness of security controls within the context of the organization’s operations. Essentially, it is a form of quality assurance focusing on cybersecurity.

Additional Benefits of Using a Security Validation Platform

1. Continuous simulations and evaluations

Traditional security audits provide a snapshot of the security system. While it provides value, it is no longer enough, especially for a fast-evolving world. New threats emerge every day, and most have rapid penetration. 

Security validation platforms perform continuous simulations and evaluations. It safely recreates attacks based on current trends on the Internet. As such, there is constant monitoring of security controls. You can set hourly, daily, and weekly tests to mitigate emerging threats. It can also catch vulnerabilities due to applications, network settings, system configuration, and overall business processes.

2. Validate security controls instead of configurations

It is a standard practice among cybersecurity professionals to review reports, logs, and configurations against compliance, risks, and mandates. A security validation platform covers all controls in place, from security to operations. Just like security evaluations, it includes all auditing requirements as well. On top of that, results are always evidence-based, with reports on weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. This results in a cost-effective and a more targeted method of upgrading and improving the current system.

3. Evidence-based evaluation

Security validation is an on-going process that captures periodic performance data of the organization’s entire system. It captures trends and insights that show improvements or deterioration of the cybersecurity measures. 

Furthermore, security validation platforms articulate the trends beyond technical terms. It often uses business-related factors to understand the state of the company’s IT security easily. By recording the validation and testing data over time, security teams can quickly see potential improvements across processes, technology, and people.  

4. Automation

Typical security assessments require the participation of the entire organization. Your members need to grant access to security experts, share logs, and explain configurations. This affects the overall productivity of your business.

Most security validation platforms are easy to deploy with the ability to automate many processes. The entire validation process becomes autonomous, which increases efficiency. The continuous monitoring and performance measurement is automated within the system. That means the whole process can happen in the background. Disruptions only happen on relevant parts of the system and not the entire organization. 

Conclusion

COVID-19 nearly monopolized the headlines in 2020. However, beyond the pandemic, cybersecurity is an increasing concern across all industries. Experts are barely catching up with new and more sophisticated threats and attacks. As such, businesses need to be more proactive in making sure that their assets are always protected. 

A security validation platform does not only test your current security measures. It involves your entire business infrastructure. That means it identifies vulnerabilities due to processes, workflows, and more. Security validation is indeed a valuable investment in protecting not only your assets but your operation as a whole.