Cyber warfare and poker. Two completely different subjects but with certain undeniable similarities. We’ve all heard a lot about the poker craze over the past few years- either from the sports channels or from friends who participate in online or onsite tournaments. When it comes to poker, the same big question always surfaces - which has a bigger influence on the outcome - pure luck or the participant’s skills? Many books have been written, the best poker players in the world have been asked, and all of them point to the same conclusion- skills and expertise.
The same is true when looking at the world of cyber warfare and information security risks. The basic assumption is simple - your organization is always under some kind of attack (even as you read these lines), and luck will definitely not help you out. You are vulnerable and someone out there finds you to be a very interesting target. On the other hand, improved analytical skills, security mechanisms and work processes have a major impact on your organization’s risk exposure, as well as your ability to quickly detect and act when needed.
Poker players will tell you that it is all about being able to read your opponent’s normal behavior during the game. Once you’ve got that down, you’ll have a good chance of being able to identify his abnormal actions during the game which might give away his bluffs. The same distinction is true when examining the cyber and information security world - it is all about User Intelligence.
User Intelligence is one of the ways to inspect and maintain a certain information security state. As an intelligence process, it involves all of the traditional intelligence milestones: information gathering, analysis and operational conclusions. The User Intelligence process is focused on studying and analyzing the behavior of your internal network users, including their relations with other network entities (e.g., machines, files and more). User Intelligence lets you learn your internal network users’ normal activity, which in turn gives you the ability to discover their abnormal actions. These anomalies might be an indication of malicious intent on the part of your employees, ongoing advanced cyber operations inside your network, sloppy users who don’t pay attention to details and compromise confidential company information, and more. Just like poker, you want to win - and the prize is keeping your company’s deepest secrets and assets secure. You know your hand, you’re aware of the way that your users play and eventually you want to expose the bluffs.
Fortscale’s groundbreaking user intelligence platform and technology help you leverage your hand, enabling you to focus your resources on the real game being played inside your network.