Isolate & contain: Challenges in cybersecurity

Federal Tech Talk

Isolate & contain: Challenges in cybersecurity

What are some of the biggest cybersecurity challenges facing IT workers in the federal government? Find out when Blue Ridge Networks CEO John Higginbotham joins...

July 31, 2018 5:21 pm

< a min read

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Blue Ridge Networks has been working with federal agencies for over twenty years. Today, we sit down with CEO John Higginbotham to talk about today’s challenges in cybersecurity.

Head shot of John Higginbotham — John Higginbotham, CEO, Blue Ridge Networks

If there is a theme of the interview, it is the phrase “isolate and contain.” Higginbotham talks about today’s porous networks. Malicious actors are inside networks and can move laterally. One approach that has been successful for Blue Ridge Networks locks down the intruder. He calls this anonymous security.

The method that is used comes right from NIST recommendations — segmenting networks. This segmenting approach comes under the general umbrella of “Zero Trust” architecture.

Higginbotham suggests that a federal system should be mapped, typically with more nodes than is expected. From here, access can be assigned for normal activities and then assigned for anomalies. For example, if a federal employee logs in from Montana, and they are sitting across the hall from you, this would be an anomalous activity.