Reactive vs Proactive Security: Which Is Better?

As networks and technology rapidly evolve, many organizations face the challenges of expanding their attack surface. A truly successful approach to dealing with these challenges involves multiple layers of protection that encompass networks, devices, data and people. And to add more fuel to issues brought on by technology and security sprawl growth, malicious actors are constantly working on new techniques, tools and methods to execute attacks on organizations' data. Addressing both unknown threats and CV-Es can't be achieved by having a reactive security strategy alone. If you're looking to prevent known threats only, sure, it might be enough. But acting only reactively can enhance an organization's exposure to zero-day vulnerabilities, emerging advanced persistent threats-AP-T and more sophisticated cyber attack vectors. This is why we need to shift from a reactive to a more proactive approach to security. But is one approach inherently better than the other? What is reactive security? Reactive security practices are considered a staple, as basics among cybersecurity strategies. Reactive strategies focus on building up your defenses to common attack methods and cyber risks, and discovering whether malicious attackers have already breached your defenses and are inside of your network. Common reactive security measures include: Firewalls. Antivirus solutions. Spam filters. Disaster recovery plans. Vulnerability assessment. Reactive cyber security methods are used by organizations to deal with more traditional attacks. They basically consist of waiting on visible signs of intrusion and indicators of compromise-Io-C, then taking action. And this makes sense, when it comes to attacks on low-hanging fruit, the time it takes for an attacker to perform damage is greater than the amount of time needed to detect and react to the incident. All of these techniques and methods of reactive security are great for preventing known malware and viruses, and if one slips into your network, they can help you catch the actors. The biggest issue with reactive security is that organizations often rely only on them and consider themselves properly protected and cyber resilient. In reality, a reactive security approach should only be one part of the bigger defense puzzle. Best reactive security practices to implement Reactive security, while with its flaws, is important and shouldn't be overlooked. Antivirus solutions and endpoint detection and response are crucial in helping your organization recover after an attack and get back to operating as normal. Let's see how the most common and effective reactive security procedures can help you protect your organization against known threats and respond in cases of attack: Vulnerability assessment Vulnerability assessment, also known as vulnerability analysis, is a systematic process of detecting, evaluating and prioritizing and proposing remediation or mitigation of vulnerabilities on a network or in a system. In plain English, it's a review of the security weaknesses in an organization's information system. Vulnerability assessment can be observed as a four-step process, with the first step being security testing, or vulnerability identification. Here, a list of all vulnerabilities in a tested application, server or system is discovered. Vulnerability analysis is the next step, in which root causes of discovered vulnerabilities are noted. Next we have a risk assessment that prioritizes security vulnerabilities based on the sensitivity of data and systems that are affected, potential for an attack and the damage that the potential attack can bring. The final step is remediation, where proper steps and mitigation strategies are presented in order to close those security gaps. Vulnerability assessment, due to its multiple steps and wide scope, can be looked upon as both a reactive and proactive security approach, but because it concerns already existing vulnerabilities, it does fall more into the reactiv...

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