Embracing Robust Security with Stairwell
The Importance of Diversity in Cybersecurity
In nature, monocultures are vulnerable; biodiversity is resilient. The same holds true in cybersecurity. Recent events, such as a global IT outage caused by a single bad update, have highlighted the dangers of relying on a single cybersecurity solution. This incident affected various sectors, grounding US air traffic, shutting down hospitals, and halting factory operations. It underscores a critical issue: when one solution dominates the market, it creates a systemic vulnerability.
At Stairwell, we’ve always embraced the principle of evasion resistance. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions, while essential, can be studied and bypassed by attackers. When an EDR solution like CrowdStrike holds a substantial market share, it creates a monoculture—a single point of failure. If 30% of the world’s computers could be compromised by a single bypass, it represents a catastrophic weakness. Diversity in security solutions breeds resilience. Layering different approaches creates a robust defense system that is exponentially harder for attackers to penetrate. The recent outage is a testament to this—had there been more diversity in security solutions, the impact of the failure would have been significantly mitigated.
The Hidden Danger of Monoculture in Cybersecurity
When a single EDR provider fails, it inadvertently reveals its customer base. The recent CrowdStrike incident not only caused downtime but also exposed which organizations utilize their products. Attackers can now identify these companies through news headlines and even financial filings like 8-K and 10-Q reports, allowing adversaries the opportunity to tailor their strategies more effectively. The danger isn’t just the immediate downtime; it’s the long-term risk of future breaches.
Stairwell: A Companion to EDR
Think of cybersecurity as a chess game, not a boxing match. It’s not about the knockout punch; it’s about strategic layers of defense. Stairwell’s approach is fundamentally different and complementary to EDR products. While EDR provides critical real-time interdiction of malicious activities, Stairwell offers out-of-band analysis and detection across time. This combination provides a more comprehensive security posture. Our approach involves actively collecting new executable-like files, but our file collector operates passively. Much like a log forwarder that simply forwards logs without interpretation, our file collector forwards unique, unknown files to the cloud for preservation and continuous analysis. This ensures that we do not interfere with endpoint operations while providing comprehensive security coverage.
Robust Out-of-Band Analysis
The analysis conducted on Stairwell’s cloud infrastructure takes advantage of tens of thousands of detection opportunities, interlaced with trillions of network data points spanning multiple years of analysis. If Stairwell’s dataset were shipped locally, it simply wouldn’t fit on an average computer. By backing up your EDR with Stairwell, you leverage truly big data to enhance and strengthen your “for all time” detection and response capabilities. Imagine having a time machine for your cybersecurity—analyzing every threat not just in the present but with the wisdom of hindsight. This is the power of Stairwell’s approach.
Empowering a True Community in Cybersecurity
As the official malware-sharing platform for the Retail and Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC), companies see the value of our out-of-band data vault approach. We aren’t just creating customer opportunities for ourselves; we are creating community opportunities for our customers to share and collaborate with us and with each other—on their own terms. By empowering our users to play a direct part in how we operate, we foster a true community in the cybersecurity realm. Our platform isn’t a hub-and-spoke model but a network for companies to improve their own security operations, threat analysis, and incident response functions internally, with their peers, industry, and with us.
A Paradigm Shift in Cybersecurity
The recent global outage has forced us to re-evaluate our approach to cybersecurity. It’s clear that relying solely on a single solution is no longer viable. The strength of a diverse and layered security strategy cannot be overstated. Stairwell offers a unique and powerful approach to cybersecurity that complements existing EDR solutions, providing robust, evasion-resistant protection. It’s time to embrace a paradigm shift in how we think about security—one that values strategic diversity over monoculture.
Conclusion
In the wake of the recent outage, the cybersecurity landscape needs to evolve. While EDR solutions are indispensable, they are not infallible. The resilience of a diverse and layered security strategy cannot be overstated. In cybersecurity, as in nature, resilience comes from diversity. Stairwell stands ready to be your partner in achieving a more resilient security posture. We offer a unique and powerful approach that complements your existing EDR solutions, ensuring robust, evasion-resistant protection. For CISOs and security professionals, this is a call to rethink your strategy. Embrace the strength of diversity in security solutions and recognize the value that Stairwell brings to the table. The future of cybersecurity is not just in fighting today’s threats but in building a resilient ecosystem that can withstand the challenges of tomorrow.
