Cyber 3 MIN Read
November 15th, 2023
RESEARCH STUDY
Cybersecurity in 2023, amidst the backdrop of the White House’s recent executive order on artificial intelligence, is as complex as it’s ever been. This order, while focused on AI, has significant implications for cybersecurity, influencing how we, as cybersecurity professionals, must adapt and integrate AI advancements into our defensive strategies. The dynamic, high-stakes environment we operate in necessitates not only a keen focus on the capabilities we can mature but also an innovative approach to incorporate AI-driven solutions into our organizations. This harmonization will enable us to continually enhance our cybersecurity posture in response to emerging AI technologies, all while navigating competing budget priorities, unfunded mandates with tight timelines, and evolving cybersecurity strategy directives.
Defensive cyber operations, or DCO, has emerged as a paradigm shift from mere reactive strategies to a proactive, resilience-focused approach. Grounded in stability and adaptability, DCO is about more than just countering present threats. It involves foreseeing potential challenges and arming agencies with the technologies and tactics they need to navigate today’s vast and dynamic cyber threat landscape.
DCO capabilities employs a combination of technical, managerial, and operational requirements. These encompass a wide range of tools for continuously monitoring, and responding to threats. The aim is to collate, correlate, and analyze threat and security-related data from diverse sources, including perimeter defenses, network devices, cloud platforms, and endpoint agents, while overlaying cyber threat intelligence to proactively defend these sources. By harnessing these myriad data streams, DCO capabilities provide a panoramic situational awareness, enabling organizations to gauge and refine their security posture and respond in real-time.
In our recently released whitepaper and study, Bedrock Defenses: An Agency Guide to Defensive Cyber Operations, we examined the cyber challenges and concerns agencies are facing and their must-have capabilities, including AI, for building and implementing defensive cyber operations. We outlined a path toward a comprehensive, resilient, and forward-leaning cyber defense strategy for agencies.
Here are six key takeaways from the report:
Without question, cyberspace is not only a conduit for innovation and progress but also a dynamic arena of constant and evolving threats. Navigating that complex landscape demands an integration of fundamental and advanced strategies.
DCO protects the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of digital assets and data. Recognizing and fortifying the foundational elements of DCO is more than a strategic advantage; it’s an imperative for national security, public trust, and the seamless operation of critical infrastructures.
As we look ahead, agencies must embrace a defensive cyber operations in order to continually evolve their cyber strategies, anticipate challenges, and maintain robust defenses in the face of myriad cybersecurity threats. GDIT is in constant, collaborative conversations with customers about how to do just that.