Detica launches cyber attack detection service

IT consultancy Detica has launched a new attack detection service aimed at protecting private and public organisations from industrial-scale cyber espionage and intellectual property theft.

The BAE Systems-owned company said that the service applies techniques developed by Detica for protecting national security and fighting organised cyber crime for government and business clients.

Henry Harrison, technical director at Detica, argued that too many companies still believe that traditional defences are enough to protect against targeted cyber attacks.

“Businesses need to decide whether they’re going to try and do something to fight back against these threats, or whether they want to resign themselves to being in effect ‘open source’ organisations,” he said.

The Detica Treidan software uses behavioural analysis with network and endpoint sensors, running on what the company described as “massive-scale compute cloud technology” to detect signs of potential compromise.

Detica cyber experts then use this analysis to prioritise the investigation of possible attacks according to the level of risk they pose. This builds up a profile of attacker behaviour that can be used to develop more robust defensive measures.

The company claimed that the service can detect the underlying activities associated with sophisticated cyber attacks which typically go undetected and unfiltered by traditional IT security methods.

Identifying which vulnerabilities are exploited and what information is targeted is essential in creating a remediation plan and achieving IT security estate hardening, according to Detica.

Harrison called on enterprises to move beyond traditionally defensive IT security strategies. 

“A mind shift is now required to move away from pure attack prevention to pursue, alongside prevention, the threat from intruders who have already broken into the organisation but who are still lying hidden, covertly working towards their eventual business goal,” he said.

Detica, in partnership with the Cabinet Office, recently published a report claiming that combatting the cyber criminal activities of organised gangs, state-sponsored groups or industrial spies cost the UK economy £17bn a year.