Bridging the Gap: Network and Security Teams Collaboration
In the ever-evolving landscape of IT infrastructure, the necessity for seamless collaboration between network and security teams is more critical than ever. Yet, despite shared goals, there remain significant hurdles that prevent these teams from working together smoothly. This blog post aims to delve into the challenges from both perspectives and explore potential solutions to enhance collaboration.
Network Teams: Navigating Complexity
For network teams, the primary challenge lies in the intricate task of interconnecting various types of networks—physical, virtual, containerized, and cloud environments. This complexity makes it exceedingly difficult to integrate the network as an additional layer of defence. Here are some key pain points from the network teams' perspective:
1. Complex Integration:
The process of linking different network types is fraught with complexity. Each environment comes with its own set of protocols, configurations, and operational nuances, making it a Herculean task to create a unified and secure network layer.
2. Operational Overload:
Network operations teams are often stretched thin, managing the myriad of tasks required to maintain network performance and reliability. Adding security management into their already heavy workload can lead to burnout and inefficiencies.
3. Need for Simplification:
There is a pressing need for solutions that simplify and streamline the implementation of security measures. By enabling each team to focus on their area of expertise, it becomes possible to create a more predictable and manageable security environment.
Energy savings in the IT network can play a pivotal role in funding infrastructure upgrades, creating a sustainable and financially viable cycle of improvement. It is estimated that ICT is responsible for 2-4% of global carbon emissions* and with increased power demands from technologies such as AI, balancing reduced power consumption with IT network needs can be challenging.
Here we explore areas of cost reduction on energy spend, and potentially use that funding to reinvest in infrastructure for modernisation.
Security Teams: Struggling with Policy Management
On the other side of the spectrum, security teams face their own set of challenges. Their primary concern is ensuring that critical traffic is always permitted while blocking malicious traffic in real-time across all layers of the infrastructure. Key issues from the security teams' perspective include:
1. Time-Consuming Policy Maintenance:
Maintaining security policies is an ongoing task that requires constant attention. Security teams must continuously update and fine-tune policies to adapt to emerging threats and ensure compliance, which can be incredibly time-consuming. Security policy is fluid and ever changing, tomorrow’s requirements might be different from today’s so it’s understanding what policy exists and what can be removed is paramount to keeping the network secure.
2. Skill Gaps and Platform Diversity:
Security professionals often face a steep learning curve when working with different platforms. The lack of standardized skills across various environments can lead to inconsistencies in security practices, making it harder to achieve a unified defence strategy. We have previously discussed how a skills shortage is affecting our industry and this challenge is still relevant today.
https://www.bestpath.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Filling-The-Chronic-Skills-Shortage-Gap.pdf
3. Consistency and Consumability:
There is a critical need to normalize security practices across different platforms. By removing the learning curve and making security measures more consistent and consumable, security teams can respond more effectively to threats.
Deploying new security policy has always been, and still is a bottleneck for new application deployments. It’s not uncommon for application teams to wait up to four weeks for new security policy deployment. This stifles innovation, progress and creates frustration between different infrastructure teams. Security policy should be quick and simple to deploy. The deployment must also be efficient and no more permissive than required.
Towards a Collaborative Solution
To bridge the gap between network and security teams, organizations must consider implementing strategies that address the challenges faced by both sides. Here are some recommendations:
1. Unified Security Frameworks:
Adopting a unified security framework that integrates seamlessly with various network environments can help simplify the complexity of security implementation. Tools and platforms that offer cross-environment compatibility can significantly reduce the operational burden.
2. Automation and Orchestration:
Leveraging automation and orchestration tools can help streamline policy management and reduce the time security teams spend on routine tasks. Automated workflows can ensure that security policies are consistently applied across all network layers. There are many different approaches to automating policy deployment. Companies with mature development practices may prefer to develop their own custom solution but we see that the majority of companies prefer to take a vendor provided solution and fine tune it where required.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cA6SSFvmWM
3. Cross-Training and Skill Development:
Investing in cross-training programs can help bridge the skill gap between network and security teams. By developing a common understanding and shared expertise, teams can work more cohesively and effectively.
4. Collaborative Platforms:
Implementing collaborative platforms that facilitate communication and coordination between network and security teams can foster a more integrated approach to security. These platforms can provide a shared workspace where both teams can monitor, manage, and respond to security incidents in real-time.
Conclusion
The challenges that sit between network and security teams are significant but not insurmountable. By recognizing the unique perspectives and needs of each team, organizations can develop strategies that promote collaboration and enhance their overall security posture. Simplifying the complexity of network integration and making security practices more consistent and manageable are crucial steps towards achieving this goal. With the right tools, training, and collaborative efforts, network and security teams can work together seamlessly to protect the organization's critical assets.
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