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Security

Defense-in-Depth

"A security strategy that employs multiple layers of security controls to protect information and assets, ensuring that if one layer fails, others continue to provide protection."

Defense-in-Depth

Defense-in-Depth is a comprehensive security strategy that employs multiple layers of security controls (defense) throughout an information technology (IT) system. This approach ensures that if one layer of defense is breached, additional layers continue to provide protection.

Key Characteristics

  • Layered Protection: Multiple security measures across different system components
  • Redundancy: Multiple controls to protect against single points of failure
  • Diversity: Different types of security controls to address various attack vectors
  • Comprehensive Coverage: Security measures across all system layers

Advantages

  • Enhanced Security: Multiple barriers make it harder for attackers to succeed
  • Risk Mitigation: Reduces the impact of individual security failures
  • Flexibility: Allows for diverse security approaches
  • Resilience: Maintains security even when some controls fail

Disadvantages

  • Complexity: More complex to design, implement, and manage
  • Cost: Higher costs due to multiple security layers
  • Performance: Potential performance impact from multiple security checks
  • Management Overhead: Requires more resources to maintain

Best Practices

  • Implement security controls at multiple levels (network, host, application, data)
  • Use diverse security technologies and approaches
  • Regularly test and validate each security layer
  • Monitor and audit the effectiveness of each control

Use Cases

  • Enterprise network security architectures
  • Critical infrastructure protection
  • Regulatory compliance requirements
  • Multi-cloud security strategies