IBM has launched a cybersecurity hub, its second centre globally, in Bengaluru for the Asia Pacific (APAC) clients. The hub houses a first of its kind IBM Security Command Centre to train employees on cybersecurity techniques through highly realistic, simulated cyberattacks.
“One of the biggest challenges impacting the success of our economy and that of countries around the world is cybersecurity, and it has become the issue of the decade,” said Sandip Patel, managing director for IBM India/South Asia region.
The strategic hub, located at the IBM campus in Embassy Golf Links, Bengaluru, will offer IBM Managed Security Services, access to IBM’s incident response team, IBM Consulting, IBM Research, IBM India Software Labs, and IBM Garage. Sandip said the hub is one of IBM’s biggest investments so far.
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For the first time, IBM has brought the full spectrum of software and services capabilities together and has over 600 operators deploying a zero-trust approach to put cybersecurity everywhere. “It is also a part of nine security operations centres that are interconnected. As a result, we had about 150 billion potential security events, and that is growing as more workload enters these environments,” said Chris Hawkins, CTO, IBM Security APAC.
What’s the play?
IBM’s new centre will train employees at the hub using robust audio and visual effects, live malware, ransomware, and real-world hacker tools. After consulting with experts, active-duty military officers, emergency medical responders, and incident response experts, the company has devised simulations based on emergency and disaster response training models.
The strategic hub will offer customised experiences and workshops to meet clients’ security requirements and goals. Below are the training modules IBM has rolled out.
Operation Red Escape: The roles are reversed in this module, putting participants in the ‘seat’ of a real-world attacker developing a cloud-based attack on a big corporation. The non-technical interactive scenario lets business leaders see in real-time how adversaries execute common cyberattacks with real adversarial tools and techniques.
Ox Response Challenge: The executive team will put together a “fusion team” of various stakeholders in an environment where players have to figure out how to tackle cyberattacks as a team.
Cyber Wargame: The Cyber Wargame tests the organisation’s incident response process, communication and problem solving by putting technical and business teams in the middle of a cyber security incident.
IBM’s long game
The security revenue of IBM has declined, said CFO James Kavanaugh in the company’s Q4 2021 earnings call. However, security innovation continues to be an integral part of their strategy, he added.
In December, IBM launched Guardium Insights to centralise data security, reduce time to compliance, and understand risky user behaviours across data sources. Big Blue has also acquired ReaQta, an endpoint security startup that leverages AI to avert cybersecurity threats.
The cybersecurity hub in Bangalore aligns with IBM’s long game in the security domain. The second security operations centre (SOC) in Bengaluru will provide Managed Security Services (MSS) to clients worldwide.
The Next Gen SOCs leverage the IBM X-Force protection platform that combines various AI tools like Watson security advisor to advise and assist analysts in evaluating threats, tracing malware, compiling threats and mitigating information. In addition, IBM’s Advanced Threat Disposition Scoring (ATDS) will support clients to handle and automate billions of security alerts.
From threat feeds to artificial intelligence and machine learning, our global SOCs operate with the primary purpose of continuously staying ahead of these threats and equipping frontline decision-makers to respond in real-time, Sandip said.
IBM’s global SOC network provides MSS investigation experts for on-the-ground responses, dedicated security experts with strong vertical expertise and personalised advisory services to secure hybrid cloud environments.
