Building context-aware cybersecurity alerts

Context Awareness

Improving context awareness and enhancing security with cybersecurity

The way people work, live, and interact with everyday goods could all be modified by the Internet of Things (IoT). The vast majority of contemporary items have internet connections, and IoT systems can be found in some capacity supporting essential firm operations in any commercial setting.

But as IoT connectivity develops, security issues come with it that need to be resolved. As with most technologies, context is crucial to IoT in secure workplaces or offices.

Sensor technology advancements have made large-scale deployments more practical since sensors are becoming more potent, affordable, and smaller. Ultimately, these sensors enable firms to improve context awareness and enhance security.

A new security model

How context awareness influences security?

Any product security team's ticket to victory is a better grasp of the context in which product components work and how certain vulnerabilities may relate to them. You must gain complete knowledge regarding the product you decide to use.

Understanding the ramifications of not conducting an analysis that considers the product's complete environment is as important. Context-aware computing is crucial to this decision-making process because it enables businesses to store contextual data related to sensor data, making it simpler and more meaningful to monitor.

Additionally, since machine-to-machine communication is essential in the IoT age, knowing the context makes it simpler to carry out machine-to-machine communication.

The concept of "you have access to everything when you log in" is replaced with the concept of "you'll have access to various things on where & what you're trying to do, on what device, and at what time."

It is how context awareness influences security. For instance, the use of public Wi-Fi instead of a secure VPN connection will be detected by context awareness when an employee attempts to log in using a corporate laptop from an airport lounge. The employee's access to certain applications will be restricted as a result.

Today we require the capacity to authenticate users by taking into account the different aspects of HOW, WHERE, and WHEN before enabling login to proceed in the modern world of increased user mobility & cloud-based apps.

While essential to various security systems, contextual awareness adds many crucial features to the IAM space. Jennifer Lin, VP of Product Management at Google Cloud, explained, "Context-aware approval elevates your security location, thereby decreasing the user complexity."

The silver lining

Context-aware Security

Despite the threat landscape's demand in complexity and the rising trends in popularity like BYOD, cloud adoption & hybrid workplace process, context-aware security technologies are urgently needed.

We can't rely on cybersecurity & IAM solutions that provide static decisions due to the dispersed nature of organizational resources and the frequent movement of people. The need for a dynamic IAM & cybersecurity system arises, where contextual awareness emerges.

But what does it render?

• Reduced Cybersecurity Workloads: Context-aware security will have several benefits, one of which is less work for IT and cybersecurity teams. Teams otherwise swamped with data may easily spend a day prioritizing security by sorting through important data.
• Focus on the Most Sensitive Data: Context-aware product deployment necessitates a financial and human resource investment. These tools can significantly improve a state's security efforts when configured properly. The next stage to maximize return on investment is clearly defining all highly sensitive information and deploying context-aware security measures.
• Securing the Security Fundamentals: Context is necessary for context-aware security, as one might expect. Even though that is hardly a shocking conclusion, many IT or business systems fall short in this regard. Information about users must make contextually appropriate and practically sound security decisions.

Thus, firms should have a solid identity & access management infrastructure before starting a project to deliver meaningful information about people.