Multi-layered Security – Bitdefender TechZone

Over time, only a handful of security strategies have stood the test of numerous real-world attacks. Successful strategies, such as zero trust and defense in depth, share a common approach: they rely on implementing multiple layers of security measures and operate under the assumption that no system can ever be completely secure.

The first step in adopting a multi-layered strategy is mastering prevention capabilities. Limit the exposed attack surface and minimize the number of entry points that threat actors can use. Identify and correct weaknesses first by implementing patch, risk, and exposure management solutions, before threat actors can exploit them.

Automated protection controls are deployed to all potential entry points exposed to threat actors (including work-from-home laptops for roaming employees). This includes antimalware, but also integrated IP/URL/domain reputation and protection against previously unknown threats. This gives you the capability to detect and block most security incidents before they can do any harm.

Despite your best efforts, threat actors can still get past your prevention and protection controls. This is where your detection capabilities come into play. Whether you get these capabilities as a product (EDR/XDR) or as a service (MDR), the purpose is to minimize the time when threat actors remain undetected.

Finally, when an attack is detected, response capabilities decide how much damage it does. Whether it means isolating a compromised device, disabling a stolen account, or remediating the damage after a breach, security operations close the gap the attacker used and feed what they learn back into prevention.

The use of multiple layers of security creates overlapping barriers that an attacker must overcome. This reduces the likelihood of a successful attack, limits the scope of an attack if one occurs, and provides early warning of potential threats. Ultimately, it prevents security incidents from becoming security breaches. Bitdefender GravityZone applies this approach through four layers.

The four layers at a glance

The four layers all run on one agent, Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools (BEST), and are managed from one console. Each layer answers a different question:

• Prevention: Where can an attacker get in, and how do we close that path?

• Protection: Can we stop this attack without anyone having to act?

• Detection: What got through, and how quickly do we see it?

• Response: How do we stop it, clean up, and make sure it doesn't happen again?

Each layer has its own section in the Security Layers module, with a dedicated article for every capability in it.