Cloud computing specialist Krystal Hosting Hosting wanted to diversify its DDoS protection and bring in a new partner to protect its Katapult platform. This blended approach to DDoS protection helps mitigate threats based on different attack vectors and offers broader security for Krystal and its Katapult customers.

Krystal needed a belt and braces solution that could protect its assets and allow it to pass on the robust DDoS protection benefits to its customers. The solution needed to be smart enough to filter out bad traffic without blocking legitimate visitors. Any solution that rerouted or blocked valid customers could have a potentially huge cost for Krystal. This is on top of the risks posed to customers by cloud-based attacks.

Deploying its Cloud Security Platform on Platform Equinix enables Link11 to quickly and efficiently deliver its cloud-based security services to a variety of customers on a global scale. By deploying low-latency connectivity close to Link11’s network service provider (NSP) partners and its customers in global Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers, Link11 can deliver dedicated, high-performance, and scalable access to its security platform.

One customer, a leading global accounting company, leveraged Equinix Cross Connects to directly and securely connect to Link11’s Cloud Security Platform to protect the customer’s European data centers. Over a period of one week, the company experienced a multifaceted “impulse” DDoS attack that lasted for short durations (between 15 minutes to 1 hour) and constantly interrupted its IT services.

UK eCommerce business Ransoms Spares sought help from Link11 after experiencing sudden high volumes of traffic which was slowing down the site, impacting performance and availability. While the motivation is so far undetermined, theories suggest the attacks originated with a competitor who was using BOTs to cause downtime and negatively impact SEO rankings.

Working closely with the Link11 developer team, Ransom Spares was able to utilise and tune the machine learning algorithms to maximise intruder blocking, whilst keeping false positives minimal. This resulted in improved site performance, less downtime and lower customer drop off rates.

In this current whitepaper you will find answers to the following questions:

• How do criminals already use AI today?
• Why is cyber-resilience gaining importance?
• Is AI superior in the defense against attacks?
• How can Link11 protect you better with AI?
• Can AI systems relieve you of responsibility?

Companies need strong leadership and processes so that their digital transformation initiatives can be protected and secured with professional security measures. This field of activity is increasingly being assigned to a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This person should identify, communicate, and manage information risks. Management should also extend beyond the purely technical area to the company’s legal department and executive board.

However, a direct reporting line to the board does not guarantee that IT security is really in the hands of executive management and given the priority that it should have within the company. Every organization must find its own chain of responsibility, which ensures that the concerns of the head of security are actually listened to and actioned. Ultimately, the specific design of governance structures will also have to be the result of a comprehensive risk analysis within the company.

In many cases, close cooperation with the CEO will be a good way to accomplish this. The reporting line of CISO-to-Chief Compliance Officer (CCO)- to-CEO can also create a good balance between the CIO, who is driving digital change, and the CISO, who is concerned about IT security issues.

In today’s networked world, banks and financial service providers are among the most attractive targets for cyber attackers.
According to a recent study by Carbon Black, two thirds (67 percent) of financial institutions and other companies in the financial sector have experienced an increase in the frequency of cyberattacks and attempted hacks.
These digital bank robbers probe organizations’ digital infrastructures for security gaps and vulnerabilities that they can exploit. In addition to financially motivated attacks, the perpetrators are often focused on destruction, for example by deleting vital data or paralyzing online services.

Even though the financial sector is one of the pioneers in IT security due to its legal and regulatory requirements, hackers are determined – and often succeed in overcoming organizations’ security. 70 percent of the institutes surveyed by Carbon Black stated that financially motivated attackers were their greatest concern.