No more "deploy and forget" security

This RSA conference has been on the back of a watershed year. Nicely summed up in an emotive keynote by RSA Executive Chairman Art Coviello, the security industry is now learning that compromises in security will happen, no matter how tight perimeter security one can put up.

The long term solution will be to rely on Intelligence. Information collected from multiple sources have to be co-related and visualized. And real humans have to do the work of analyzing, investigating and outwitting external and internal threats as they happen. The days for "deploy and forget" are over; but the days of "observe, decide and act" is here to stay.

A small mention today in a NYT article:

Security Event Features Fearmongers, Buzzwords and a Love for Anonymous

By NICOLE PERLROTH

‘BIG DATA’ IS IN. FIREWALLS ARE OUT. Buzzwords like “virtualization,” “big data” and “cloud security solutions” are very much in vogue among security folk these days. Mention of firewalls and usernames and passwords elicits smug chuckles. The mind-set of the security industry has changed from one that thinks it can keep malware and bad guys out with antivirus solutions and firewall protection, to one that tries to identify and control the bad guys once they inevitably break in. In the last two weeks, both I.B.M. and Cisco announced new security intelligence systems that monitor and analyze threats in real time using the “big data” they cull from their information technology systems and networks, respectively. A number of companies already do this, albeit on a smaller scale. Solera Networks, Narus, Niometrics, AccessData, Log Logic, Niksun and dozens of others at the conference all market similar services. They look for patterns or telltale signs among large quantities of unstructured data to flag vulnerabilities before a security breach occurs, or to spot a breach as it is happening.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/security-event-features-fearmongers-buzzwords-and-a-love-for-anonymous/