RSA Conference 2021: 3 hot cybersecurity trends explained

Zero trust. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). Extended detection and response (XDR).

Anyone who tuned into RSA Conference 2021 likely heard at least one of these cybersecurity buzz phrases during any given session. But what do they mean in a real-world enterprise context?

During the show, Jon Oltsik, John Grady and Dave Gruber, analysts at Enterprise Strategy Group, a division of TechTarget, gathered to clear the air around the confusion and offer advice to enterprises starting to look at these three concepts.

Listen in as analysts give rapid-fire responses to questions, including the following: What is the technology? What’s driving it? Where is the confusion surrounding it? What are its implementation challenges? Do the technologies overlap?

When it comes to being successful with zero trust, for example, Oltsik said a paradigm shift is required. “It’s a journey. We have to get there through phased implementation, and we have to coordinate with the business. It’s a strategic imperative, not a technology project,” he said.

When discussing the emerging hot topic of XDR, Gruber explained that enterprises shouldn’t be cautious of marketing hype — a real market need for the technology exists, and he offered a definition of this overly confusing topic before outlining its three categories:

1. Full-stack XDR is functionality provided by a single vendor in an integrated environment.
2. Overlay XDR is analytics that sit on top of existing security-base controls.
3. Endpoint and endpoint detection and response vendors expand into XDR.

Tune in for more insights on zero trust, XDR and SASE.

This was last published in May 2021