The Cyber Defense eMagazine March Edition for 2024

The Benefits of Cross-Team Collaboration
Two teams which play key roles in supporting a business’s security posture and ensuring smooth
functioning of its network infrastructure are network operations (NetOps) and security operations
(SecOps).
Traditionally NetOps and SecOps teams have operated in their own silos, largely due to having different
goals. For network teams, their attention is on providing easy access to information and devices. In
contrast to this, security teams are focused on restricting access to information and devices. This leads
to disparate tools and results in unmonitored areas within the network which threat actors can exploit.
Additionally, if a possible threat to an organization is identified, it could take days or even weeks to
investigate and resolve the issue due to a lack of communication and cooperation between the two teams.
For instance, many security breaches are unearthed when operations or applications become slow, with
a closer look revealing a security breach has taken place. Collaborating would ensure enterprises identify
this potential breach before it becomes an issue and prevent it all together.
Nowadays, as cybercriminals and the attacks they are launching become ever more threatening, it is
increasingly important for there to be collaboration and data-sharing between the NetOps and SecOps
departments.
When the two teams collaborate with one another, enterprises can reap several advantages. This
includes rapidly accelerating the time it takes to detect and respond to a threat. When these teams share
and combine their network traffic data and threat intelligence, they can rapidly discover potential security
breaches and swiftly analyse them. This collaborative approach ensures organisations can take a
proactive position to mitigating threats, diminishing the risk of significant damage or data loss.
Furthermore, cooperation can also lead to improved network performance. One of the key challenges
faced by NetOps teams is ensuring optimal network performance. By sharing their security data with
SecOps, NetOps departments gain an understanding of traffic patterns which may be the root cause of
network congestion or performance problems. This information empowers them to act immediately,
optimising network performance and assuring that critical systems receive the necessary bandwidth
required for efficient and effective operation.
Adding to this, by sharing data, organizations can create a holistic view of network activities, enabling
SecOps teams to share detailed visibility into traffic patterns with their colleagues in the NetOps
department. This collaborative monitoring approach provides both teams with the ability to highlight
anomalies, unusual behavioral patterns, and suspicious activity in a swift manner. Together, they can
detect possible threats before they develop into something more sinister, further enhancing the business’
security posture.
Elsewhere, effective collaboration and communication between the two teams streamlines the
compliance monitoring and reporting process, in addition to also enabling both departments to gain a
more thorough understanding of one another’s goals and challenges.
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