Holistic Cloud-Based Security

This is a reprinted article from June 2018 edition of Enterprise Security Magazine. You can see the electronic version of this issue HERE

The cloud-based security industry is exploding as businesses are moving their assets to the cloud.

In the thick of this, the security aspect, which was deemed as an afterthought in the past, has matured as forethought to prevent vulnerabilities. “As companies move their assets to the cloud, the formula completely changes, making security paramount. However, the missing link is the core competency, availability of security analysis, 24/7 monitoring, data deluge in real time, technical know-how, skill-set and the list goes on,” begins Kevin Nikkhoo, Founder and CEO, XeneX (formerly CloudAccess).

Against a backdrop of radical technological advances, Nikkhoo, a veteran in information technology, sought to bridge this gap by providing security-as-a-service from the cloud. Long before companies had even started considering cloud as a security delivering asset, he laid the genesis of XeneX.

One of the first players to provide comprehensive security-as-a-service from the cloud, the company was conceived to develop innovative solutions that deliver on the belief that cloud-based enterprise security needs to be affordable and easily manageable for any organization. They offer a suite of robust and scalable solutions that eliminate the challenges of deploying enterprise-class security solutions.

While the existing SIEM products lack built-in functionality that can collect multiple dimensions of security information and combine it with logs, XeneX takes pride in its unique capability of bringing them together— including IT asset discovery and management, vulnerability scan, file integrity, NetFlow, device and service availability, HIDS, NIDS, IDS and various other security tools—as a cohesive whole. “This allows for more accurate threat analysis and reporting with an enterprise view of security, rather than an isolated view from a particular security product,” adds Nikkhoo.

To begin with, XeneX equips clients with its CloudSIEM and CloudLogger Integrated Combo that combines SIEM and log management functionality into one affordable solution. CloudSIEM performs real-time security analysis and reporting, while CloudLogger, the firm’s highly scalable log retention, and analysis tool, retains and archives the logs as per client’s compliance and operation requirements. The logs are integrated into a customizable dashboard along with other optional tools.

Besides providing a complete view of the critical assets, XeneX offers customizable solutions that can be
configured per tenant in the cloud. Customers can design a solution using XeneX services, or they can build upon their existing services. The XeneX platform includes a cross-correlation engine that combines all dimensions of security to provide the most comprehensive threat analysis.

Because XeneX has a fully integrated platform, customers can choose to start with the services that are most important to them and then graduate to other services. With a modular design, a full licensing module and granular access control for both users and administrators, clients can pick and choose any service as and when needed, and leverage one source of information for all security-related issues. “What we provide is a strategic vision to security that is supported by an easily configurable platform. The customer can choose when to add certain pieces based on their needs and priorities. All it takes is a click of a button,” explains Nikkhoo.

What differentiates XeneX from the competition is the level of quality service that accompanies the platform. While their technology is unique and powerful, customers choose them not only because of their superior threat analysis but also because of the around the clock service that comes with it. XeneX goes beyond delivering alerts and alarms generated by the system.They investigate the cause of the threat and look deep inside the body of the transaction and the payload to understand why the threat was raised and how it should be prioritized. Threats are reported with a complete history and accompanied by recommended solutions. The innovative solution portfolio of XeneX immensely benefits an impressive client roster across multiple industries such as finance, healthcare, retail/ecommerce and entertainment. XeneX’ recent partnership with a global retail customer best explains the results of independent testing of their solution.

With over 2,000 retail outlets spread across the globe, the client was faced with the challenge of collecting information from multiple retail outlets and data-centers in a cost efficient manner. The high capital investment demanded by the traditional model and the outsourcing companies landed them in a difficult situation. Owing to XeneX’ intellectual property and software, CloudSIEM was an obvious choice for them that addressed their issue cost effectively and provided them with an enterprise security view.

Besides offering the client with a complete package for an enterprise view of security, XeneX’ APIs
seamlessly integrated with the client’s internal systems that allowed them to bring in automation in the process.

Scripting similar success stories, XeneX looks forward to growing their ability to take security beyond mere collection and monitoring. They continue to build a singular tool that offers a simple view of the actions necessary to protect the enterprise. The company intends to provide mobile and web-based dashboards and solutions for key decision makers, executives, and security analysts, to turn security information into a proactive management tool. Key elements are being added to the platform to facilitate data collection and automatic analysis. This will provide customers with a KPI dashboard with remediation analysis and trends, open high priority threats and recommends actions that takes a proactive approach to keep businesses safe in the cloud.

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