Tool sprawl is an expensive aspect of technical debt. IDC recently found that 43% of organizations doing business in the Americas have 500 or more software applications in their portfolios today (Application Services — Worldwide Regions, 2023, IDC #US50490416, April 2023). In the area of monitoring and observability tools alone, 50% of companies reported having between 11 and 40 tools.

In the ever-evolving landscape of IT services, channel partners like service providers, managed service providers (MSPs), and telecommunications companies have long played a crucial role in delivering enterprise networking and security solutions. However, a subtle yet powerful shift is emerging that threatens to disrupt this status quo. Single-vendor SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) solutions are rapidly gaining traction and quietly reshaping the competitive landscape.

The digital world is under constant risk as cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly advanced and increasing at a staggering rate. While significant developments have been made to mitigate cyber risk, network security threats continue to evolve further to get unauthorized access and steal data from companies. According to Cloudwards Cybersecurity Statistics 2024, Cybersecurity intrusions increased by 613% from 2013 to 2023.

To further raise awareness on threat actor activity in the dark web and hacking communities, today we are introducing the Cato CTRL Threat Actor Profile. This will be a blog series that profiles various threat actors and documents notable activity that we are observing. Our inaugural Cato CTRL Threat Actor Profile is on Yashechka.

Enterprises invest heavily in cybersecurity measures to protect their critical assets and sensitive data. According to the Worldwide Security Spending Guide published by International Data Corporation (IDC), European security spending will grow by 12.3% in 2024, similar trajectory to the US and Asia Pacific. Despite these investments, crippling vulnerabilities continue to wreak havoc, and the costs of cyber attacks continue to soar.

Picture this, you are trying to protect a chest full of treasure and have no idea what lurks in the shadows, waiting to take it all away. Scary, isn’t it? Fear should be the same when it comes to running a network without proper security. How you’ll guard your treasure with everything you’ve got, network security solutions do the same. It protects your organization’s critical information from cyber threats.

This blog is part of the ongoing “I&O Perspectives” series, which features insights from industry experts about the impact of current threats, networking, and other cybersecurity trends. As I embark on a new role with the Netskope Platform Engineering team, I am eager to explore how our company’s vision shapes the evolution of enterprise networking security.

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is your first line of defense against internet traffic that can be both legitimate and malicious. It helps protect your web applications, websites, and servers from various cyber-attacks by filtering out harmful traffic. WAF (WAAP) is essential for web security as it quickly identifies and addresses vulnerabilities in applications and servers.