Risky Biz Soap Box: Why AI shouldn't really change your security controls
Jun 28, 2024
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Abhishek Agrawal, CEO of Material Security, discusses the importance of securing cloud email data and the limitations of MFA. They explore the impact of AI on security controls, evolving email security solutions, and the challenges of implementing retention policies. The conversation highlights the necessity for robust detection technologies and extending security measures to cover entire productivity suites like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
Deploying strong security controls like MFA and redaction is essential in defending against email threats.
Focusing on robust authentication methods like FIDO2 is crucial to combat advanced phishing attacks.
AI-driven attacks underline the importance of security controls agnostic of attack sources.
Implementing security controls agnostic to AI and manual threats is vital in combating BEC scams.
Material Security aims to enhance security in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 through comprehensive solutions.
Deep dives
Material Security's Approach to Email Data Protection and Authentication
Material Security, represented by Abhishek Agrawal, emphasizes the importance of their product in securing cloud email data through features like archiving, redaction, and step-up authentication to limit attacker capabilities. They highlight the value of strong security controls like MFA in combating email threats regardless of the method of compromise, focusing on defense against both automated and manual attacks.
Challenges with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Phishing Kits
The podcast discusses the evolving threats posed by phishing kits that can extract one-time passwords, undermining the efficacy of code-based MFA. The need for more robust solutions like FIDO2 and multi-step authentication is underscored to counter advanced phishing attacks and token theft, highlighting the limitations of single-layer auth security.
Adaptability of Security Controls Against Evolving AI-Based Threats
The conversation delves into the impact of AI-driven attacks on email security, emphasizing the need for security controls that remain effective irrespective of the attack source, be it AI-generated or human-driven. While AI enables personalized and scalable attacks, the crux lies in deploying controls that are not reliant on identifying the attack origin, ensuring security against varied threat mechanisms.
Focus on Agnostic Security Controls Beyond AI Threats
The discussion extends to the concept of security controls agnostic to attack methodologies, particularly crucial in combating Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams. The importance of controls that transcend AI-generated and manual threats is highlighted, stressing the significance of proactive security measures focused on detection and prevention, especially in high-value crime types like BEC.
Expanding Scope to Comprehensive Email Security Beyond Archiving
Material Security's roadmap includes a strategic shift towards comprehensive security solutions beyond email, centering on Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 environments. The plan encompasses addressing data protection, posture assessment, and security telemetry within productivity suites to enhance control over sensitive content and mitigate risks across varied applications and shared drives.
Innovations in Google Drive Security and Automated Response Capabilities
The podcast touches on Material Security's innovation in Google Drive security by targeting excessive data sharing risks and enabling automated responses based on defined criteria. The focus on precise content classification, automated revocation of shared access, and dynamic responses to mitigate security lapses highlights the company's commitment to proactive security measures within cloud storage environments.
Identity Threat Detection and Response's Significance in Email Security
Adebate unfolds on the evolving landscape of Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) products, questioning the necessity for enhanced identity protection in light of rising email security challenges. The discussion delves into the potential of leveraging ITDR solutions to tackle identity compromises and bolster security in productivity suites like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, emphasizing the critical role of unified security controls.
Envisioning Productivity Suites as New Endpoint Security Focus
The podcast posits productivity suites as pivotal endpoints requiring specialized security measures akin to traditional endpoint protection. By amalgamating content data, security logs, and tenant configurations within platforms like Google Workspace and M365, the scope for innovative threat detections and controls emerges, redefining email security paradigms with a focus on comprehensive protection and proactive defense strategies.
The Call for Unified Security Solutions in Productivity Suite Management
The conversation underscores the need for unified security platforms catering to comprehensive email and data protection within productivity suites like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Material Security's aspiration to bridge security gaps across file data, telemetry logs, and configuration settings aims at establishing a cohesive security framework to combat evolving email threats and streamline security management.
Material Security's Vision for Future Security Solutions
Material Security's future roadmap envisions a holistic approach to securing productivity suites, emphasizing the pivotal role of strong security controls in addressing evolving email threats. By focusing on data protection, posture assessment, and automated responses within Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 environments, the company aims to revolutionize email security paradigms and enhance defense mechanisms against varied threat vectors for comprehensive protection.
This is a sponsored Soap Box edition of the Risky Business podcast.
Abhishek Agrawal is the CEO and co-founder of Material Security, an email security company that locks down cloud email archives. Attackers have been raiding mailspools since hacking has existed, and with those mailspools now in the cloud with services like o365 and Google Workspace, guess where the attackers are going?
Material built a product that helps you lock up your email data, to archive and redact sensitive information. The idea is to really just limit what an attacker can do with email data if they pop an account.
Abhishek joined me to talk about a few things, like how non phishing resistant MFA is basically dead, how email content is very useful to security programs, and about how the gen AI won’t really change much on the defensive control side.
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