Adversarial nation states are a major threat to U.S. networks—for government, industry, and infrastructure alike. Cyber attacks have never been so numerous and executed with such laser precision. Government and industry continually play catch up, only to find themselves under another attack from another adversary.
Organizations continue to struggle with context, confidence, and credibility. Further complications are the increasing number and sources of threat intelligence and the application of that information to determine whether a real threat exists and the level of risk that threat poses to the enterprise.
Data fabric is a data management framework that assembles disparate incoming data and weaves them together like a cloth. A helpful component in any digital transformation strategy, data fabric has many benefits and use cases for government and industry.
Here are the most compelling aspects of data fabric:
1. Data fabric can thwart cyber attacks in any context or domain.
Due to machine learning and natural language processing algorithms, data fabric can correlate attacks in real-time. Situational awareness is a critical aspect to managing the reaction to an attack.
After identifying network threats, Peraton’s ThreatBoard™ technology—built upon a data fabric platform—can get the right people the right information at the right time, for a faster and more streamlined defensive response.
ThreatBoard consumes Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and ingests ticketing from all ticketing systems, Security Information and Event Management systems, and Security Orchestration automation and Response (SOAR) systems, making it easier to correlate and make sense of the data.
2. Data fabric can enhance predictability and push information out to decision makers.
Tailored insights and analyses lead to better decision making. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), data fabric technology knows the difference between usual and unusual behavior and can push out information about suspicious activity on a “need to know” basis.
Peraton’s proprietary Fractals™ software creates a blank canvas where users can add widgets to perform different data visualizations. One widget maps all events across the globe by severity; another shows the IoC events with data summaries.
Every ThreatBoard user receives a customized view of the data and incidents based on their job role. Tier I, II, and III personnel—forensic specialists, threat hunters, vulnerability analysts, security managers, and executive leadership—can view the information relevant to them. This protects the data without hindering communication.
“ThreatBoard creates an unprecedented operational efficiency never before seen,” said Tim S., Peraton’s Cyber Defensive Solutions Architect.
3. Data fabric breaks down siloes while still protecting intellectual property.
Data fabric consumes structured or unstructured data, and aggregates it from multiple locations, transforming all information into a common data structure. Data fabric can also tag data and store it in a single unified location.
Sharing data across government agencies or across organizations can be mutually beneficial by providing added context to a threat. Sharing this data across multiple teams allows the data and results of analyst actions to be contextualized into the big picture of the incident or event. Data fabric is designed to break down data silos—comprehensive analyses can only happen when the algorithms have access to the widest breadth of information possible.
“Each silo doesn’t have to share their secret sauce with anyone, just the results of it,” explained Tim. In this way, all participating organizations can use discoveries found through data fabric analyses with confidence.
4. Data fabric reduces human error.
Just as data fabric can learn about network behavior to detect threats, it also learns about user behavior to anticipate needs, such as query optimization and mission-specific alerts. Along with enhanced research capabilities, data fabric fixes data issues that arise when sharing across siloes so that users can focus on more complex tasks.
“Our data fabric solution condenses 8-to-24 hours’ worth of research in one click,” said Tim.
Natural language processing within data fabric technology turns raw data into actionable insights. It ensures that relevant and precise information about IoCs are identified and acted upon regardless of the cyber analyst’s skill level. Machine learning algorithms can create error-free decision modeling and actionable intelligence. Every organization can benefit from an efficient and comprehensive understanding of their data, and data fabric increases that efficiency.
5. Data fabric is versatile, secure, and scalable.
Data fabric standardizes data formats. Threatboard, for example, converts all data files into the same common STIX format.
Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) is a priority and an imperative for the Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD announced a new data strategy in October 2020 for a data transfer effort between the U.S. Army and Air Force. Data collection is only a worthwhile endeavor if the information can be accessed and used. Data fabric is a modern solution for legacy data systems and future-proofed for emerging technologies.
“We’ve built a solution that makes our customers a force multiplier,” said Tim. “The future of data fabric technology is unlimited.”
