Service Realms

The front gate of a castle and a modern hardware firewall are both important layers of security. The front gate of a castle was used to control who could enter and exit the castle. Similarly, a hardware firewall is used to control who can access your computer network and the internet.

A hardware firewall is important because it provides an additional layer of security for your computer network. It can help prevent unauthorized access to your network and protect against cyber attacks by hackers. By using a hardware firewall, you can help keep your computer network safe from cyber threats.

Castle guards were placed high on watchtowers to identify potential enemies on the horizon. Similarly, modern endpoint security solutions use assessments and technical tools to keep out adversaries. Castle guards used long-range artillery, pots of boiling oil and other weaponry to keep out intruders. Similarly, we must protect our digital fortresses with preventive controls including next-generation endpoint protection solutions, multifactor authentication and other technological countermeasures designed to keep out modern adversaries.

Endpoint security is the practice of securing the entry points connected to networks from malicious attacks. It is important because every remote endpoint can be the entry point for an attack, and the number of endpoints is increasing with the shift to remote work. Endpoint security aims to prevent unauthorized access, detect suspicious behavior, stop in-progress attacks, and mitigate the root causes of threats.

The castle moat model is based on the idea of a castle surrounded by a moat, with the castle representing the network and the moat representing the perimeter security. Similarly, modern zero-trust systems like application allow-listing assume that security risks are present both inside and outside the network, and take a more nuanced approach of managing access to the identities, data, and devices within the network.

Zero-trust cybersecurity systems like application allow-listing are important because they verify and authorize every connection, such as when a user connects to an application or software to a data set via an application programming interface (API). It ensures the interaction meets the conditional requirements of the organization’s security policies. 

Just like the king’s guard of a castle was responsible for protecting the king and his family from harm, modern password vaults are responsible for protecting your passwords and data from being stolen or compromised by cybercriminals.

A password manager can make your life easier by making it quick and simple for you to access your accounts while significantly improving the security of those accounts, making it much more difficult for attackers to gain access to them.

By using a password vault, you can create strong and unique passwords for each of your accounts without having to remember them all. This helps prevent cybercriminals from gaining access to your accounts by guessing your passwords or using brute-force attacks.

The guard drills in a medieval castle were responsible for training the guards to protect the castle from harm. Similarly, modern Security Awareness Training (SAT) is responsible for training employees to protect their company’s digital assets from being stolen or compromised by cybercriminals.

SAT is responsible for training employees to protect their company’s digital assets from being stolen or compromised by cybercriminals. This training can help reduce the risk of cyber attacks by teaching employees how to identify and respond to potential threats. It can also help employees understand the importance of following security policies and procedures, such as using strong passwords and keeping software up-to-date.

The Castle Lookout, Alarm, and Militia of a medieval castle were responsible for spotting threats and responding to defend the castle against potential attackers. Similarly, modern Security Operations Centers (SOCs) and Managed Detection & Response (MDR) services are responsible for monitoring and responding to potential cyber attacks.

SOCs & MDR services do this by collecting data from various sources and analyzing it to identify potential threats. They use advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms to detect patterns and anomalies that may indicate a cyber attack is underway.

By monitoring your network for suspicious activity and responding quickly to potential threats, SOCs and MDR services can help reduce the risk of cyber attacks and minimize the damage they can cause, or even stop attacks completely before they can cause damage.

The evacuation plan of a castle can be compared to modern backup and disaster recovery. In the case of a castle, the evacuation plan is designed to move as few people as needed the shortest distance to safety. Zone-based evacuation plans can be most effective in meeting this goal. They reduce resource burdens, facilitate reentry, and accelerate the transition to recovery.

Similarly, disaster recovery (DR) is a step-by-step plan for responding to a major incident by switching to a secondary IT infrastructure. DR ensures critical functions keep running seamlessly during a natural or human-made disaster. While backing up data is integral to security, having backups is not the same as having a disaster recovery plan. Both are important for ensuring that critical data and systems are protected from loss or damage in the event of an emergency.

Medieval spies can be compared to modern dark web scanning. In the case of medieval spies, they were used to gather intelligence on enemy forces and movements. They would often use disguises and other methods to avoid detection. Similarly, dark web scanning is a method of monitoring the dark web for signs of cybercrime. It involves using specialized software to scan the dark web for signs of illegal activity. Both are important for ensuring that critical data and systems are protected from loss or damage in the event of an emergency.

Dark web scanning can tell you if your personal information or credentials are found on the dark web. You can use this information to know when you need to change a password that is no longer secure.