Ashley Jacobs, Leader, Solutions Engineering at Cisco Systems.

According to the 2024 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index, which assesses how prepared organisations are to face today’s security threats, only 5% of companies in South Africa have achieved sufficient maturity. “There’s a massive gap in readiness,” says Ashley Jacobs, Leader, Solutions Engineering at Cisco Systems.

Threats in today’s landscape are not only becoming more frequent, but also more sophisticated. “Both phishing and ransomware are becoming AI-powered. This makes them more difficult to spot, and increases the chances that the target will click on a compelling, customised link, or follow advice that allows hackers to gain remote access to their device and the network,” Jacobs adds.

AI-powered security technology is essential to protect against today’s threats. In terms of critical infrastructure, there are two priorities.

“Firstly, the underlying infrastructure must be able to cater for high speed, high availability, and low latency,” Jacobs says. “Secondly, organisations must adopt an integrated, platform-based approach to security, rather than using point solutions. These platforms address the security challenges by using AI to simplify security configuration and AI engines to address AI threats. When these are achieved, an organisation’s defences are AI-ready.”

One such innovation is Cisco Hypershield, which is the first truly distributed, AI-native system that puts security wherever it needs to be: in every software component of every application running on the network, on every server, and in public or private cloud deployments.

In the past, many organisations ended up buying a different security tool for every new threat. This meant that organisations ended up with a lot of different tools, which are not necessarily scalable, and can’t ‘talk’ to each other. A platform-based approach is far more flexible than these point solutions.

“Cisco has recently acquired the company Splunk. This AI-powered security platform offers end-to-end visibility across an organisation’s entire digital footprint,” Jacobs says. “This allows an organisation to prevent major issues, remediate threats and disruptions faster, and adapt quickly as the landscape changes. It’s a game changer in terms of speed, observability, and security insights.”

In terms of security architecture, Cisco recommends that all organisations adopt a zero trust architecture.

“Zero trust is a security model that questions every access attempt, and in today’s business model, it’s essential,” says Jacobs. “Previously, organisations managed a network with users and machines on site. It was easier to control security in this setup, and treat everything outside the network as the untrusted zone. However, in today’s business landscape, devices are taken out of the network and used elsewhere – at employees’ homes, or on public networks. The trusted zone is continually broken. So whenever a user accesses a resource, zero trust stipulates that their device’s security must be checked, and the user’s credentials must be confirmed.”

Emails are always a challenge, because anyone can receive an email and potentially be lured into clicking on a link. DNS-level security needs to be in place to help prevent this. Cisco offers this capability through Cisco Umbrella. Every website link that is accessed by users needs to have the domain name service (DNS) address checked to make sure it’s safe. If users visit a harmful site, it can allow bad actors to gain access to their device and network.

When people are using public, unsecured networks, a virtual private network (VPN) needs to be in place. This creates a point-to-point tunnel, so information is not visible to third parties. In addition, Software-as-a-Service SaaS) applications that are accessed online also need the right tools to secure them so that the data shared is not visible to anyone else.

“Security always starts with the user. Ongoing education on how to deal with threats, how threat actors operate, and what tools and precautions should be used, is vital,” Jacobs emphasises. “Every network user needs to be aware of phishing attempts and how to keep sensitive data private.”

Being ready for today’s threats starts with building a comprehensive security architecture. Then leverage a platform-based approach with end-to-end security and in-depth user education. “At Cisco, we help our clients focus on every aspect of this process, from end-user protection to cloud protection and breach protection. In addition, employee training is a priority, and everyone who has access to the company network needs to be aware of phishing attempts, and how sophisticated they can be.

“Preparedness is key,” Jacobs concludes.

To learn more about Hypershield go to www.cisco.com and read more about the technology and the key customer use cases we’re solving for.