headlines

security architecture evolving over time often becomes more complex than necessary and hence more insecure

truly secure solutions require security to be a fundamental element of the architectural design

commissum work with a design team to plan and achieve an optimum solution for end-to-end security

commissum will ensure a solution that is:

inherently more secure

inherently more reliable

cost effective

planned with growth in mind

more adaptable with respect to future technology upgrades

backed by the knowledge of experienced security professionals

issues

An organisation's infrastructure is often developed over time, with security added as an extra at a point in an organisation's growth where the risks start to be acknowledged. This is frequently achieved by initially adding a firewall as a perimeter defence, and later introducing additional security elements such as internal firewalls, authentication, VPN, etc, in a piecemeal fashion.

This is far from ideal, and can lead to a security architecture that is both complex and by virtue of this complexity inherently insecure. Internal IT departments rarely have the spare capacity and specialist knowledge required to properly plan and implement an integrated, secure architecture, in a phased way, over a period of time.

approach

Truly secure solutions require security to be a fundamental element of the architectural design. This acknowledges the existence of legacy systems, but requires a forward looking approach to designing a system that can grow securely as the business grows. A commissum Security Architect is able to work with a design team to plan and achieve an optimum solution for end-to-end security. The approach has to be flexible to take into account the varying business models, risks, etc, but typically would include:

• establish business requirements (model, growth, environment, human factors, etc)
• risk analysis aimed at targeting appropriate security strategy
• analyse legacy systems with respect to fit with future strategy and potential technologies
• cost benefit analysis with respect to differing security solutions and phasing
• security architecture design
• plans for implementation
• periodic review, accommodating change - environment, business model and technologies

customer benefits
A "designed-for-security" technology road map is produced that provides the appropriate level of security at each phase of an organisation's development. Security is implemented as part of an integrated development plan. This ensures that when compared with traditional "bolted-on" solutions, the security architecture will be:

• inherently more secure
• inherently more reliable
• cost effective
• planned with growth in mind
• more adaptable with respect to future technology upgrades
• backed by the knowledge of experienced security professionals

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