Palo Alto Networks specializes in providing a wide range of cybersecurity products and services. Can you give a specific insight into these services?
The pace of change is ever accelerating - this applies especially in the cybersecurity space. Palo Alto Networks therefore continually delivers innovation to enable a secure digital transformation for organizations through its state-of-the-art platforms and based on AI. The key areas include:
- Cloud Security: We protect applications across the entire lifecycle and in any cloud environment to enable effective collaboration and cloud native applications.Prisma Cloud eliminates the proliferation of security tools by bringing them together in a central, integrated platform.
- Remote Network Security: The Prisma Access solution secures hybrid workflows and work environments with ZTNA 2.0 while protecting all application traffic, access and data. As part of it Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is making the solution more secure by integrating threat defense mechanisms.
- Security Automation: The platform Cortex helps SecOps teams to automatically detect, investigate and respond to threats. The Palo Alto Networks own SOC reports half a trillion security events per month, detects threats on average within ten seconds, and responds to priority threats within one minute. All with only 10 analysts working 8 to 5. And with zero major incidents.
- Zero-trust network security: Our Next Generation Firewall Strata creates optimal conditions for location-independent mobile working without restrictions. The integrated platform minimizes the risk of a security breach and protects businesses from the latest network threats.
- Research & Consultancy:Unit 42, our research unit with an incident response team and expert security consultants, supports companies with a data-driven approach before, during and after a security incident.
As a company that is globally engaged, what are the emerging cyber threats to be tackled as top priority?
Our threat research group Unit 42 is constantly examining the threat landscape globally. Threat actors are increasingly tracking high-profile vulnerabilities and exploiting them to gain an initial foothold in an organization. Also, the timeframe from vulnerability to exploit is getting shorter – it can practically coincide with the reveal.
By 2025, 45% of organizations worldwide will have experienced supply chain cyber attacks, a three-fold increase from 2021. Also, Ransomware groups are flourishing. We see that cybercriminals increasingly use Zero-Day vulnerabilities and SaaS-like business models: Ransomware-as-a-Service has dramatically lowered barriers to entering this lucrative criminal industry. Also on the rise is Multi-Extortion where attackers not only encrypt files, but also name and shame the victims by posting proof-of-compromise on the Dark Web and thus aiming to coerce victims into paying. Furthermore, the growth of AI-powered threats requires a response from AI-powered solutions. It is also essential that enterprises use AI & Machine Learning (ML) for efficient data analysis that helps them stay ahead of evolved zero-day threats and introduces the automation necessary to accelerate response times and reduce human error.
What topic do you see as a priority for the company and the industry?
When we envision the future of cybersecurity, there isn’t a path to success that is not heavily driven by AI and automation. At Palo Alto Networks AI has been embedded into our solutions for a long time.
The sheer and ever increasing number of data and at the same time limited number of IT resources require AI and automation to counteract adversaries successfully. AI and ML help drive tangible customer benefits whereby we can provide organizations with real-time detection and prevention of an ever increasing number of attacks. The be-all and end-all of AI is the quality of data which we are able to collect through our unified platforms, allowing data collection, analysis and response in real-time.
On a typical day, we analyze nearly 750 million new, unique telemetry objects worldwide, identify about 1.5 million new attacks that have never been seen before, and block 8.6 billion attacks across our customer base.
Another priority is our platform strategy to help organizations consolidate their currently too many different security solutions and at the same time leverage their scarce IT security experts more efficiently. We strongly believe in a fully integrated, automated and customer-centric platform that is solving these challenges vs. a vast number of point products.
As an innovative organization we are also looking beyond technology, whereby sustainability and diversity are equally important.
How can the transatlantic partnership foster a stronger relationship to fight cyberthreats and pursue a stronger stance towards cybersecurity?
Cyber threats are global and an attack in one country can have ripple effects across the globe, so it’s critical that countries work together to share information and coordinate responses. This way, we will improve the overall security of technology and infrastructures that underpin the global economy.
Germany and the US always have the objective to work together, bring prosperity to the many and prevent misuse of technology, despite having different approaches at times.
We especially need to work together on AI-related issues. In the current environment, increased information sharing between the private sector and governments around the world is essential and should be expanded. We can drive transatlantic cooperation in many ways such as sharing threats and knowledge, helping to develop and align our policies and regulations on AI as well as accelerating the development of AI.
Palo Alto Networks has taken the lead in a number of cross-border initiatives aimed at sharing cyber threat information, for example in co-founding the Cyber Threat Alliance which is taking cyber threat information sharing to a new level in hopes that it will lead to better protection for the public against cyber attacks.
