Future-proofing security of government IT systems

As the Singapore government pushes for more flexible work arrangements, including working from home, this is set to increase the volume of endpoint devices used to access secure networks.

“The second that these endpoint devices connect to a network, it is by nature vulnerable to cyber-attack,” said Tanium’s Vice President for Asia-Pacific, Nick Lim.

Tanium is a leading provider of the latest endpoint management solutions.

What cannot be seen cannot be managed or protected. Hence, real-time and in-depth cyber-visibility needs to become the first line of defence for any government organisation, he said.

However, many government agencies still grapple with multiple, disparate IT tools and manual processes, and they have limited resources and expertise to secure them, noted Lim.

The most recent report by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) cited the top cybersecurity challenges faced by organisations which include a lack of knowledge and awareness on the prevalence of cyber-attacks, and manpower, resource and budget constraints.

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What makes a future-ready vulnerability management solution

A future-ready vulnerability management solution is one that leverages real-time data, automation and comprehensive asset coverage to transform outcomes, said Lim.

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, it is important for government agencies to be able to proactively anticipate and speedily respond to them when they occur.

Lim emphasised the importance of tools such as continuous monitoring, real-time threat hunting, and automated response capabilities to tackle cyber threats.

For example, Tanium’s Converged Endpoint Management (XEM) platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, said Lim. This allows data on every endpoint to be analysed in real-time, updates and changes applied at speed and scale, and without disrupting daily operations.

“By leveraging AI, governments will be able to better detect anomalies, streamline incident investigation and responses and mitigate risks faster,” Lim explained.

Tanium will leverage AI in its Autonomous Endpoint Management (AEM) platform to enhance its ability to query and analyse data across multiple endpoints in real-time.

“AEM can automate routine tasks, streamline threat remediation, and offer personalised, AI-driven insights and recommendations based on real-time data, peer success metrics, and customer-defined risk thresholds,” Forbes recently reported.

The AEM platform can help government IT teams understand the most critical aspects of security management, that is which vulnerabilities exist, what patches are required, and help deploy the right software while enforcing policies, Lim said.

The bane of legacy systems

Lim says that one of the primary challenges that public sector organisations face is tackling existing working siloes between IT operations and security teams.

“Legacy systems are often not designed to integrate with one another, and create IT siloes that hamper efficiencies throughout many processes, thereby making future-ready vulnerability management challenging,” he explained.

He made the case to shift towards a unified endpoint management solution that provides real-time visibility, control and remediation for both teams.

Lim noted that government agencies can elevate their public service delivery and operational efficiency by automating routine security tasks and reducing manual interventions.

This will provide greater visibility and control over their IT environment, enabling quicker identification and remediation of vulnerabilities, thus reducing downtime and service disruptions.

Automation also provides a more robust protection of sensitive data, which fosters greater public trust in government agencies to deliver services more reliably and securely.

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Working with governments

Tanium takes a whole-of-state cybersecurity approach when working with the government, and other public organisations, he said.

This enables the pooling of resources for public sector organisations to strategise together, exchange data, address workforce shortages, secure funds and build an alliance against cyber-attacks, he explained.

These partnerships also extend to other key industry partners, such as Microsoft and ServiceNow. Tanium’s XEM platform recently partnered with Microsoft’s Copilot for Security to combine real-time data with AI to automate risk assessment and response.

“Without having real-time visibility and control, organisations will not have a credible AI story,” said Lim. He foresees that this will remain as the product category Tanium continues to lead.

“This will help forward-looking government agencies empower increasing levels of automation into existing IT systems, and ultimately achieve better security and efficiency,” he explained.

Tanium previously hosted a webinar titled “Redefining Vulnerability Management: Transforming Legacy Approaches for Modern Cyber Resilience” in July. You can watch the on-demand webinar here >>>