Zero Trust Security, New NIS2 Directive, and Illumio Partnerships

Traditional security tools alone aren't able to protect hybrid networks against today's sophisticated cyberattacks. Organizations and government agencies alike are waking up to this reality, making Zero Trust security a top priority this year.

With this attention on new ways to secure networks, Illumio continues its rise as a leader in the Zero Trust Segmentation market. This past month included recognition of company leadership and expanded partnerships with IBM Security and Amazon Web Services.

2022 Zero Trust projects: Prioritize action and incremental progress

Raghu Nandakumara, Illumio’s senior director of industry solutions marketing, wrote for DevPro Journal on the pressing need for implementing Zero Trust.  

The last two years have brought significant and unexpected changes to organizations, especially in the ways they manage their networks. In addition to the unexpected rise of remote work, there is growing cloud complexity, sprawling IT ecosystems, and increasing cyber threats. Organizations are struggling to secure their workforce with traditional tools and strategies built for simpler times.  

“This is where Zero Trust can help,” Nandakumara writes, “Organizations can bring resilience to ongoing security processes.” 

Many organizations acknowledge the benefits of the Zero Trust framework. In fact, 75 percent of surveyed organizations agreed that they must use Zero Trust to better combat evolving cyber risks. However, Nandakumara explains that there is still widespread confusion around what constitutes a Zero Trust strategy – and how to best accomplish it. 

“Organizations...are struggling to convert ideas into action,” he said. 

Despite Zero Trust implementation obstacles and hesitancy, there are increasing examples of successful Zero Trust initiatives in organizations of all sizes. Investment is on the rise with 78 percent of organizations saying they plan to enhance its Zero Trust security operations in 2022.  

“It’s no longer enough for organizations to plan for whether a cybersecurity incident occurs,” Nandakumara explains. “They have to brace for when the next event inevitably happens."

Organizations must turn the corner in their Zero Trust journeys towards prioritizing action and incremental progress. Planning isn’t enough. Cyberattacks will continue, and organizations need to be able to confront them when they arrive.  

New NIS2 Directive

The EU tightened cybersecurity rules this month with their new NIS2 Directive. This makes cybersecurity in EU countries a matter of government compliance, requiring organizations to be prepared for a cyberattack or face penalties.

The new NIS2 Directive expands the scope of the existing Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive that established a structured institutional and regulatory cybersecurity framework for organizations. The new rules add top management accountability for noncompliance and actions to protect supply chain IT/OT convergence.  

Trevor Dearing, Illumio’s director of critical infrastructure, praised the expanded scope of the new directive in a Silicon Republic article this month. He noted the potential benefits of the Directive's effort to make senior management more responsible for cybersecurity initiatives. 

“Placing culpability on each individual organization should encourage stricter adherence to the regulations because of the consequent fines and reputational damage for neglecting to do so," Dearing said.

The new NIS2 Directive helps shift cybersecurity conversations from technical network issues towards a critical business requirement.   

Illumio expands partnerships with IBM Security and AWS Marketplace

iTechnology Series featured Illumio’s expanded partnership with IBM Security that includes a new integration offering advanced end-to-end threat detection and response.

The integration between IBM Security QRadar XDR and Illumio provides pre-attack protections, including accelerated detection and automated containment. It also offers remediation capabilities to defend against the effects of cyberattacks like ransomware and breaches. You can now maintain your organization’s Cyber Resilience with the quick detection and response capabilities of IBM Security QRadar XDR and Illumio’s visibility and containment capabilities.  

Additionally, EnterpriseTalk featured Illumio’s expanded partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). You can now purchase Illumio CloudSecure on AWS Marketplace to get agentless segmentation of cloud-native workloads to stop the spread of breaches across cloud architectures. Deploying Illumio CloudSecure is easier and faster using AWS Marketplace. 

Illumio has partnered with AWS previously to offer the other products in the Illumio Zero Trust Segmentation portfolio, including Illumio Core for server-based segmentation and Illumio Edge for endpoint segmentation.

With the addition of Illumio CloudSecure to AWS Marketplace, AWS customers can access end-to-end segmentation across on-premises, cloud and endpoint devices from one platform.  

Recognition for Illumio leadership

Mario Espinoza, Illumio’s new chief product officer, was profiled in Help Net Security. Espinoza brings nearly two decades of experience in network, cloud and data security. He has built innovative product suites for some of the world’s top security organizations, including most recently for Palo Alto Network's cloud SaaS and data protection group. 

Other leaders at Illumio were also recognized this month.

Rebekah McAdams, Illumio’s global director of field and channel marketing, was named a CRN Woman of the Channel for 2022 by CRN Magazine. This list honors exceptional women for their strategic vision, thought leadership and channel advocacy that impacts growth and innovation in the channel. 

Mark Sincevich, Illumio’s director for federal government sales, was recognized with the 2022 Cyber Defenders Award by MeriTalk. The award comes from nominations by peers in government and industry and celebrates those who help create next-generation improvements in cybersecurity.  

To learn more about what makes Illumio a leader in Zero Trust Segmentation:

• Visit our booth (Moscone North, N-5555) at RSA Conference 2022.
• Learn why Gartner named Illumio a 2022 Cool Vendor.
• Download the Forrester Wave reports naming Illumio a Leader in both Zero Trust and microsegmentation.
• Read how Illumio helped a global law firm stop a ransomware attack.
• Contact us today to schedule a consultation and demonstration.