Cybersecurity Smackdown: What Side Are You On?

It’s debate season – at least in the political realm. So to get into the spirit of the US primary election, Dark Reading has put together in one place excerpts from our ongoing series of great cybersecurity debates about four hot new information security technologies versus their legacy counterparts. Industry leaders make impassioned arguments for the new versus the tried and true, or a combination of the two.

ANALYTICS VS. ENCRYPTION

Encryption Has Its Place But It Isn’t Foolproof

By Doug Clare, Vice President of Product Management, FICO

Encryption technology is improving, as are best practices in deploying it; and everyone should embrace these improvements. But encryption alone is not enough, and may induce a false sense of security among those who depend on it. Read more.

As Good As They're Getting, Analytics Don't Inherently Protect Data

By Scott Petry, Co-Founder & CEO of Authentic8

The suggestion to “use analytics to secure your system” is flawed, and the argument to shift away from data security systems like encryption and move to analytics is fallacious. In fact, analytics is not an either-or-choice with encryption. Suggesting that firms choose between the two is like a doctor telling a patient to choose either vitamins or exercise. Both have their place in a healthy lifestyle. Read more.

MACHINE LEARNING: HYPE VS. PROMISE   

Machine Learning Is Cybersecurity's Latest Pipe Dream

By Simon Crosby, co-founder and CTO at Bromium

There is a huge difference between being pleased when Netflix recommends a movie you like, and expecting Netflix to never recommend a movie that you don’t like. So while applying machine learning to your security feeds might deliver some helpful insights, you cannot rely on such a system to reliably deliver only valid results. Read more.

Machine Learning: Perception Problem? Maybe. Pipe Dream? No Way!

By Mike Paquette, VP Products, Prelert

In the most common misperception, machine learning is thought to be a magic box of algorithms that you let loose on your data and they start producing nuggets of brilliant insight for you. If you apply this misperception to the use of machine learning for cybersecurity, you might think that after deploying it, your security experts will be out of a job since algorithms will be doing all their important threat detection and prevention work. The reality is that ML is a practical way to use newer technology to automate the analysis of log data to better detect cyberthreat activity, under the direction and guidance of an organization's security experts. Read more. 

PREVENTION VS. DETECTION

Time’s Running Out for the $76 Billion Detection Industry

By Simon Crosby, co-founder and CTO at Bromium

Enterprises spend a mind-boggling $76 billion each year to “protect” themselves from cyber-attacks, but the bad guys keep winning because most protection solutions are based on detection instead of prevention. What’s wrong? The answer is the same today as it was in ancient Troy when the Greek army suddenly disappeared, leaving behind an innocent-looking horse that the Trojans willingly brought inside the gates. Read more.

Detection: A Balanced Approach For Mitigating Risk

By Josh Goldfarb, VP and CTO - Emerging Technologies, FireEye

Prevention is necessary, but not sufficient, for a robust and mature security program. Only detection and response can complete the security picture that begins with prevention. Read more. 

THE FIREWALL IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE FIREWALL.

Why the Firewall is Increasingly Irrelevant

By Asaf Cidon, Co-Founder & CEO, Sookasa

Firewalls only protect what work used to be, not what it is today, a distributed collection of employees connected by mobile devices, in turn connected to the cloud. The only way to secure all company data, then, is to extend enterprise-grade security to these employees’ devices and cloud applications. Read more.

Firewalls Sustain Foundation of Sound Security

By Jody Brazil, Co-Founder & CEO, FireMon

Effective security management will always retain a multi-layered approach necessitating mechanisms that control and limit access. While this may not someday require dependence on network security devices, in today’s environment the firewall remains one of the critical building blocks of network security. Read more. 

 Find out more about cutting edge security at Interop 2016, May 2-6, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas. Register today and receive an early bird discount of $200.