TNO and tech companies join forces for further development of automated cybersecurity platform

Technology to automate cyber operations

This platform will enable Dutch companies and organizations to automate their cyber operations, taking into account the consequences for business continuity. Making such technology widely available is essential for protecting the Dutch digital economy in the erratic cyber landscape.

Cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated as well as increasingly automated. At present, most organizations can hardly keep up with the speed and developments of these digital threats. Human action alone to repel these attacks is therefore no longer sufficient.

Repelling cyber attacks through cooperation

That is why in 2020, with support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the ASOP Consortium was launched with the aim of developing an automated security operations platform within several years in a public-private partnership between Dutch cyber security companies, public organizations and TNO.

The ASOP platform intends to increase the resilience of organizations against cyber-attacks, protecting them in an effective and efficient manner. The platform empowers organizations to perform the analysis of and decision making on cyber threats as part of the organizational risk management process.

On the one hand by supporting an adaptive cybersecurity strategy based on the business impact of attacks. On the other hand by providing a modular and vendor independent platform, enabling organizations to use the best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions.

Automatically averting cyber-attacks; how does it work?

Firstly, innovative machine learning algorithms ensure accurate detection of cyber-attacks in IT infrastructure, with a very low probability of a costly false alarm. After detecting a cyber incident, a decision on the best possible response is made automatically based on combined data streams and the impact on business continuity.

Finally this leads to automatic adjustments in the IT infrastructure to mitigate the impact, without having to temporarily take the functionality offline. This is possible because the architecture and configuration of IT infrastructures are increasingly defined in software rather than hardware.

Halfway through the process

In the current research phase, the goal is to further refine the ASOP platform to communicate with existing security solutions and the different modules from various suppliers. With this, the platform offers an answer to a more diverse spectrum of digital threats.

Together with BiZZdesign, VMware and KPN, the prototype can be further developed and validated based on their environment. After that, the final phase will focus on operationalizing the platform.

Working prototype

The ASOP consortium has tested the prototype of the platform in which the process outlined above has been fully automated, based on a pre-specified scenario. For a detailed explanation, please refer to the recorded webinar of 7 July 2021 on YouTube.

“This prototype means we are taking a big step towards a cloud-based platform for automated security operations”, says Noura el Ouajdi, Sr. Manager Innovative Ecosystems Cyber Security at TNO.

“The platform includes several innovative applications such as a modular and scalable architecture that makes it accessible for current and future cyber security products. Changes or configurations in the IT infrastructure are carried out at machine speed and the platform uses open standards and protocols, which significantly reduces dependence on suppliers. In the near future, this platform will support end users such as government, logistics and healthcare to automatically identify and detect cyber security risks based on the impact these risks have on the organization's business continuity."

Quotes partners

KPN

“Many public authorities and businesses rely on KPN Security to protect their critical environments. By participating ASOP consortium, KPN Security hopes to offer its customers a relevant addition in the future: taking immediate measures in the event of emergencies based on business criteria instead of just looking at the technology. An important step towards making it possible for the government and the business community to make optimal use of the opportunities offered by digitalisation." – Erno Doorenspleet, CTO KPN Security

BiZZdesgin

“Cyber security management is a complex challenge. Connecting silos and creating multidimensional insight are crucial. As an Enterprise Architecture SaaS leader, we therefore see ASOP as a unique setting to make a distinctive contribution to the platform with our core values – in close cooperation with strong partners – and to further develop our software with new standards and knowledge.” – Hugo Ehrnreich, Chief Executive Officer, BiZZdesign

VMware

“VMware is pleased to bring its Multi-Cloud expertise to the ASOP Consortium and the development of an open standards-based platform for automating security operations in the Netherlands and beyond. It’s increasingly obvious that modern cybersecurity is a team sport, and collaborations such as ASOP can only bring greater customer choice.“ - Joe Baguley, VP & CTO EMEA VMware

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy

“Public-private cooperation in the field of automated security contributes to the competitiveness of the Netherlands and helps to securely capitalise on the economic and social opportunities of digitalisation.” – Timon Domela Nieuwenhuis Nyegaard, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.